Prevalence and Grading of Rotator Cuff and Labral Injuries in Shoulder Pain and Instability using MRI: A Cross-sectional Study
TC01-TC08
Correspondence
Dr. Nidhi Raj Buddaraju,
No. 44, 18th cross, Malagala, Nagarbhavi 2nd Stage, Viswaneedam PO, Bengaluru-560091, Karnataka, India.
E-mail: srikar1232000@yahoo.co.in
Introduction: Shoulder joint is a highly mobile joint but is prone for rotator cuff injuries and dislocations. It is necessary to accurately diagnose rotator cuff and labral injuries so that appropriate plan of action for treatment can be taken. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) can be used to diagnose and describe the extent of rotator cuff tendon and labral injuries and any secondary rotator cuff muscle abnormalities.
Aim: To study the demographic profile of patients presenting with shoulder pain and instability, identify the various rotator cuff injuries causing shoulder pain, identify the rotator cuff interval lesions causing microinstability, identify the various labral and bony pathologies in instability, describe the MRI features of the rotator cuff, rotator cuff interval, labral and bony injuries.
Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 54 patients with symptoms of either shoulder pain or instability who underwent MRI evaluation of the shoulder in the Department of Radiodiagnosis, Rajarajeswari Medical College and Hospital, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, from July 2018 to December 2020. All the MRI scans of the shoulder in this study were performed using 1.5 Tesla Siemens Magnetom Avanto (Tim 76x18) MR machine using a flex coil. All the data was expressed in numbers and percentages.
Results: The study population consisted of 54 patients comprising of 38 males and 16 females. The age of the patients ranged from 20-77 years. Majority of the patients were older than 50 years constituting about 33.33% of the total study population. Rotator cuff injury was the most common cause of pain. Tendinosis was the most common type of rotator cuff injury followed by partial-thickness and full-thickness tendon tears. The most common grade of tendinosis was mild or grade 1. Supraspinatus tendon was the most commonly affected tendon followed by subscapularis and infraspinatus tendons. Teres minor tendon was normal in all the cases. Anterior instability was the most common type of instability with equal prevalence of soft tissue Bankart, bony Bankart and Perthes lesions. Biceps pulley lesions resulted in long head of biceps tendon instability, microinstability and internal impingement.
Conclusion: Rotator cuff injuries is the most common cause of shoulder pain and seen more frequently after the fifth decade. MRI can diagnose interstitial or intrasubstance tendon tears which are not visualised on arthroscopy. MRI description of tendon and labral tears, tendon retraction and muscle atrophy can guide the orthopaedician during arthroscopy and in treatment planning.