• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.186-191
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• 2018

Background: To determine the normal range of humeral head positioning on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods: We selected normal subjects (64 patients; group A) to study the normal range of humeral head positioning on the glenoid by MRI measurements. To compare the MRI measurement method with the computed tomography (CT), we selected group B (70 patients) who underwent both MRI and CT. We measured the humeral-scapular alignment (HSA) and the humeral-glenoid alignment (HGA). Results: The HSA in the control group was $1.47{\pm}1.05mm$, and the HGA with and without reconstruction were $1.15{\pm}0.65mm$ and $1.03{\pm}0.59mm$, respectively, on MRI. In the test group, HSA was $2.67{\pm}1.47mm$ and HGA with and without reconstruction was $1.58{\pm}1.16mm$ and $1.49{\pm}1.08mm$, on MRI. On CT, the HSA was $1.72{\pm}1.01mm$, and HGA with and without reconstruction were $1.54{\pm}0.96mm$ and $1.59{\pm}0.93mm$, respectively. HSA was significantly different according to image modality (p=0.0006), but HGA was not significantly different regardless of reconstruction (p=0.8836 and 0.9234). Conclusions: Although additional CT scans can be taken to measure decentering in patients with rotator cuff tears, reliable measurements can be obtained with MRI alone. When using MRI, it is better to use HGA, which is a more reliable measurement value based on the comparison with CT measurement (study design: Study of Diagnostic Test; Level of evidence II).

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.121-127
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• 2019

Background: Posterior decentering is not an uncommon finding on rotator cuff tear patients' shoulder magnetic resonance imaging. No previous study has reported on the relationship between posterior decentering and rotator cuff tear. Methods: We assessed patients' rotator cuff tear humeral head positions based on humeral-scapular alignment (HSA). Subjects were classified into centering and decentering groups based on a <2 mm or >2 mm HSA value, respectively. Differences in rotator cuff tear size, degree of tear, and fatty degeneration between the two groups were evaluated. Results: One hundred seventy-five patients (80 males, 95 females; mean age: $59.7{\pm}6.5$ years old) were selected as subjects (casecontrol study; level of evidence: 3). Tear size, degree of subscapularis tendon tear, and fatty degeneration of the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and subscapularis muscles were significantly different between the two groups (p<0.001, p<0.001, p<0.001). Conclusions: The occurrence of decentering was related to rotator cuff tear size, degree of subscapularis tendon tear, and fatty degeneration of the rotator cuff muscles.