The factors affecting physiotherapy rehabilitation in patients following an open rotar cuff repair

Abstract

Introduction Rotator cuff tears can cause great impairment of the shoulder joint with debilitating pain and dysfunction. The surgical repair of rotator cuff tears result in an extensive rehabilitation being required. This process can be affected by various demographic, surgical and rehabilitative factors. There appear to be no studies relating these factors to the rehabilitation process. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of partial and full thickness tears seen in one physiotherapy practice over the period of four and a half years. It also was to identify and analyse the factors affecting the amount of physiotherapy following a rotator cuff repair. Methods This was a retrospective record review. It was also a cross sectional correlational study. Results The prevalence of partial and full thickness rotator cuff tears seen over a period of four and a half years in one physiotherapy practice is very similar. Partial thickness tears constituted 46% of the entire sample and full thickness made up 54% of the sample. Four out of eleven factors were found to be associated with the amount of physiotherapy received after a rotator cuff repair. These factors included the age of the patient, whether the patient was injured on duty, iv preoperative physiotherapy and additional procedures after surgery such as a revision of the repair or a manipulation of the shoulder. Conclusion There are only a few factors shown to be associated with the rehabilitation process after a rotator cuff repair. These factors would need to be correlated against outcome in future studies.