ABSTRACT
The appropriate treatment of partial-thickness rotator cuff tears (PTRCT) can be rather confusing. First of all, once a PTRCT is found in a symptomatic patient, the clinician must decide if the tear is the cause of the patient’s symptoms. It has been well documented in the literature that PTRCT are often found in asymptomatic shoulders based on MRI and cadaveric studies (1-7). Therefore, the prudent physician will use physical examination and appropriate radiographic studies to identify any associated pathology such as subacromial impingement or instability before determining that all of the patient’s symptoms are due to the PTRCT. Unfortunately, the full natural history of these lesions is not completely known. Generally, a trial of physical therapy is recommended. However, when doing this, the patient and physician must realize that studies have found that these tears do not heal on their own, and in fact, may progress to full-thickness tears (7-11).
