Rotator cuff disorder in high-performance Cuban athletes. Ultrasound diagnosis

BACKGROUND: It is often the presence of painful manifestations at a shoulder level, which may develop into injuries. Most shoulder pathologies focus on the glenohumeral joint, specifically in the tendons and muscles of this region, so it is necessary to clinically and radiologically explore affected subjects, in order to generate an accurate diagnosis of the lesion. METHODS: In this research, an ultrasound evaluation was conducted in the joints of the shoulder girdle amongst the athletes of a variety of sports who attended the Imaging Department of the Institute of Sports Medicine of Cuba with painful shoulder manifestations. RESULTS: The presence of some degree of injury intratendinous rotator cuff was verified in 12 cases, which amounted to 33.3% of the total sample. Also, it was found that the most affected sport was baseball with 7 subjects with lesions in rotator cuff. CONCLUSIONS: This research shows the usefulness of ultrasound to study the rotator cuff tendons and likewise is useful for the further examination of shoulder pain, particularly in the diagnosis of intra-substance supraspinatus tendon.