Abstract

Introduction: Rotator cuff tears are among the most common conditions affecting the shoulder. They have long been recognized as a cause of pain and disability. Most of the times the symptoms are insidious (other than traumatic causes) and first present as a loss of power when the arm is abducted and laterally rotated in simple everyday actions such as doing hair. The aim of this study was to determine the etiology of rotator cuff tears so that a viable treatment option could be offered to the patient population.

Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted in the Postgraduate Department of Orthopaedics, Hospital for Bone and Joint Surgery, Barzulla, Srinagar, an associate hospital of Government Medical College Srinagar Kashmir, from June 2015 to May 2018. This was a prospective study in which 175 unselected patients of either gender in the age group of 18 to75 years with rotator cuff tear were asked about any history of trauma, duration of symptoms, and mode of trauma if present .

Results: Traumatic etiology was seen in 52% of the cases. Indirect trauma to shoulder in the form of fall on an outstretched hand and lifting of heavy object  accounted for 46.16% of cases and direct trauma to shoulder in the form of direct landing onto the shoulder  or fall of a weight onto the shoulder accounted for 53.84% of cases.

Conclusion: Definitive traumatic incident as a precursor of symptoms was recognised in 91cases (52%) while 84 cases (48%) had no history of trauma.The younger population are more likely to have a history of trauma while as in older population the tears are mostly degenerative. In patients with degenerative tears, the bone quality is usually weaker and in such cases the suture anchors are directly placed into the bone without prior drilling in order to get a stronger hold and prevent suture anchor back-out.