Rotator Cuff Injuries Clinical Presentation

  • Author: Eileen C Quintana; Chief Editor: Rick Kulkarni, MD   more...
 
Updated: May 1, 2012
 

History

Assess any patient with shoulder pain with respect to the patient's age and occupation. Characterize pain according to its duration of onset, location, radiation, timing, and quality. In addition, investigate pain for its relationship to activities and sport.

  • Pain is the most common symptom encountered with rotator cuff injury.
    • Pain usually is located anterolaterally and superiorly and referred to the level of the deltoid insertion with full-thickness tears.
    • Pain is aggravated in activities where the arm must be in an overhead or a forward-flexed position.
    • In an acute injury, pain suddenly is elicited after a fall, after lifting of a heavy object, or even after a trivial amount of force.
  • Following pain, weakness and limitation of motion are the next most common symptoms of a rotator cuff tear.
  • The patient also may complain of clicking, catching, stiffness, and crepitus.
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Physical

Approach the shoulder examination systematically in every patient with inspection, palpation, range of motion, strength testing, neurologic assessment, and performances of special shoulder tests. Also, include evaluation of the cervical spine and upper extremity.

  • Inspect for scars, color, edema, deformities, muscle atrophy, and asymmetry.
  • Palpate the bony and soft-tissue structures, noting any areas of tenderness.
    • The subdeltoid and subacromial bursae can be palpated anteriorly under the acromion, and laterally with the deltoid muscle and the arm in extension.
    • The supraspinatus is palpated anteriorly when the arm is externally rotated and flexed.
    • Hyperextension permits the palpation of the infraspinatus.
  • Assess active and passive range of motion. Note any pain elicited and loss of motion.
    • Determine muscle strength.
    • The supraspinatus is isolated with the arm forward 90 degrees in the scapular plane and the forearm rotated into pronation (ie, thumbs down). If drooping of this position occurs, full-thickness rotator cuff tears are suggested.
    • The subscapularis may be tested with the arm at the side with internal rotation resistance. However, this can produce false-negative results; instead, place the arm internally rotated with the dorsum on the buttock surface and actively lift the hand from the buttocks against resistance.
    • The external rotators, teres minor, and infraspinatus can be tested with the arm on the side and in 90 degrees of abduction.
  • Neer impingement test: An injection of 1% lidocaine into the subacromial bursae, using the lateral or posterior approach, creates signs of relief on forward flexion in patients with rotator cuff disease, distinguishing cuff disease from other sources of shoulder pain. However, rotator cuff tears are not distinguished from early stages of inflammation or fibrosis. Neer impingement test. The patient's arm is maximaNeer impingement test. The patient's arm is maximally elevated through forward flexion by the examiner, causing a jamming of the greater tuberosity against the anteroinferior acromion. Pain elicited with this maneuver indicates a positive test result for impingement.
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Causes

An emerging consensus suggests that the etiology of rotator cuff disease is multifactorial. Extrinsic factors exist, such as the morphology of the coracoacromial arch, tensile overload, repetitive use, and kinematics abnormalities. Intrinsic factors also exist, such as altered tendon vascular supply, microstructural collagen fiber abnormalities, and regional variations.

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Contributor Information and Disclosures
Author

Eileen C Quintana  MD, Assistant Professor, Departments of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine, St Christopher's Hospital for Children; Adjunct Clinical Professor, Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine Departments, Temple University Hospital, Pediatric Emergency Dept, Philadelphia, PA

Eileen C Quintana is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Richard H Sinert, DO  Professor of Emergency Medicine, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, Research Director, State University of New York College of Medicine; Consulting Staff, Department of Emergency Medicine, Kings County Hospital Center

Richard H Sinert, DO is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Physicians and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Specialty Editor Board

Joseph A Salomone III, MD  Associate Professor and Attending Staff, Truman Medical Centers, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine; EMS Medical Director, Kansas City, Missouri

Joseph A Salomone III, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Emergency Medicine, National Association of EMS Physicians, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD  Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; Editor-in-Chief, Medscape Drug Reference

Disclosure: Medscape Salary Employment

David B Levy, DO, FACEP, FAAEM  Chairman, Department of Emergency Medicine, St Elizabeth Health Center; Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine

David B Levy, DO, FACEP, FAAEM is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American Medical Informatics Association, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

John D Halamka, MD, MS  Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Chief Information Officer, CareGroup Healthcare System and Harvard Medical School; Attending Physician, Division of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

John D Halamka, MD, MS is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Informatics Association, Phi Beta Kappa, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Rick Kulkarni, MD  Attending Physician, Department of Emergency Medicine, Cambridge Health Alliance, Division of Emergency Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Rick Kulkarni, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Association, American Medical Informatics Association, Phi Beta Kappa, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine

Disclosure: WebMD Salary Employment

References

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Rotator cuff, normal anatomy.
Rotator cuff tear, anterior view.
The acromioclavicular arch and the subacromial bursa.
Neer impingement test. The patient's arm is maximally elevated through forward flexion by the examiner, causing a jamming of the greater tuberosity against the anteroinferior acromion. Pain elicited with this maneuver indicates a positive test result for impingement.
Rotator cuff injury.
Normal intratendinous signal.
Partial-thickness tear seen better on angled oblique sagittal views.
Full-thickness tear.
Normal plain radiograph of the shoulder in internal, external, and neutral positions.
 
 
 
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