Key result
MRI accurately detects rotator cuff tears but proves limited for glenohumeral instability without joint effusion.
Why the study?
Does MRI accurately evaluate rotator cuff disease and glenohumeral instability?
Does MRI accurately evaluate rotator cuff disease and glenohumeral instability?
MRI is a powerful noninvasive tool for evaluating rotator cuff disease, though MR arthrography may be required for assessing glenohumeral instability in the absence of joint effusion.
Supports MRI for rotator cuff evaluation; leaves open optimal imaging for glenohumeral instability without effusion.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has emerged as a powerful tool for the noninvasive evaluation of the musculoskeletal system. The use of MRI for the evaluation of disorders of the shoulder, however, remains more controversial than its use for the study of the knee. MRI has been shown by numerous investigators to be an accurate technique for confirming the presence of rotator cuff tears, determining their size, determining the presence of atrophy of the cuff muscles, and detecting the presence of different causes of cuff impingement. The use of MRI for the evaluation of glenohumeral instability is more problematic. In the presence of a large amount of joint fluid, MRI is reasonably accurate for the depiction of anatomic abnormalities associated with instability. In the absence of effusion, MRI is relatively inaccurate. For these cases MR arthrography is probably necessary to confirm the diagnosis.
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Kneeland et al. (1997) conducted a review in Rotator cuff disease and glenohumeral instability. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was evaluated. Magnetic resonance imaging is accurate for evaluating rotator cuff tears, but its accuracy for glenohumeral instability is limited in the absence of joint effusion.
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