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Calcific tendinopathy of the rotator cuff: the correlation between pain and imaging features in symptomatic and asymptomatic female shoulders

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Abstract

Objective

To provide new epidemiological data regarding the prevalence, distribution and macroscopic features of shoulder rotator cuff calcific tendinopathy (calcific tendinopathy), and to identify the characteristics of calcific deposits associated with shoulder pain.

Materials and methods

Three hundred and two female volunteers (604 shoulders) who had been referred to a gynaecological clinic participated in the study. The subjects underwent a high-resolution ultrasonography of both shoulders, and those with a diagnosis of calcific tendinopathy compiled a standardized questionnaire relating to shoulder symptoms. We determined the prevalence of symptomatic and asymptomatic rotator cuff calcific tendinopathy, and compared differences in distribution and macroscopic features of the symptomatic and asymptomatic calcifications.

Results

The prevalence of calcific tendinopathy was 17.8 % (103 shoulders). Ninety-five shoulders (15.7 %) were symptomatic; of these, calcific tendinopathy was found in 34 shoulders (33 %) on imaging. Of the 509 asymptomatic (84.3 %) shoulders, calcific tendinopathy was observed in 69 cases (67 %). Among tendons, supraspinatus (53.4 %) and infraspinatus (54.6 %) were the most frequently involved. The majority of calcific deposits were of maximum diameter between 2 and 5 mm (77.9 %), and were linear in form (69.9 %). The involvement of multiple tendons and a location in the supraspinatus tendon were found to be significantly correlated with pain (p = 0.023, p = 0.043 respectively), as were age (p = 0.041) and an excessive body mass index (p = 0.024).

Conclusion

In this sample from the general population of working age females, both intrinsic factors (location in supraspinatus, multiple tendon involvement) and extrinsic variables (age, abnormally high BMI) were correlated with pain in calcific tendinopathy. Level of evidence: Level III, cross-sectional study, prevalence study.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Jocelyn McCleery and Giulio Valerio Sansone for their assistance in the preparation of this manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Orthopaedic Department of the Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy

    Valerio Sansone, Olmo Consonni & Emanuele Maiorano

  2. Istituto Ortopedico Galeazzi IRCCS, Via Riccardo Galeazzi 4, 20161, Milano, Italy

    Valerio Sansone

  3. Department of Surgery and Interdisciplinary Medicine, Program in Physical Therapy, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy

    Roberto Meroni

  4. SME – Diagnostic Imaging Medical Centre, Varese, Italy

    Alfredo Goddi

Authors
  1. Valerio Sansone
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  2. Olmo Consonni
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  3. Emanuele Maiorano
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  4. Roberto Meroni
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  5. Alfredo Goddi
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Correspondence to Valerio Sansone.

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Sansone, V., Consonni, O., Maiorano, E. et al. Calcific tendinopathy of the rotator cuff: the correlation between pain and imaging features in symptomatic and asymptomatic female shoulders. Skeletal Radiol 45, 49–55 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-015-2240-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-015-2240-3

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