Who will benefit from shoulder exercise therapy for rotator cuff tears
Official title: Predicting the Outcome of Exercise Therapy for Treatment of Rotator Cuff Tears
Funded at University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh · NIH-11169004 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project aims to find which people with rotator cuff tears do well with personalized exercise-based shoulder therapy.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Pittsburgh, United States) |
| Project start | September 7, 2016 |
| Project end | August 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $585,739 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AR069503-08 |
| Project ID | NIH-11169004 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults with a symptomatic isolated supraspinatus (rotator cuff) tendon tear who are starting or considering non-surgical exercise therapy.
✕Less likely to help
People with large or multi-tendon rotator cuff tears, urgent traumatic injuries, or who already need immediate surgery may not benefit from the exercise-focused approach studied here.
What this research studies
If you take part, researchers will follow people with a torn supraspinatus tendon who try a tailored exercise program and track pain, shoulder motion, strength, and patient-reported outcomes over time. The team already followed a group of 109 patients and saw fewer surgeries and better function after the program. They will combine those clinical measures with computer models that use each person’s measurements to look for differences in shoulder joint stability. The goal is to understand the clinical and mechanical reasons some people improve with exercise while others go on to surgery.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Results could help match patients to the right treatment so more people get better with exercise and fewer people have unnecessary surgery.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work, including the POETT cohort, showed promising improvements and a lower surgery rate after a personalized exercise program, while combining this with subject-specific computer modeling is a newer approach.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Debski, Richard E — University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh
- Study coordinator: Debski, Richard E
Related research
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.