Shoulder Patch

Around 70 percent of shoulder pain is caused by disease of the rotator cuff, a group of muscles and tendons that keep the joint in place and allow us to move our arms. 

Small tears in these tendons can be surgically repaired, but when tears are large or on poor quality soft tissue, they cannot always be mended in the same way. The injury can leave people in excruciating pain and unable to do basic tasks such as washing or cooking for themselves.

Now a new patch made from polyester is changing the way tendon tears are repaired, and transforming the lives of patients such as Margaret Dyson, a former teaching assistant who has rheumatoid arthritis.

Dr Javid Abdelmoneim travels to Leeds, England, to see how the patch’s inventor, consultant orthopaedic surgeon Mr Roger Hackney, is improving the lives of patients with crippling shoulder pain.