yst ar S em ul : C c u s r u r e M n t & R Orthopedic & Muscular System: c e Aydin, et al., Orthopedic Muscul Syst 2014, 3:2 i s d e e a p ISSN: 2161-0533r o c DOI: 10.4172/2161-0533-3-1000159 h h t r O Current Research Review Article Open Access Rotator Cuff Tear Arthropathy: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis and Treatment Nuri Aydin*, Okan Tok and Bariş Görgün Istanbul University Cerrahpaşa, School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey *Corresponding author: Nuri Aydin, Istanbul University Cerrahpaşa, School of Medicine, Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Istanbul, Turkey, Tel: +905325986232; E- mail:
[email protected] Rec Date: Jan 25, 2014, Acc Date: Mar 22, 2014, Pub Date: Mar 28, 2014 Copyright: © 2014 Aydin N, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Abstract The term rotator cuff tear arthropathy is a broad spectrum pathology but it involves common characteristic features as rotator cuff tear, leading to glenohumeral joint arthritis and superior migration of the humeral head. Although there are several factors described causing rotator cuff tear arthropathy, the exact mechanism is still unknown because the rotator cuff tear arthropathy develops in only a group of patients with chronic rotator cuff tear. The aim of this article is to review pathophysiology of rotator cuff tear arthropathy, to explain the diagnostic features and to discuss the management of the disease. Keywords: Arthropathy; Glenohumeral joint; Articular fluid Rotator cuff tear not only plays a role at the beginning of the disease, but also a developed rotator cuff tear is a result of the inflammatory Introduction process.