What happened?
A 62-year-old female field worker with longstanding left shoulder pain and a partial-thickness rotator cuff tear on MRI received a six-week multimodal physiotherapy programme. The case combines manual therapy with exercise, education and symptom-management modalities.
Clinical findings
- Four-year history of left shoulder pain with difficulty during overhead activity and daily tasks.
- MRI showed a partial-thickness rotator cuff tear; belly-press, lift-off and empty-can tests were reported positive.
- Baseline pain was 8.9/10 with activity and 4.5/10 at rest.
Rehabilitation described in the report
- Six-week programme including glenohumeral mobilization (including posterior and caudal glides), strengthening, active mobility and patient education.
- The paper also reports ultrasound and TENS; these were components of a multimodal programme, not isolated tests of Maitland mobilization.
Reported outcomes
- Activity pain reduced from 8.9/10 to 4.3/10 and resting pain from 4.5/10 to 1.3/10.
- DASH score improved from 50 to 17; shoulder flexion increased from 120° to 160° and abduction from 120° to 150°.
Clinical lessons to consider
- Combine history, functional limitations, examination and imaging rather than treating an MRI finding in isolation.
- Use manual therapy, when appropriate, to support a broader active rehabilitation plan.
- Track pain, range of motion and disability together.
Limitations — what this case cannot tell us
- Single case with multiple simultaneous interventions; the contribution of Maitland mobilization cannot be separated.
- The case does not demonstrate that manual therapy is superior to exercise or other care.
Original source
Samiksha V. Sonone, Deepali S. Patil. “Optimizing Physiotherapeutic Effects With the Maitland Mobilization Technique to Boost the Functional Capacities of a Rotator Cuff Syndrome Patient: A Case Report.” Cureus, 2024. DOI: 10.7759/cureus.65341
View the original publicationThis page is an independently written educational summary, not a reproduction of the full paper. Check the original article for complete methods, outcome tables, references and licensing.