Influence of prosthetic humeral head size and medial offset on the mechanics of the shoulder with cuff tear arthropathy: a numerical study

Abstract

This numerical study assesses the influence of an oversized humeral hemiprosthesis with a larger medial offset on the mechanics of the shoulder with cuff tear arthropathy (CTA). Shoulder elevation in the scapular plane is performed, and a Seebauer Type IIa CTA is simulated: a massive rotator cuff tear, a proximal and static migration of the humeral head, and two contacts with friction (glenohumeral and acromiohumeral). The CTA model without a prosthesis (friction coefficient 0.3) is evaluated first as a reference model. Then, three humeral head prosthetic geometries (friction coefficient 0.15) are evaluated: anatomical head, oversized head, and oversized head with a large medial offset. The function of the middle deltoid (i.e. moment arm, applied force, and strength), the contact forces, and the range of motion are studied. The anatomical head, which reduces friction by half, decreases the middle deltoid force (25%) and the contact forces (glenoid 7%; acromion 25%), and increases the range of motion from 41 to 54°. The oversized head increases the moment arm (15%) and the middle deltoid strength (13%), which further decreases the deltoid force (7%) and the contact forces (glenoid 7%; acromion 17%), and increases the range of motion from 54° to 69°. The oversized head with a large medial offset enhances these effects: the moment arm increases by another 3.1%, the deltoid force decreases by another 5% and the acromiohumeral contact force by another 12%, and the range of motion increases from 69° to 84°. These results suggest that increasing the medial offset and oversizing the hemiprosthetic head improve the function of the deltoid, reduce acromial solicitation, and restore elevation to almost 90°.