Does arthroscopic rotator cuff repair improve patients' activity levels?

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic surgery
• Sports medicine
• Patient outcomes research

Background:

• Rotator cuff repair aims to reduce pain and improve shoulder function.
• The impact of rotator cuff repair on patients' daily activity levels is not well understood.
• The Shoulder Activity Level (SAL) survey measures shoulder-specific activity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effect of arthroscopic rotator cuff repair on patients' shoulder activity levels.
• To compare postoperative shoulder activity with preoperative levels.
• To assess changes in other patient-reported outcome measures after surgery.

Main Methods:

• Prospective collection of preoperative patient-determined outcome scores.
• Comparison of scores at a minimum of 2 years postoperatively.
• Inclusion of patients undergoing arthroscopic rotator cuff repair.

Main Results:

• 281 shoulders from 273 patients were analyzed with a mean follow-up of 3.7 years.
• Significant improvements were noted in Western Ontario Rotator Cuff Index, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons scores, Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation, and simple shoulder test.
• A statistically significant decrease in Shoulder Activity Level scores was observed postoperatively.

Conclusions:

• Patients experience significant improvements in quality of life after rotator cuff repair.
• A slight deterioration in shoulder activity level is reported post-surgery.
• The findings suggest a trade-off between functional gains and activity levels following arthroscopic rotator cuff repair.