Insights

If you’re over 40 and your shoulder hurts, there’s a very high chance an MRI will show a “tear.” Here’s the part no one tells you: In a large 2026 population study just published in JAMA Internal Medicine, a LARGE % of adults aged 41–76 had a rotator cuff abnormality on MRI. Want to guess how large? Not 30%.Not 50%. Ninety-nine percent! Even more interesting? Those abnormalities were found in 96% of pain-free shoulders! Let that sink in... Most tears weren’t causing symptoms