Ces radiol. 2014, 68(1):49-56

Glenohumeral dysfunction associated with lesions of the long head of the biceps tendonOriginal article

Boris Pauček^1,3, Ivan Vařeka^2,3, Radomír Holibka⁴

¹ Pracoviště magnetické rezonance Medihope VN, Olomouc

² Rehabilitační klinika FN, Hradec Králové

³ Katedra fyzioterapie FTK UP, Olomouc

⁴ Ortopedická klinika LF UP a FN, Olomouc

Aim: To determine the frequency of the impact of lesions of the long head of the biceps tendon (LHBT) on dysfunctions of the shoulder joint. To examine the supposed relationship of the lesions of the LHBT to other types of simultaneous impairment of structures of the shoulder joint. To assess the relationship of the lesions of the LHBT to the impingement syndrome.

Method: The lesions of the long head of the biceps tendon were retrospectively evaluated in a set of 79 patients, which consisted of 55 males (41.8 ± 13.1 years) and 24 females (50.4 ± 13 years), who, in the period 2011-2012, underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for dysfunctions of the shoulder joint. We used indirect MR arthrography to examine 88.6% of the patients who were examined; the other 11.4% of the patients were examined using native MR examination. The patients were examined using HDxT 1.5T Signa (GE Healthcare, Milwaukee) in the following sequences: T1 FS in three planes, MERGE axial, STIR coronal. For the indirect MR arthrography we applied the 1 mol gadolinium contrast agent intravenously (dosage 0.1 ml/kg body weight). To assess the dependence of the shoulder joint lesions, we applied the software test of differences in relative frequencies. The null hypothesis was rejected at the level of statistical significance of p < 0.05.

Results: In the set of patients, there was a high incidence of lesions of the long head of the biceps tendon, which were found in 38% of the patients (36.4% of the men and 41.7% of the women). Lesions of the long head of the biceps tendon were observed in 43.9% of the cases of subacromial impingement, while for other types of impingement syndromes the coincidence was statistically significantly lower: 16.7% for subcoracoid impingement and 6.7% for posterosuperior impingement.

Conclusion: The study shows that the impact of lesions of the LHBT on the dysfunction of the shoulder joint is relatively high, which suggests that greater attention should be paid to the evaluation of this structure when examining dysfunctions of the shoulder joint. It is also necessary to assess the possibility of the coincidence of lesions of the LHBT and associated pathologies of the shoulder joint.

Keywords: dysfunction of the shoulder joint, impingement syndrome, long head of the biceps tendon

Accepted: September 15, 2013; Published: March 1, 2014  Show citation