Postoperative measurements of the range of motion and muscle strength of
the shoulder and ratings of pain and the ability to perform daily
activities were made in fifty-eight patients (sixty-three shoulders) who
had a repair of a full-thickness rotator-cuff tear. Postoperatively, the
patients had an average of 126 degrees of active flexion of the shoulder
and an average of 130 degrees of active abduction. Passive motion averaged
21 degrees more than active motion. The strength of the abductor muscles of
the shoulder averaged approximately 86 per cent of normal. Most patients
reported marked relief of pain and rated themselves as having mild or no
deficits in their ability to perform daily activities. The length of the
cuff tear significantly affected the functional results. Short tears (less
than 2.5 centimeters) were associated with greater strength and range of
motion than were long tears. Fifteen of the nineteen patients who were
unable to work preoperatively because of the shoulder returned to work
after surgery, but not necessarily to the same type of work that they had
done before the onset of the problem with the shoulder.