Maintaining the Sporting Shoulder after Injury; a Case Report on the Journey of Rehabilitation Exercise after Revision Rotator Cuff Repair

Abstract

Surgical treatment of complete or full thickness tear of rotator cuff is a common treatment. However, the number of postoperative re-tear is increasing, and repetition of such surgical treatment causes various complications. Therefore, the importance of conservative rehabilitation exercise treatment has been emphasized, but there is no established rehabilitation protocol that shows a definite functional recovery of complete rotator cuff tear. The patient is a 46-year-old male patient who has already undergone an arthroscopic rotator cuff repair once due to a full thickness tear of the right supraspinous tendon. The patient visited the hospital after performing a second arthroscopic repair after diagnosing the re-tear of the supraspinous tendon. He visited the department of rehabilitation medicine and performed rehabilitation excise under physician supervision at cooperative rehabilitation center for 7 years, and showed complete functional recovery after rehabilitation treatment. The MRI without contrast performed 7 years after the surgery showed the maintenance of supraspinatus muscle and hypertrophy of surrounding muscles (especially deltoid muscle). And there is no functional limitation or pain. Therefore, functional recovery can be promoted through effective rehabilitation exercise protocol in complete or full thickness tear of rotator cuff, and even re-tear.