ArticleBMJ open sport & exercise medicine2017
Increased supraspinatus tendon thickness following fatigue loading in rotator cuff tendinopathy: potential implications for exercise therapy.
Article in BMJ open sport & exercise medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 40 citations in OpenAlex.
- No relationship between the acromiohumeral distance and pain in adults with subacromial pain syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2020Pooled it
- Trial
- Effect of platelet-rich plasma on the degenerative rotator cuff tendinopathy according to the compositions.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2019Trial
- Increased Tendon Thickness in Healthy Collegiate Baseball Pitchers Is Associated With Fewer Years of Pitching and Less External Rotation Motion Adjusted for Humeral Torsion.Sports health · 2026Article
- Supraspinatus Tendon Thickness Is Associated With Collagen Disorganization in Symptomatic and Asymptomatic Shoulders of Individuals With Unilateral Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy.Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society · 2026Observational
- Relationship Between Tendon Tissue and Shoulder Disability Change During an 8-Week Exercise Intervention for Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy: An Observational Study.Physical therapy · 2025Observational
- Swimmer's Shoulder: Ultrasound Anatomical Description of Shoulder Tendons in Elite Swimmers and Water Polo Players.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Exercise into pain in chronic rotator cuff related shoulder pain: a prospective single-group feasibility study.BMJ open · 2023Article
- Supraspinatus tendon thickness and subacromial impingement characteristics in younger and older adults.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2022Article
- Development of shoulder pain with job-related repetitive load: mechanisms of tendon pathology and anxiety.Journal of shoulder and elbow surgery · 2022Article
- Reliability of point-of-care shoulder ultrasound measurements for subacromial impingement in asymptomatic participants.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciences · 2022Article
- Acromio-Humeral Distance Is Associated with Shoulder External Strength in National Elite Badminton Players-A Preliminary Study.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Electromyographic Evaluation of the Shoulder Muscle after a Fatiguing Isokinetic Protocol in Recreational Overhead Athletes.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Quadriceps and Patellar Tendon Thickness and Stiffness in Elite Track Cyclists: An Ultrasonographic and Myotonometric Evaluation.Frontiers in physiology · 2020Article
- Assessment of return to play in professional overhead athletes subjected to arthroscopic repair of rotator cuff tears and associated labral injuries using the Italian version of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic Shoulder and Elbow score.Musculoskeletal surgery · 2018Article
- Cryotherapy or gradual reloading exercises in acute presentations of rotator cuff tendinopathy: a randomised controlled trial.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND/
aimExercise imparts a load on tendon tissue that leads to changes in tendon properties. Studies suggest that loading immediately reduces tendon thickness, with a loss of this response in symptomatic tendinopathy. No studies investigating the response of tendon dimensions to load for the rotator cuff tendons exist. This study aimed to examine the short-term effect of loading on the thickness of the supraspinatus tendon and acromiohumeral distance those with and without rotator cuff tendinopathy.
methodsParticipants were 20 painfree controls, and 23 people with painful rotator cuff tendinopathy. Supraspinatus tendon thickness and acromiohumeral distance were measured using ultrasound scans before, and at three time points after loading (1, 6 and 24 hours). Loading involved isokinetic eccentric and concentric external rotation and abduction.
resultsThere was a significant increase in supraspinatus tendon thickness in the pain group at 1 (7%, ∆=0.38, 95% CI 0.19 to 0.57) and 6 hours (11%, ∆=0.53, 95% CI 0.34 to 0.71), although only the 6 hours difference exceeded minimal detectable difference. In contrast, there was a small non-significant reduction in thickness in controls. The acromiohumeral distance reduced significantly in both groups at 1 hour (controls: ∆=0.64, 95% CI 0.38 to 0.90; pain: ∆=1.1, 95% CI 0.85 to 1.33), with a larger change from baseline in the pain group.
conclusionThose diagnosed with painful supraspinatus tendinopathy demonstrated increased thickening with delayed return to baseline following loading. Rehabilitation professionals may need to take into account the impact of loading to fatigue when planning rehabilitation programmes.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.