Impact of early versus delayed mobilization after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair in small and medium-sized tears: a prospective randomized study.

J Orthop Surg ResNov 10, 2026 (epub)
Clinical ResearchOrthopedic SurgeryOpen access

Mohamed Rabie Abdallah, Ahmed Shaban Hassan, Mohamed Abdelal

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In 30 seconds

This prospective randomized study compared early with delayed mobilization after arthroscopic single-row knotless repair of small and medium full-thickness supraspinatus tears in 70 patients aged 20–70 years. Early mobilization was associated with faster range-of-motion recovery at 3 months (mean 130° vs. 115°; p = 0.02). By 12 months, pain and functional outcomes were comparable between groups. One re-tear (2.8%) occurred in the early-mobilization group, while none occurred in the delayed group; the limited events do not establish a difference in tendon integrity.

Key findings

  • At 3 months, mean range of motion was 130° with early mobilization versus 115° with delayed mobilization (p = 0.02).
  • At 12 months, functional and pain outcomes were comparable between mobilization groups.
  • One re-tear (2.8%) occurred with early mobilization; no re-tears occurred with delayed mobilization.

Why it matters

The findings suggest that early mobilization may speed short-term motion recovery after repair, while longer-term pain and functional outcomes were similar. The re-tear counts were too limited to support a firm comparison of tendon integrity or to determine whether mobilization should differ by tear size.

What to keep in mind

The study had limited re-tear events and no prespecified tear-size subgroup analysis, preventing definitive conclusions about differential mobilization strategies by tear size.

Source

PubMed · PMID 43009963Free full text on PubMed Central

Published in J Orthop Surg Res. This summary was written by xxcode from the publication's abstract and metadata. It is not peer reviewed and is not a substitute for the original article. For clinical decisions, review the original publication.

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