This prospective cohort compares rotator cuff tear patients with versus without scapular dyskinesis. It asks whether coexisting dyskinesis changes clinical outcome scores and passive range of motion. Groups were matched for age, sex, and tear size to isolate the effect of the dyskinesis itself.
When you see a rotator cuff tear patient who seems more limited than their MRI tear size would predict, examine the scapula. This study matched tear size between groups and still found worse ASES, Constant, DASH, and Oxford scores plus reduced motion when dyskinesis was present. The impairment is driven by lost scapulothoracic contribution, not a larger tear.
Remember the motion signature: flexion, extension, abduction, and external rotation drop, but internal rotation is preserved. That selective sparing is a useful exam clue. The practical takeaway aligns with the 2013 Scapular Summit consensus. Screen for and address scapular dyskinesis within cuff rehabilitation, since restoring scapular position is a prerequisite for normal shoulder kinetics.
Weight this as level II evidence: single-center, n=52, and causation between dyskinesis and cuff pathology remains unresolved.
This prospective cohort compares rotator cuff tear patients with versus without scapular dyskinesis. It asks whether coexisting dyskinesis changes clinical outcome scores and passive range of motion. Groups were matched for age, sex, and tear size to isolate the effect of the dyskinesis itself.
When you see a rotator cuff tear patient who seems more limited than their MRI tear size would predict, examine the scapula. This study matched tear size between groups and still found worse ASES, Constant, DASH, and Oxford scores plus reduced motion when dyskinesis was present. The impairment is driven by lost scapulothoracic contribution, not a larger tear.
Remember the motion signature: flexion, extension, abduction, and external rotation drop, but internal rotation is preserved. That selective sparing is a useful exam clue. The practical takeaway aligns with the 2013 Scapular Summit consensus. Screen for and address scapular dyskinesis within cuff rehabilitation, since restoring scapular position is a prerequisite for normal shoulder kinetics.
Weight this as level II evidence: single-center, n=52, and causation between dyskinesis and cuff pathology remains unresolved.