Neuropathy of the suprascapular nerve and massive rotator cuff tears: a prospective electromyographic study.
Suprascapular neuropathy may be caused by both traction injuries as well as compressive lesions in the shoulder girdle. Moreover, a relationship is suspected with rotator cuff tears: traction on the nerve is speculated to occur due to retraction of the supraspinatus muscle. The article on SSN by Shi et al. (2013) found that the incidence of this condition is higher in cases with more severe tendon pathology, yet also stated that retracted tears do not always have to lead to SSN, and that a majority of patients with rotator cuff tears does not have SSN.
The current study aimed to determine the exact prevalence of SSN in patients presenting with massive rotator cuff tears with retraction – the most severe form of tendon pathology. Results indicate only a low prevalence (2%) of SSN in a population of 49 shoulders in which a massive rotator cuff tear with retraction was present > From Collin et al., J Shoulder Elbow Surg (2013)(Epub ahead of print). All rights reserved to the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees.
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