Testosterone and Estrogen Deficiency Associated With Increased Risk of Rotator Cuff Surgery

As we age, our vital hormone levels begin a slow, torturous descent. The loss of our hormones begins as a trickle when we enter our 30s, and by the time we reach our 70s, it turns into a cascade.

The results of this hormonal nosedive are hideous: loss of strength and muscle, fatigue, depression, joint aches and pains, insomnia, weight gain, an accumulation of fat, dry, wrinkled skin, and mental confusion.

Hormone Balance is intrinsically vital to well-being. While Estrogen and Testosterone are most well-known as sex hormones, they perform numerous other vital functions. A study in a recent edition of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery explores how Sex Hormone Deficiency can impair the musculoskeletal system.

In this case, low levels of female Estrogen or male Testosterone were correlated with a higher risk of rotator cuff injury.

The Rotator Cuff is Critical to Movement and Prone to Injury

The rotator cuff is a union of muscles that keep your arm in its socket. These muscles extend into tendons that cap the humerus, where it intersects the shoulder. These muscles allow you to perform unrestrained shoulder movements while keeping your arm locked into the socket. If any of these tendons are damaged, this leads to pain, mobility issues, and an increased risk of serious injury.

Rotator cuff tears can result directly from an acute injury and age-related degeneration. It is well-documented that the risk of rotator cuff injury is exacerbated by poor blood supply, repetitive stress, and bone spurs. This study shows that Primary Sex Hormone Deficiency can also contribute to the risk of rotator cuff injury.

Using Insurance Records to Track the Incidence of Rotator Cuff Injury

This study was headed by Dr. Peter N. Chalmers of the University of Utah. It utilized data derived from two separate medical databases. Rotator cuff tears are common among men and women and are documented to become more common as patients get older. A patient's Primary Sex Hormone Levels correlate with their risk of experiencing a rotator cuff tear.

Dr. Chalmers analyzed data from almost 230,000 men and women who had rotator cuff surgery between 2008 and 2017. This medical info was collected from a database maintained by health insurers. The results were highly controlled since there were so many participants. They were matched by sex, age, and source of insurance and were compared to similar individuals who did not have the surgery.

In all, 42% of the experimental group were women, and the mean age of this group was 54. The control group had very similar characteristics to the experimental group, except those who underwent surgery were likelier to be smokers.

When reviewing medical insurance data, researchers found that 7% of males that underwent surgery were diagnosed with Testosterone Deficiency, while 27% of women were diagnosed with Estrogen Deficiency.

In the control group, 4% of men were diagnosed with Low-T, while 20% of women had received a Hormone Deficiency Diagnosis. After considering confounding factors, Chalmers and his associates found that men with Low-T were 89% more likely to have had Rotator Cuff Surgery, while women were 48% more likely.

Second Study Shows Similar Link Between Hormone Deficiency and Rotator Cuff Injury

After collecting and cleaning up this data, they compared these results to a second database, independent of the insurance company database. They worked with the Veterans Administration Genealogy database. This government archive organizes data from millions of patients that have utilized Veterans Administration medical services.

This data was put under similar scrutiny as the medical insurance records. Dr. Chalmers found that Low-T increased the odds of having had Rotator Cuff surgery three times. A diagnosis of Estrogen Deficiency in women made women 2.5 times as expected to have had the surgery.

These results corroborate with preliminary data collected by the research team. In another study, women with a particular estrogen-receptor mutation had an increased risk of rotator cuff disease and a lower success rate in surgery for the condition.

So what to do? You could, of course, just sit back and do nothing. But why suffer the pain of a torn rotor cuff and the expense of surgery if you can avoid it? Restoration of your youthful levels of hormones may prevent this issue from occurring in the first place.

And if you already suffer from shoulder issues, hormone restoration is something you should definitely consider.

Contact us for a FREE, no-obligation discussion concerning the benefits of hormone replacement therapy.

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