What are People That Seek Care for Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy Experiencing in Their Daily Life?

This qualitative study sought to answer three questions: What is it like to live with rotator cuff tendinopathy? What are the barriers and facilitators of a healthy lifestyle with an aging shoulder? And, what are the outcomes that matter most to people seeking care for rotator cuff tendinopathy? Patients diagnosed with rotator cuff tendinopathy participated in group discussions using semi-structured guides that focus on diagnosis, daily experiences living with rotator cuff tendinopathy, goals, concerns, and clinical care experiences. A hybrid of initial inductive coding of themes and subsequent deductive consideration of these themes within the capability, comfort, and calm framework was utilized. Themes associated with rotator cuff tendinopathy were less restful sleep, difficulty with work and life transitions, loss of baseline abilities, and limitation in social roles in the capability realm; physical pain, despair, and loneliness in the comfort realm; and lack of direction or progress and feeling uncared for in the calm realm. Barriers identified included: the sense that rotator cuff tendinopathy is something correctable rather than age-associated and the sense that painful activities will make the tendinopathy worse (common misconceptions); tenuous relationships and limited trust with clinicians; loss of hope; and a sense that care is directionless. What matters most to a person seeking specialty care for shoulder pain are feeling that they are getting effective care and not being dismissed; maintaining meaningful activity and life roles; and replacing despair and frustration with hope and progress. Anticipating these needs may facilitate the design of more effective care models.