Faculty of Health Sciences & Medicine, Bond University, Gold Coast, Australia.
BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2023 Mar 28;24(1):232. doi: 10.1186/s12891-023-06346-5.
BACKGROUND: This review aimed to explore the available literature to update our understanding of the long head of biceps (LHB) at the shoulder. Synthesise our findings to identify emergent themes and knowledge gaps to inform future research and management directions. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, Cinahl, SportDiscus, CENTRAL, and Web of Science were searched from inception to 31st December 2021. Articles were included if they referenced adult participants > 18 years of age and were written in English. RESULTS: 214 articles were included in the final analysis, and results were categorised into six emergent themes: (1) Anatomy - Normal anatomical variation of the biceps from aberrant origins, third and fourth accessory heads, and an absence of the LHB tendon (LHBT) are not necessarily benign, with shoulder pain and instability a commonly reported theme. (2) Function - Bicep's role in glenohumeral elevation and stability in healthy shoulders is minimal. In contrast, LHB has a more significant role in shoulder stability and humeral head depression in subjects with rotator cuff failure or an absent LHBT. (3) Pathology - There is an association between LHB tendinopathy, rotator cuff disease, LHBT instability and occult rotator cuff tears. Early recruitment and hyperactivity of the LHB in subjects with symptomatic rotator cuff tears and instability suggest a potential compensatory role. (4) Assessment - The limited diagnostic utility of special orthopaedic tests in assessing LHBT pathology was a consistent theme. The utility of magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound to identify full-thickness tendon tears and instability of the LHBT was moderate to high. However, the utility of clinical tests and imaging may be underestimated due to arthroscopy's limitations in fully visualising the proximal LHBT. (5) Non-Surgical Management - Ultrasound-guided injections into the biceps sheath show greater accuracy and patient outcomes than blinded injections; however, the entry of injectate into the intraarticular glenohumeral joint may have unwanted complications. (6) Surgical management - For the surgical management of biceps pathology with or without rotator cuff pathology, both biceps tenodesis and tenotomy report similar improvements in pain without any significant adverse effect on strength or function. Tenodesis favoured higher overall constant scores and a lower incidence of Popeye deformity and cramping arm pain, with tenotomy trending to be more cost and time effective. For patients with a healthy LHBT, rotator cuff repair with adjunctive tenodesis or tenotomy fails to provide additional clinical improvements compared to rotator cuff repair in isolation. CONCLUSIONS: The scoping review highlights the variability of biceps anatomy, which is not necessarily benign and suggests a minimal role of the LHB in shoulder elevation and stability in healthy individuals. In contrast, individuals with rotator cuff tears experience proximal humeral migration and demonstrate hyperactivity of the LHB, suggesting a potential compensation role. The observed prevalence of LHBT pathology with rotator cuff tears is well established; however, the cause-and-effect relationship between LHBT pathology and rotator cuff disease is undetermined. The diagnostic utility of clinical tests and imaging to exclude LHBT pathology may be understated due to the limitations of arthroscopy to visualise the proximal LHBT fully. Rehabilitation programs for the LHB are understudied. Similar post-surgical clinical outcomes are observed for tenodesis and tenotomy for biceps and rotator cuff-related shoulder pain. Subjects undergoing biceps tenodesis are less likely to have cramping arm pain and a Popeye deformity than patients undergoing biceps tenotomy. The significance of routine surgical removal of the LHBT and sequelae on rotator cuff tear progression to failure and long-term shoulder function is unknown, and further research is required. PRE-REGISTRATION: OSF: https://osf.io/erh9m.
背景:本综述旨在通过对现有文献的检索,深入了解肩部的长头肱二头肌(LHB)。综合我们的发现,以确定新兴主题和知识空白,为未来的研究和管理方向提供信息。
方法:从成立之初到 2021 年 12 月 31 日,在 PubMed、Embase、Cinahl、SportDiscus、CENTRAL 和 Web of Science 上进行了检索。如果文章参考了年龄大于等于 18 岁的成年参与者,并且是用英文撰写的,则将其纳入最终分析。
结果:共有 214 篇文章被纳入最终分析,结果分为六个新兴主题:(1)解剖结构-正常的肱二头肌解剖学变异,包括异常起源、第三和第四辅助头以及 LHB 肌腱(LHBT)缺失并不一定是良性的,肩部疼痛和不稳定是常见的主题。(2)功能-肱二头肌在健康肩部盂肱关节抬高和稳定性中的作用很小。相比之下,在肩袖撕裂或 LHBT 缺失的患者中,LHB 在肩稳定性和肱骨头压低方面具有更重要的作用。(3)病理学-存在 LHB 肌腱病、肩袖疾病、LHBT 不稳定和隐匿性肩袖撕裂之间的关联。在有症状的肩袖撕裂和不稳定的患者中,LHB 的早期募集和过度活跃表明可能存在代偿作用。(4)评估-在评估 LHBT 病理方面,特殊的骨科检查的诊断实用性是一个一致的主题。磁共振成像和超声在识别全层肌腱撕裂和 LHBT 不稳定方面具有中等到高度的实用性。然而,由于关节镜在全面观察近端 LHBT 方面的局限性,临床检查和影像学的实用性可能被低估。(5)非手术治疗-超声引导下肱二头肌鞘内注射比盲目注射具有更高的准确性和患者结果;然而,注射物进入关节内盂肱关节可能会产生不必要的并发症。(6)手术治疗-对于伴有或不伴有肩袖病变的肱二头肌病变的手术治疗,肱二头肌肌腱固定术和肌腱切断术在疼痛改善方面报告相似,且对力量或功能没有任何显著的不良影响。肌腱固定术更倾向于获得更高的整体持续评分,以及较低的 Popeye 畸形和痉挛性手臂疼痛的发生率,而肌腱切断术更倾向于具有更高的成本和时间效益。对于有健康 LHBT 的患者,与单独修复肩袖相比,附加肌腱固定术或肌腱切断术并不能提供额外的临床改善。
结论:本综述强调了肱二头肌解剖结构的可变性,这不一定是良性的,并表明在健康个体中,LHB 在盂肱关节抬高和稳定性方面的作用很小。相比之下,肩袖撕裂的患者经历了肱骨头近端迁移,并表现出 LHB 的过度活跃,表明可能存在代偿作用。与肩袖疾病相关的 LHBT 病理的观察到的患病率是明确的;然而,LHBT 病理与肩袖疾病之间的因果关系尚未确定。由于关节镜在全面观察近端 LHBT 方面的局限性,排除 LHBT 病理的临床检查和影像学的诊断实用性可能被低估。肱二头肌的康复方案研究不足。肌腱固定术和肌腱切断术治疗肱二头肌和肩袖相关肩部疼痛的术后临床结果相似。与接受肱二头肌肌腱切断术的患者相比,接受肱二头肌肌腱固定术的患者更有可能出现痉挛性手臂疼痛和 Popeye 畸形。常规手术切除 LHBT 及其对肩袖撕裂进展为失败和长期肩部功能的影响的意义尚不清楚,需要进一步研究。
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