title: Skin temperature of the shoulder: circadian rhythms in normal and pathologic shoulders.
abstract: Circadian rhythm of the shoulder skin temperature was studied in 21 shoulders of 20 patients with rotator cuff tears (average age, 58 years) and 4 shoulders of 4 patients with rotator cuff tendinitis (average age, 34 years). Fourteen of the 23 uninvolved shoulders with no abnormalities on magnetic resonance imaging were also studied as normal shoulders. With a portable thermometer with the probes attached to the anterior surface of both shoulders, the skin temperature was recorded every 5 minutes from 1:00 PM to 9:00 AM (20 hours). Both the normal and cuff tear shoulders showed a similar circadian rhythm with the temperature at night significantly lower than the temperature during the daytime (P < .0001). On the other hand, the tendinitis shoulders did not show this circadian rhythm; the temperature did not change significantly through the range of measurement. We conclude that the skin temperature shows a circadian rhythm in normal shoulders, and this rhythm may be affected by certain pathologic conditions of the shoulder.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Akita University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Miyakoshi
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Itoi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsuura
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000070636:Rotator Cuff Injuries; D012421:Rupture; D012782:Shoulder / Q000502:physiology*; D012881:Skin Temperature; D052256:Tendinopathy / Q000503:physiopathology*