5 Points on Improving Rotator Cuff Healing

Over the past 15 to 20 years, there has been a dramatic increase in interest and research on rotator cuff repairs and tendon healing. More than 1700 articles have been written on rotator cuff repairs in the past 50 years, 80% just in the last 10 years. With increased interest in cuff repairs, there has been a subsequent increase in interest of repair outcomes, and more specifically, tendon healing. Common questions include why do repairs heal, how often, what can be done to improve healing rates and finally does healing really matter. The following article will outline 5 points regarding rotator cuff healing including whether tendon healing matters, what factors affect healing and what patient and surgeon specific factors that can be modified in order to improve healing after repair. [Introductory paragraph provided in lieu of abstract.]