Department of Radiology, University of Foggia, Viale Luigi Pinto 1, 71100, Foggia, Italy.
Radiol Med. 2011 Feb;116(1):102-13. doi: 10.1007/s11547-010-0571-7. Epub 2010 Oct 14.
The rotator cable (RC) is a thickening of the coracohumeral ligament. It extends from the coracohumeral ligament to the inferior border of the infraspinatus tendon, with fibres running perpendicularly to the rotator cuff fibres. According to some authors, the RC tends to thicken with age, thus allowing some individuals with a cuff lesion to preserve normal shoulder function. We evaluated the RC with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and investigated its possible role in the biomechanics of the shoulder affected by cuff lesions.
Between November 2007 and May 2008, we performed shoulder MR examinations for shoulder pain or disability on 94 patients (46 males, 48 females; age range 16-79 years; mean age 54.09 ± 15.09 years) for a total of 104 shoulders (62 right, 42 left).
RC was more easily detectable in oblique coronal scans where it appeared as a crescent-shaped, regularly marginated structure adjacent to the articular surface of the supraspinatus tendon and medial to the insertion point of this tendon on the greater tuberosity. Its thickness was 2.8 ± 0.3 mm. The structure was identified in 62% of cases (mean patient age 55.3 ± 14.9 years). No statistically significant difference in age was found between patients with and without evidence of RC (Student's t test=0.05; p=0.82). Among patients with partial- or full-thickness supraspinatus tendon lesions at MR imaging, no statistically significant difference was found between the presence or absence of RC and disability on Jobe's test (χ(2)=1.17; p>0.05).
RC can be observed at MR imaging in >60% cases. In our sample it did not seem to influence shoulder function in patients with cuff lesions.
旋转带（RC）是喙肱韧带的增厚部分。它从喙肱韧带到肩胛下肌腱的下边缘延伸，纤维与旋转袖纤维垂直。根据一些作者的观点，RC 随着年龄的增长而变厚，因此允许一些肩袖病变的个体保留正常的肩部功能。我们通过磁共振（MR）成像评估了 RC，并研究了它在肩袖病变影响的肩部生物力学中的可能作用。
在 2007 年 11 月至 2008 年 5 月期间，我们对 94 名患者（46 名男性，48 名女性；年龄范围 16-79 岁；平均年龄 54.09 ± 15.09 岁）进行了肩部 MR 检查，用于肩部疼痛或残疾，共 104 只肩部（62 只右侧，42 只左侧）。
RC 在斜冠状扫描中更容易检测到，在斜冠状扫描中，它呈现为新月形，规则边缘结构，紧邻肩胛下肌腱关节面，位于该肌腱在大结节上的插入点内侧。其厚度为 2.8 ± 0.3 毫米。在 62%的病例中（平均患者年龄 55.3 ± 14.9 岁）识别出该结构。在有和没有 RC 证据的患者之间，年龄没有统计学上的显著差异（Student's t 检验=0.05；p=0.82）。在 MR 成像上有部分或全层肩胛下肌腱病变的患者中，RC 的存在与否与 Jobe 试验的残疾之间没有统计学上的显著差异（χ(2)=1.17；p>0.05）。
RC 可以在>60%的病例中在 MR 成像中观察到。在我们的样本中，它似乎不会影响肩袖病变患者的肩部功能。
