Ep 248: Shoulder pain—what’s in a name? With Dr Amy McDevitt

Over the past decade, the term rotator cuff–related shoulder pain (RCRSP) has gained traction as a more accurate, patient-centered way to describe shoulder pain.

In this episode, Dr Amy McDevitt (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department, University of Colorado) joins Dan Chapman and Marquis Sanabrais to unpack why shifting from structural labels like impingement or tendinopathy toward RCRSP can improve both communication and care.

They discuss how imaging often fails to match symptoms, why language matters for patient engagement, and how clinicians can explain shoulder pain without over-pathologizing.

Take home messages:

1. RCRSP reflects the multifactorial nature of shoulder pain, biological, mechanical, and psychosocial.

2. Clear and non-anatomic terminology helps patients understand and buy into treatment.

3. Future research should clarify mechanisms behind exercise and refine subgroups within RCRSP.

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RESOURCES

The case for using "rotator cuff-related shoulder pain" in practice: https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2025.13405