Shoulder patients face a vast number of different stresses and difficulties throughout their preoperative and postoperative experiences. Physical therapists are tasked with assessing the conditions of the patient and their injury in order to come up with the best plan for healing and recovery.

We know that rotator cuff tears that appear very similar can have very different effects on different people, but few studies have dived into the contrast between the effects of rotator cuff tears on men and women. 

Do male and female patients experience the same pain levels and shoulder function before and after surgery?

According to a recent test conducted with 283 patients male and female who underwent rotator cuff repair, men and women don’t experience these shoulder injuries equally. 

Individuals who took part in the study were questioned 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months before their operation. At each of these intervals women reported a greater amount of pain endured from the injury.

Women were also more likely to take narcotic pain medication 2 weeks after surgery.

When questioned 1 year after the operation, both men and women reported fairly equal conditions at that point. However, women experience a smaller change in the ASES (American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons) score postoperatively when compared with how their score changed before the surgery.

The important thing for physical therapists to note, is that for the first three months after the operation, women reported experiencing more pain and decreased shoulder function compared to men. 

The results of this study show a correlation between gender and early postoperative shoulder recovery. If the patient is female, she may suffer from a greater amount of pain and have more trouble using her shoulder than if the patient is male.

It’s important for physical therapists to keep these results in mind when treating a rotator cuff injury patient, and to adjust their treatment appropriately, according to the patient’s gender. 

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SOURCES: https://www.docwirenews.com/abstracts/orthopedic-abstracts/sex-based-differences-in-patient-reported-outcomes-after-arthroscopic-rotator-cuff-repair/