Early Sling Discontinuation Following Rotator Cuff Repair

Following rotator cuff repair, patients typically are immobilized in a sling for 6 weeks with or without early motion. We hypothesize that early sling discontinuation at 2 weeks combined with rehabilitation protocol would not adversely affect clinical outcomes or tendon healing in small nonretracted rotator cuff tears following double-row repair. We prospectively evaluated 20 patients at 6 months postoperatively who underwent double-row rotator cuff repair for small nonretracted tears. Patients were immobilized in a sling for 2 weeks then allowed to remove the sling for daily activities below shoulder height. Formal rehabilitation started at 6 weeks. Patients were evaluated by physical examination, patient-rated outcomes (Constant-Morley Shoulder Scores, American Shoulder and Elbow Society score, Veterans Rand 36 General Health Survey), and magnetic resonance imaging. Average length of follow-up was 6 months. American Shoulder and Elbow Society scores increased an average of 32.2 points (P
Source: Techniques in Shoulder and Elbow Surgery - Category: Orthopaedics Tags: Research Articles Source Type: research