Trends of shoulder arthroplasty and rotator cuff repair in Japan: national database analysis

Despite the substantial increase in shoulder arthroplasties, the number of RCRs has also slightly increased. These findings demonstrate that reverse total shoulder arthroplasty did not simply replace RCRs but complement conventional RCR in the treatment spectrum of shoulder disorders. The findings indicated that females had a higher prevalence of shoulder arthroplasty procedures, whereas males were more likely to undergo RCR. In addition, the patients who underwent shoulder arthroplasty tended to be older than those who underwent RCR. These observations may be attributed to sex-specific differences in the progression of shoulder conditions and the accessibility of various treatment approaches or possibly a difference in indications for surgery in females and males. This study demonstrated substantial increases in shoulder arthroplasties in Japan over the past decade, with notable differences in age and sex distributions compared with conventional RCR.