Published online Dec 18, 2021. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v12.i12.991
Peer-review started: April 23, 2021
First decision: June 16, 2021
Revised: June 28, 2021
Accepted: December 8, 2021
Article in press: December 8, 2021
Published online: December 18, 2021
Processing time: 234 Days and 10.3 Hours
Rotator cuff (RC) tears are one of the most frequent pathologies within the shoulder girdle. Hand dominance and older age are associated with RC tears. Two different surgical procedures, the mini-open (MO) and all-arthroscopic (AA) approach, represented the standard of treatment.
To compare the clinical and biomechanical outcomes of two surgical techniques (AA vs MO procedure) performed to address the painful shoulder syndrome with partial or total supraspinatus tendon tear.
Eighty-eight participants, 50 following RC repair with AA and 38 with MO approach, were recruited in the present cross-sectional case-control study (ORTHO-SHOULDER, Prot. 0054602). All patients underwent postoperative clinical evaluation for pain (Visual analogic scale), impairment, and disability (disability of the arm, shoulder, and hand) and limitation in daily activity (Constant-Murley score). Patients’ shoulder mobility was also assessed in our Laboratory of Functional Movement through a wearable inertial sensor and surface electromyography to monitor kinematics and muscle activity during the movement on the frontal (abduction/adduction) and sagittal (flexion-extension) planes.
No statistically significant differences between the two procedures were observed in either main clinical score or range of motion. A significant increase in velocity during the movement execution and a higher contribution of upper trapezius muscles were found in the AA group compared with MO patients.
In terms of clinical scores, our findings were in line with previous results. However, the use of technology-based assessment of shoulder mobility has revealed significant differences between the two techniques in terms of mean velocity and pattern of muscle activation.
Core Tip: Wearable technologies could be useful in clinical practice since they could provide clinical information during the performance of a motor task. The present work represents a preliminary attempt in making use of novel wearable technologies in common clinical practice.