Exercise Therapy for Total Tear of Rotator Cuff: A Case Report

BACKGROUND: Shoulder pain is one of the most common problems in ages older than 60 years of age. Rotator cuff pathology is the most common etiology of shoulder pain. Most of rotator cuff pathologies are treated conservatively in old ages and exercise therapy is not an accepted intervention for management of rotator cuff tear yet. CASE PRESENTATION: The case was a man of 53 years age with shoulder pain who had total tear of supraspinatus tendon and biceps tendinitis in the right shoulder. He had regularly gone swimming, mountain climbing and running in the last 10 years. The case was managed by exercise therapy for 3 months and physical modalities for 20 sessions. Shoulder pain and his function and right shoulder range of motion increased after 3 months. Para clinical findings did not change after treatment, though. The improvements continued 15 months after the beginning of the treatment. CONCLUSION: Exercise therapy was very effective for improving pain and function in total tear of supraspinatus tendon and tendinitis of biceps.