Passive shoulder abduction range of motion at 3 months postoperatively is the most important prognostic factor for achieving full recovery of range of motion at 6 months after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair.

Background: After arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR), it is crucial for clinicians to predict the functional recovery in the early postoperative period for considering rehabilitation strategies. The aim of this study was to identify the prognostic factors in the early postoperative period for achieving full recovery of range of motion (ROM) at 6 months after ARCR. Methods: This study included 184 patients who underwent ARCR. Patients were divided into the full recovery and nonrecovery groups using the Constant ROM score at 6 months postoperatively. The area under the curve for predicting the full recovery group was calculated for all independent variables such as demographic data, ROM, shoulder functional scores at preoperative and 3 months postoperative using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was then performed using candidate variables with an area under the curve of 0.7 or greater to determine prognostic factors for full recovery at 6 months postoperatively. The same analysis as above was also performed by dividing the patients into groups according to their preoperative ROM. Results: Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that preoperative active flexion, 3 months postoperative passive abduction, and internal rotation at 90° abduction ROM were significant prognostic factors of achieving full ROM recovery at 6 months postoperatively. Only passive abduction ROM at 3 months postoperatively was significantly extracted in the preoperative ROM limitation group. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that passive abduction ROM at 3 months postoperatively was a significant prognostic factor of achieving full recovery of ROM at 6 months after ARCR.