The answer is in 99% of patients, yes.
This is a common misconception that I get all the time. Some other doctors, even surgeons, say, “Oh, there’s no way your rotator cuffs are torn.” You can move your arm. Tons of people can move their arms with rotator cuff tears. It’s like 99%. Some people have much torn and can’t move it or have a lot of difficulty, but that is a small percentage of patients with cuff tears.
The vast majority can use their arms and do things. It’s just very painful. It hurts when they sleep, when they do things, when they reach, or when they do certain activities.
We use in-office ultrasound to diagnose rotator cuff tears. We know instantly whether you have a cuff tear or not. We still document your exam, your history, and all those things. But we can tell immediately, within 30 seconds, when you sit down in the office, whether or not you actually have a cuff tear. But yeah, most patients still have a shoulder that functions. It’s just painful all the time.