Ultrasound of the rotator cable: prevalence and morphology in asymptomatic shoulders

The objective of our study was to assess the prevalence, morphology, and position of the rotator cable and the relation of this structure to the rotator cuff crescent.

Ultrasound examinations of bilateral shoulders of asymptomatic volunteers and of the asymptomatic shoulder in patients referred for assessment of a symptomatic contralateral shoulder were performed. The images were assessed by two radiologists for the presence of the rotator cable and measurements were performed.

The rotator cable was identified in 99% of 108 asymptomatic shoulders (49 men, 59 women) (mean age, 45 years; range, 21-79 years). The mean thickness and the mean width of the rotator cable were 1.86 mm (range, 0.6-3.5 mm) and 11.5 mm (range, 7.6-17.7 mm), respectively. The mean distance between the lateral edge of the rotator cable and the medial aspect of the greater tuberosity was 8.9 mm (range, 3.6-15.4 mm). The mean rotator cuff crescent thickness was 3.7 mm (range, 2.5-5.3 mm). A statistically significant positive correlation was found between the thickness of the rotator cable and the thickness of the rotator cuff (p<0.0001) and between the thickness of the rotator cuff and patient age (p=0.029).

The rotator cable is a consistent structure seen in 99% of shoulders in this study. The morphology of this structure is variable, but rotator cable thickness correlated positively with the thickness of the rotator crescent.