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Shoulder MRI

See Also
Indications
1. Suspected Rotator Cuff Tear (MRI is preferred modality)
2. Suspected Shoulder Labral Tear (MRI is preferred modality)
Efficacy: Asymptomatic Rotator Cuff Tears are common on MRI
1. Study of 96 asymptomatic patients
  1. Normal physical exam
  2. No history of Shoulder Pain
2. Findings
  1. Age over 60 years (n=46)
    1. Full thickness Rotator Cuff Tear: 28%
    2. Partial thickness Rotator Cuff Tear: 26%
  2. Age 40-60 years (n=25)
    1. Full thickness Rotator Cuff Tear: 4%
    2. Partial thickness Rotator Cuff Tear: 24%
  3. Age under <40 years (n=25)
    1. Full thickness Rotator Cuff Tear: 0%
    2. Partial thickness Rotator Cuff Tear: 4% (1 patient)
3. Reference
  1. Sher (1995) J Bone Joint Surg 77-A:10

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This page was written by Scott Moses, MD. This page was last revised before 5/10/08, prior to consistent tracking of revision date. This page was last published on 6/1/2008. Please send comments and questions to the editor. Contact information may be found on the page About the Family Practice Notebook. These pages are best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0.