Editorial Commentary: Sleep Disorders in Rotator Cuff Diseases

Abstract

One of the most common complaints expressed by patients with rotator cuff disease is poor-quality sleep. Sleeping significantly affects daily life, influencing biological functions, learning, memory, and cognitive processes. The etiology of nocturnal shoulder pain is controversial, yet there is a consensus that high levels of proinflammatory factors and pain-related cytokines are involved in the pathogenesis of this disturbance in patients with shoulder rotator cuff pathology. Unfortunately, many variables, including body mass index, depression, sex, low back pain, cervical pain, diabetes, narcotics, pain, pain perception, and sleeping position (which may influence tendon perfusion), could influence sleep quality in both healthy patients and patients with rotator cuff pathology. For now, it is not possible to assess the real influence of rotator cuff repair surgery on sleep quality improvement.