title: Rotator cuff injuries in professional and recreational athletes.
abstract: Professional and recreational athletes involved in contact sports and sports with repetitive overhead motion are at increased risk for rotator cuff tears. Shoulder anatomy, pathology, and biomechanics place unique stress on the rotator cuff tendons during sports activity. Athletes demand effective treatment to quickly return to elite competition. A PubMed search assessed treatment options providing expedited recovery time and return to competition. Twelve of 231 articles fit the objective criteria; 90.5% of professional contact athletes, 40% of professional overhead athletes, and 83.3% of recreational athletes fully recovered following rotator cuff tear surgical repair. Prompt surgical treatment for full-thickness rotator cuff tears may be appropriate for contact athletes and recreational overhead athletes. Although professional overhead athletes have low recovery rates, surgical repair of full-thickness rotator cuff tears may still be indicated. The authors propose a treatment algorithm based on the limited literature (mainly level 4 and 5 evidence).
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157, USA. jplate@wakehealth.edu
authors.forename: Johannes F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Plate
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Haubruck
authors.forename: Jordan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Walters
authors.forename: Sandeep
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mannava
authors.forename: Beth P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Thomas L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Tuohy
mesh_terms: D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D060051:Occupational Injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D017006:Rotator Cuff / Q000601:surgery; D000070636:Rotator Cuff Injuries; D013177:Sports