Application of musculoskeletal ultrasound in postoperative rehabilitation assessment and monitoring after rotator cuff repair: A systematic review

Description

Ying Shi, Yi Bao, Chuanxiong Li, and Wencai Liu review ultrasound-guided rehabilitation after shoulder surgery in this two thousand twenty-six review. Rehab after rotator cuff repair has long followed the calendar, despite wide variation between people and re-tear risk. Musculoskeletal ultrasound can watch the tendon heal and measure muscle change, but evidence tying it to rehab decisions was scattered. Following PRISMA guidelines, the authors searched three databases for studies from twenty twenty to twenty twenty-six and included eleven.

Shear wave velocity, cross-sectional area, and echo intensity were the most reported measures. Shear wave velocity rose after surgery, increasing twenty-two to twenty-five percent from one week to twelve months, a path that could anchor healing benchmarks. The review assembles what each measure signals about tendon stiffness, muscle bulk, and tissue quality. The authors argue objective ultrasound milestones could replace time-based progression after repair.

Catalog record

Source: https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13552740