Shoulder surgery showdown: cutting or not?

NCT ID NCT03295994

First seen Feb 26, 2026 · Last updated May 09, 2026 · Updated 11 times

Summary

This study compared surgery to non-surgical treatments (like physical therapy) for people with rotator cuff tears. 187 adults with shoulder pain and MRI-confirmed tears were randomly assigned to one of the two groups. The goal was to see which approach better improved pain and daily function over time.

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This is a summary of the original study . Summaries may miss details or leave out important information. Before applying or accepting participation, make sure you have read and understood the full study. Curemydisease.com takes no responsibility whatsoever for anything missed, misunderstood, or acted upon as a result of our summary — we know it does not capture everything.

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Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

    Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, United States

  • Boston Medical Center

    Boston, Massachusetts, 02118, United States

  • Johns Hopkins

    Baltimore, Maryland, 21218, United States

  • Mayo Clinic

    Phoenix, Arizona, 85054, United States

  • Medical University of South Carolina

    Charleston, South Carolina, 29425, United States

  • Ortho Tennessee - Knoxville Orthopedic Clinic

    Knoxville, Tennessee, 37922, United States

  • Ortho Virginia

    Richmond, Virginia, 23294, United States

  • Orthopedic Institute

    Sioux Falls, South Dakota, 57105, United States

  • The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

    Columbus, Ohio, 43202, United States

  • University of California - San Francisco (UCSF)

    San Francisco, California, 94158, United States

  • University of Colorado - Denver

    Denver, Colorado, 80222, United States

  • University of Iowa

    Iowa City, Iowa, 52242, United States

  • University of Kentucky

    Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, United States

  • University of Michigan

    Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48106, United States

  • University of Pennsylvania

    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104, United States

  • University of Texas Southwestern

    Dallas, Texas, 75390, United States

  • Vanderbilt University Medical Center

    Nashville, Tennessee, 37232, United States

  • Washington University

    St Louis, Missouri, 63110, United States

  • Western Orthopaedics

    Denver, Colorado, 80218, United States

Conditions

Explore the condition pages connected to this study.