ULTRASOUND OF THE SHOULDER IN EVALUATION OF ROTATOR CUFF INJURIES

Abstract

Shoulder pain affects approximately 18 million Americans a year, most of which are a result of rotator cuff tears. Tears can occur from a mix of trauma, overuse, or age-related degeneration and can be asymptomatic or cause severe pain and decreased mobility. Research has shown  that smoking, hypercholesterolemia, and family history all predispose to tears. Rotator cuff injury runs the full spectrum from injury to tendinopathy to partial tears, and finally complete tears. Informed consent was obtained from each patient prior to their enrolment in the study. Brief case history was obtained. Depth of US beam adjusted to accommodate for differences in soft-tissue injuries among patients ranged from 3 to 5 cm. The US examinations were performed with both the patient and examiner seated on backless stool facing each other. US gel was liberally applied to the shoulder. USG showed that most commonly affected tendon by rotator cuff pathology was Supraspinatus (62%), followed by Subscapularis (4%), Infraspinatus (2%), Teres Minor  (2%),  and  Biceps tendon (2%).