Weight-bearing shoulder and rotator cuff tear

Abstract

Two percent of the general population are wheelchair-dependent. The shoulder takes on the weight-bearing locomotor function, and tends with age to develop degenerative pathologies, notably in the rotator cuff. The association between weight-bearing shoulder and rotator cuff tear raises several questions: what are the mechanisms by which wheelchair propulsion and transfer overload the shoulder, and what specificities do the lesions display? They occur in younger patients than in the rest of the population, after about 15 years' fairly constant wheelchair use. As well as the classical supraspinatus damage, an anterior cuff extension is the most frequent case. Is there a particular clinical presentation of cuff tear in this population? As the shoulder cannot be functionally protected, pain is constant and asymptomatic cuff tear is rare. Any pain after 12 years' wheelchair use requires morphologic exploration. How does treatment strategy differ for the weight-bearing shoulder? More than the classic quest for compensation, in the weight-bearing shoulder, the rotator cuff should be protected against any local aggression by systematic surgical recalibration of the subacromial space, and all lesions should be repaired, to avoid extension. Are functional results to be expected to be poorer in this population? On condition that the suture is protected by postponing any transfer beyond 4 months and that the shoulder is protected on a daily basis, analytic results and healing rates are comparable to those in the general population. However, general complications and skin complications are more frequent and require postoperative care in a specialized center.

Keywords: Rotator cuff tear; Spinal cord lesions; Weight-bearing shoulder.