ArticleKnee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA2021
The acromiohumeral distance in the MRI should not be used as a decision criterion to assess subacromial space width in shoulders with an intact rotator cuff.
Article in Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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13 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Effect of Humeral Head Depressor Strengthening on Individuals with Subacromial Impingement Syndrome.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Trial
- Exploring the level of association between rotator cuff tears and acromiohumeral distance: a systematic review.JSES reviews, reports, and techniques · 2026Review
- Advances in Shoulder Pain Imaging: A Narrative Review of Current Practice and Emerging Trends.Current medical imaging · 2025Article
- Association Between Rotator Cuff Tears and Shoulder MRI Parameters: Importance of Arthroscopic Validation in Coronal Acromiohumeral Interval Measurement.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2025Article
- Are acromiohumeral distance measurements on conventional radiographs reliable? A prospective study of inter-method agreement with ultrasonography, and assessment of observer variability.Joint diseases and related surgery · 2024Article
- Risk factors for healing failure after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair in small to medium-sized tears: a retrospective cohort study.Frontiers in surgery · 2024Article
- The effect of reduced acromiohumeral distance and increased acromial thickness on the risk of rotator cuff tear.Acta orthopaedica et traumatologica turcica · 2023Article
- Article
- Capsular remnant in the rotator cuff footprint is a novel arthroscopic finding may indicate the etiology of the tear.Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA · 2023Article
- In Vivo Anatomical Research by 3D CT Reconstruction Determines Minimum Acromiohumeral, Coracohumeral, and Glenohumeral Distances in the Human Shoulder: Evaluation of Age and Sex Association in a Sample of the Chinese Population.Journal of personalized medicine · 2022Article
- Relationship Between Diagnostic Anatomic Shoulder Parameters and Degenerative Rotator Cuff Tears: An MRI Study.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2022Article
- The differences of the acromiohumeral interval between supine and upright radiographs of the shoulder.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Supraspinatus tendon thickness and subacromial impingement characteristics in younger and older adults.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe acromiohumeral distance is in practice often evaluated on MRI by radiologists and a reduction diagnosed as subacromial impingement. However, the acromiohumeral distance as indicator for a decentered glenohumeral joint is defined on a true AP radiograph with the patient standing or sitting. The present study therefore evaluated the influence of the patient position by comparing the acromiohumeral distance in both modalities in shoulders with an intact rotator cuff.
methodsOn MRI images and true AP radiographs of patients > 20 and < 80 years with an intact rotator cuff the acromiohumeral distance was measured. The maximum cranio-caudal size of the glenoid was measured as a reference to allow a direct comparison of both modalities.
resultsTwo-hundred and thirty-four shoulders (mean patients age 45.8 ± 14.3 years) were included. The mean acromiohumeral distance/glenoid size ratio of all shoulders was significantly larger (P < 0.0001) on the MRI with 4.6 ± 1.0 in comparison to 4.1 ± 0.9 in the radiographs indicating a smaller acromiohumeral distance on the MRI. In absolute values, a mean acromiohumeral distance of 9.2 mm ± 1.8 on MRI in comparison to 10.4 mm ± 2.4 on the radiographs was calculated. Herewith, the acromiohumeral distance in the MRI was in the average 1.2 mm ± 2.1 (13%) smaller than the in corresponding radiographs (P < 0.0001).
conclusionThe acromiohumeral distance is significantly smaller in the MRI in comparison to AP radiographs in shoulders with an intact rotator cuff and should not be used as a decision criterion on MRI to assess glenohumeral centering or subacromial space width. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV.
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