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Rotator Cuff Tears

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Bone and Joint Injuries

Part of the book series: European Manual of Medicine ((EUROMANUAL))

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Abstract

In 1834, G.A. Smith was the first to describe tears of the shoulder joint capsule and the supraspinatus tendon [1]. One hundred years later, in 1934, Codmann was convinced that these injuries predominantly occur during a trauma to the shoulder girdle [2]. Later, in 1939, Meyer and Burman hypothesized that all rotator cuff tears were the result of overuse or abrasion. In the ensuing years, our knowledge about etiology, diagnostics, and therapy has increased continuously. Treatment options include the full spectrum of nonoperative therapy and open, mini-open, and arthroscopic procedures. The latter seems to be today’s gold standard. In massive cuff tears, tendon transfers might be considered. In cases of cuff tear, arthropathy shoulder replacement using reversed shoulder arthroplasty shows promising results.

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Correspondence to Martin Jaeger MD .

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Jaeger, M., Izadpanah, K., Südkamp, N.P. (2014). Rotator Cuff Tears. In: Oestern, HJ., Trentz, O., Uranues, S. (eds) Bone and Joint Injuries. European Manual of Medicine. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38388-5_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38388-5_1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-38387-8

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