Prediction of Rotator Cuff Injury Associated with Acromial Morphology: A Three-Dimensional Measurement Study

To analyze the relationship between the acromial morphology and the related rotator cuff injury using a three-dimensional (3D) measurement technology.

For the present study, 226 patients (113 men and 113 women) who underwent shoulder Coarthroscopy from June 2015 to December 2019 at the Department of Orthopedics at our hospital were selected retrospectively. A total of 113 shoulder joints of age-matched healthy people were selected as the control group. A 3D model coordinate system of the shoulder was established based on CT scan images. Patients were grouped according to the condition of the rotator cuff injury during surgery. The patients whose rotator cuff tear site corresponded to the 3D osseous proliferative structure of the acromion were classified into the impingement injury group (II group). The other patients were classified into the non-impingement injury group (NII group). The acromiohumeral interval (AHI), the acromial anterior protrusion (AAP), the acromial inferior protrusion (AIP), the acromioclavicular angle (AC angle), the distance from the most medial edge of the acromial anterolateral protrusion (AALP) to the most lateral point of acromion (MLPA) (a), the distance from the most posteromedial edge of the AALP to the MLPA (b), the anteroposterior diameters of the AALP (c), and the proportion of anteroposterior diameters of AALP to the anteroposterior diameters of acromion, (c/c + d) × 100(%), were measured using the 3D shoulder model.

The results of the intraobserver (<5%) and interobserver variability (>87%) analysis found the parameters to have high intraobserver and interobserver concordance. There were no significant differences in age among the control group, the NII group, and the II group (P = 0.8416). There were significant differences in AAP among the three groups (P = 0.0374). The results were the same for men and women, respectively. The AAP in the control group and the NII group did not show a difference, while the AAP in the II group was increased by 26.9% (P = 0.015) and 25% (P = 0.023), respectively, compared with the NII group and the control group. AHI, AIP, and AC angles did not show significant differences among the three groups (P > 0.05). The (a) and (b) of the II group were significantly larger than those of the NII group; P-values were 0.0119 and 0.0003, respectively. The (a) and (b) in patients with rotator cuff injuries were larger than in the normal population (P < 0.05). The above results were the same for men and women. This suggested that the larger width of the AALP might cause the related rotator cuff injury. The (c/c + d) in the II group was significantly larger than those in the control and the NII groups, with P-values of 0.0005 and 0.0021, respectively. The risk of rotator cuff injury due to subacromial impingement was increased when the maximum width of the medial-lateral edge of the AALP exceeded 16.8 mm (17.4 mm in men, 15.1 mm in women), the maximum width of the posterior edge of the AALP exceeded 12.9 mm (13.8 mm in men,12.7 mm in women), or the anteroposterior diameters of the AALP exceeded the anteroposterior diameters of the acromion by 33.5%.

We could predict the occurrence and development of the related rotator cuff injury in symptomatic patients with specific 3D changes in their acromion and intervene in the acromion of such patients as early as possible to prevent possible rotator cuff injuries in the future.