The effectiveness of extracorporeal shockwave treatment in subacromial impingement syndrome and its relation with acromion morphology

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the extracorporeal shock wave therapy in the subacromial impingement syndrome and its relationship with the acromion morphology. Methods: Thirty patients (24 women, 6 men) with subacromial impingement were evaluated. The average age of patients was 53.6 ± 9.8 years (range 39–80). Patients were divided into 3 groups according to the acromion morphology. ESWT 1500 at 0.12 am mL/mm2 violence was applied once a week for 3 weeks. Shoulder pain and disability index (SPADI) was used to assess function and pain scores of the patients. The evaluations were made prior to and 12 weeks after the ESWT. Results: Thirteen shoulders had type 1 acromion, 11 shoulders type 2 acromion and 6 shoulders type 3 acromion. After ESWT, the SPADI pain score decreased from 16.1 ± 5.1 (7–25) to 10.4 ± 4.9 (1–20); SPADI functional score decreased from 37.3 ± 19.8 (5–70) to 26.7 ± 17.5 (1–60); SPADI total score decreased from 53.4 ± 24.5 (14–95) to 37.1 ± 21.6 (2–74) (p  0.05, one way ANOVA test). Conclusion: ESWT was found to be effective in the treatment of impingement syndrome both for pain and functional outcome in the early period regardless of acromion morphology. Level of evidence: Level IV, Therapeutic study. Keywords: Subacromial impingement syndrome, Extracorporeal shock wave therapy(ESWT), Acromion morpholog

A comparison of the open reduction-internal fixation and resection arthroplasty techniques in treatment of Mason Type 3 radial head fractures

Objective: The aim of this study was to retrospectively compare a series of patients surgically treated with ORIF or early resection arthroplasty due to isolated comminuted radial head fractures. Methods: Between the years 2009 and 2013, 34 patients with isolated comminuted fractures of the radial head (Mason Type 3) had been operated (ORIF in 19 patients, resection arthroplasty in 15 patients). The mean age of the patients in the ORIF group was 38.5 years and 54 years in the resection group. The carrying angle (CA) and ulnar variance were measured bilaterally, and radiographs were reviewed for degenerative elbow arthritis. The Mayo elbow performance score, Turkish version of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand questionnaire (DASH-T) and visual analog scale (VAS) were used to evaluate the clinical results. Results: The mean follow-up period in the ORIF group was 40.2 months and 44.4 months in the resection group. In the ORIF group, 11 patients were clinically rated excellent, six good, and two fair. In the resection group, seven patients had excellent, five had good, and two had fair scores. We did not find a statistically significant difference between the ORIF and resection groups regarding the clinical and radiological outcomes. Conclusion: With these short-term results, resection arthroplasty may be considered an effective method in the treatment of isolated comminuted radial head fractures, as it is less technically demanding and it also allows for early postoperative motion. However, the patients should be evaluated in detail, regarding ligamentous injuries prior to resection arthroplasty. Level of evidence: Level III, Therapeutic study. Keywords: Comminuted, Isolated, Open reduction-internal fixation, Radial head fracture, Resection arthroplast

Biomechanical and histological comparison of the influence of oestrogen deficient state on tendon healing potential in rats

Thirty-six female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into two groups: oophrectomised (oestrogen deficient) rats and sham operated (oestrogen maintained) rats. Rats were sacrificed at six, ten, and 14 weeks. The rats were randomly chosen to have biomechanical evaluation on one side and histological evaluation on the other. Biomechanical testing was performed on an Instron machine to measure peak load. Histological sections were evaluated for cell proliferation, collagen-fibre organisation, fibroblast density, angiogenesis, inflammatory cells, chondroid and osseous metaplasia. Compared with the sham operated group, the oophrectomised group showed a lesser average maximum stress (42.9 N/m2 versus 33.7 N/m2) at six weeks, which was significant (p < .05). Succeeding weeks showed no significant biomechanical differences between the two groups. The sham operated group showed greater inflammatory response, which was statistically significant (p < 0.05), and also revealed greater cell proliferation and density. The results of this study revealed that endogenous oestrogen may improve healing of the Achilles tendon in rats

Correlations of isokinetic measurements with tendon healing following open repair of rotator cuff tears

The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation of tendon integrity following open cuff repairs with functional and isokinetic strength measurements. Twenty-six shoulders of 25 patients were included in this study. At the final follow-up, 14 repairs (53.8%) were intact and 12 repairs (46.2%) had failed on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Mean UCLA score at latest follow-up was 28.5 and mean Constant score was 80.3. Constant scores were found to be significantly low for the failed group. Age was found to be significantly related to failed repair. Fatty infiltration stage in the failed repair group was significantly high, and a strong positive correlation for both groups existed pre and postoperatively. When both groups were compared, the failed group was found to have significantly low measurements at extension and internal rotation. Despite high failure rates, functional results were satisfactory. Increased age and fatty infiltration stage decrease success