What's in a Name? The Case for Using "Rotator Cuff-Related Shoulder Pain" in Clinical Practice.

Abstract

<b>SYNOPSIS:</b> In the absence of diagnostic accuracy (clinical and imaging), specific shoulder structures cannot be implicated as the definitive source of shoulder symptoms. Patients report that the (1) worst pain is unexplained pain, and (2) to engage in a treatment, the treatment must make sense. The diagnostic label, <i>nonspecific shoulder pain</i> does not tick either box: <i>subacromial pain syndrome</i> is confusing, and as nondescript as <i>suprahumeral pain syndrome</i>. The rotator cuff tendons are not the definitive and sole source of shoulder symptoms, which calls into question the validity of terms such as <i>tendinopathy</i>, <i>tendinosis</i>, and <i>tendinitis</i>. The term <i>rotator cuff-related shoulder pain</i> was the overwhelming first choice in a recent global survey of clinicians, and here, we make the case for its clinical use. <i>J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2025;55(7):1-3. Epub 23 May 2025. doi:10.2519/jospt.2025.13405</i>.