Hello. I am Dr. Dongkyu Lee, an orthopedic specialist. Partial rotator cuff tears can present with a wide variety of symptoms. Since it is not a complete tear, there may be no limitation in movement. Pain may appear in certain positions, and daily life may not be significantly affected. However, persistent pain, night pain, and in severe cases, weakness and limited movement can occur. Because symptoms can vary so widely, rotator cuff damage can be missed without thorough examination, and if left untreated, progression to a complete tear may eventually require surgical treatment. So how should partial rotator cuff tears be treated? First, prolotherapy can be performed. This is commonly known as ligament-strengthening injection therapy. Accurate prolotherapy uses ultrasound to precisely target the torn area, providing appropriate stimulation along with regeneration-promoting medication. Depending on the medication, 3-6 sessions may be performed. However, when prolotherapy is performed without ultrasound guidance, the treatment is not accurate. Many patients come to me after having prolotherapy at other hospitals without improvement. In such cases, I ask whether the treatment was accurately targeted using ultrasound. If it was not precisely targeted, I recommend trying prolotherapy again. In many cases, accurate treatment leads to improvement. In summary, for prolotherapy results to be good: First, precise targeting using ultrasound is essential. Second, appropriate needling stimulation improves blood flow and promotes healing. Third, proper medication maximizes tissue healing. However, some cases do not respond well even to prolotherapy. In such cases, patients hear two options: One is to wait and operate when it becomes a complete tear -- essentially, do nothing. The other is that since injections are not working, surgery is inevitable anyway, so operate now. Patients feel utterly desperate. They have pain but no viable options, and surgery seems daunting... In such cases, "bone marrow stem cell regeneration therapy" can help. Let me show you a case.
On ultrasound, a normal rotator cuff appears white. In the photo above, the dark area indicated by the arrow within the yellow circle shows a partial tear of the rotator cuff. It appears to be an articular-side tear. The patient had received multiple prolotherapy sessions without improvement and came to see me. Bone marrow stem cell regeneration therapy was performed.
The ultrasound video shows the guide being precisely targeted at the torn area, and micro-holes are created using a specialized tip. Through these micro-holes, bone marrow flows out containing stem cells, growth factors, platelets, and other healing factors that promote tissue healing.
Comparing the ultrasound at 8 weeks post-procedure, the dark torn area in the yellow circle on the left has healed, as shown in the blue circle on the right. Partially torn rotator cuffs should not be left untreated -- they can definitely heal. If left to progress to a complete tear, surgical treatment becomes the only option.
Do not leave it untreated. Bone marrow stem cell regeneration therapy can treat partial rotator cuff tears and help you maintain a healthy shoulder.
