You almost can’t unless you have some sort of imaging.
There are millions of people walking around that have full-thickness rotator cuff tears that are completely asymptomatic. They have a full-thickness cuff tear full torn, but they don’t have any pain because their shoulder has bounced, compensated, and coped. Some people have tendonitis with no tear and they have horrible pain, and they both present in very similar fashions in terms of their history and their physical exam.
You want to get an X-ray to start. That doesn’t show the cuff, but you can see arthritis and different things. Then, you want to get imaging. For us, we use in-office ultrasound. If you want to do something that takes 30 seconds and can get to the bottom of it as quickly and as accurately as possible with the least amount of cost and time.
It’s ultrasound because that’s 100%. It’s 100% to be able to tell if it’s torn or not. It takes 30 seconds and we can do it in the office.
Ready to address your rotator cuff tear? Consult with Dr. Kevin Kruse for specialized care.