Rotator cuff tears are caused by acute trauma or tendon degeneration as a result of chronic repetitive microtraumas with aging. Shoulder pain, limitation of joint range and muscle weakness resulting from rotator cuff tears cause loss of function during daily living activities and this has a negative impact on the patient's quality of life. Exercises have an important place in rotator cuff treatment. Although there are many types, including Range of Motion (ROM), strengthening, stretching, and flexibility, there is no clarity on the most effective type of exercise. Physical activity is defined as any body movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires a certain amount of energy expenditure. It has been stated that patients with rotator cuff tears are affected in mental activities and participation in social life as well as physical activities. Regular physical activity contributes to physical, psychological and emotional well-being. Physical activity and exercise applications are used as an auxiliary or alternative method to reduce the severity and frequency of pain in patients with chronic pain. When investigators reviewed the literature, investigators could not find any randomized controlled trial on the effectiveness of physical activity in studies conducted with patients with rotator cuff tears. Investigators hypothesized that adding physical activity to the treatment of a rotator cuff tear would make a significant difference. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of physical activity applied in addition to supervised exercise on pain, functional status and quality of life in patients with rotator cuff tears. This study will be designed as a prospective randomized controlled trial. According to the power analysis result, 46 patients will be randomized into two groups(Treatment Group=23, Control Group=23).The Treatment Group (TG) will be included in an exercise program consisting of supervised exercise and physical activity (30 minutes of moderate-intensity walking). The Control Group (KG) will be included in the program consisting of supervised exercises only. The treatment will last for a total of 3 weeks, 5 days a week. The primary outcomes are Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), The American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Standardized Shoulder Assessment (ASES), Quick Disabilities of The Arm, Shoulder and Hand Questionnaire (Quick DASH), Rotator Cuff Quality of Life (RC-QOL) Western-Ontario Rotator Cuff Index (WORC) scores. Secondary outcome is Global Rate of Changes (GRC) scores. Physiotherapy applications and evaluations (initial, 3rd week and 6th week) are planned to be performed by the same physiotherapist.
Rotator cuff tears are caused by acute trauma or tendon degeneration as a result of chronic repetitive microtraumas with aging. Shoulder pain, limitation of joint range and muscle weakness resulting from rotator cuff tears cause loss of function during daily living activities and this has a negative impact on the patient's quality of life. Exercises have an important place in rotator cuff treatment. Although there are many types, including ROM, strengthening, stretching, and flexibility, there is no clarity on the most effective type of exercise.Physical activity and exercise applications are used as an auxiliary or alternative method to reduce the severity and frequency of pain in patients with chronic pain. When we reviewed the literature, we could not find any randomized controlled trial on the effectiveness of physical activity in studies conducted with patients with rotator cuff tears. We hypothesized that adding physical activity to the treatment of a rotator cuff tear would make a significant difference. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of physical activity applied in addition to supervised exercise on pain, functional status and quality of life in patients with rotator cuff tears.