The role of isokinetic muscle strength training in rehabilitation after rotator cuff repair / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To explore the effect of isokinetic strength training on post-operative rehabilitation of rotator cuff injury after arthroscopy.Methods:Forty patients who had received arthroscopic repair of a rotator cuff tear no less than 3 months previously and who had normal joint movement were selected and randomly divided into a routine training group (the control group) and an isokinetic strength training group (the experimental group), each of 20. Both groups did internal and external rotation strength training with Thera-Band elastic bands, 10-20 times/session, 3 sessions/day. The experimental group additionally underwent isokinetic strength training of the shoulder for 15-20 minutes twice a week. Isokinetic strength tests were performed after 3 and 6 months at test speeds of 60°/s and 180°/s. The evaluation indexes included the internal and external rotation peak torque, peak TQ/BW, the deficit of the affected shoulder joint, the peak torque difference and peak TQ/BW difference before and after training.Results:Both groups had improved significantly after the treatment, but the improvement in the experimental group was significantly greater than in the control group, on average.Conclusion:Isokinetic muscle strength training is helpful to recover strength after arthroscopic repair of a rotator cuff injury, especially the rapid external rotation muscle strength. It is worthy of clinical application.