Introduction: Tendinopathy is a general term referring to tendon injuries caused by excessive mechanical stress. The main cause of rotator cuff tendinopathy is a combination of mechanical compression and repetitive overhead movements. The consequences may be pain and weakness of the shoulder muscles, especially during lifting and external rotation of the shoulder. The best evidence-based treatment is exercise. Eccentric exercises involve an eccentric contraction where there is a physical stretch of the muscle that controls the load. Eccentric exercises successfully reduce pain and improve function in the treatment of patellar tendinopathy and Achilles’s tendinopathy. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the effect of eccentric exercises on reducing pain, increasing rotator cuff muscle strength, and improving shoulder function in patients with rotator cuff tendinopathy by literature review. Methods: The literature search was performed in English in PubMEd, PEDro, and DiKUL databases using keywords: eccentric exercises, physiotherapy, tendinopathy, rotator cuff a. Results: Five studies comparing eccentric exercises with other exercises for the treatment of rotator cuff tendinopathy were analysed. In two studies, patients in the experimental group performed eccentric exercises along with nonspecific rotator cuff exercises, whereas in three studies, patients in the experimental group performed only eccentric exercises. In all studies, patients performed the exercises from week 8 to week 12. The intensity of the exercises was different in each study. Analysis of all results showed that isolated eccentric exercise compared with concentric exercise did not reduce pain, increase rotator cuff muscle strength, or improve shoulder function in patients with rotator cuff tendinopathy. Discussion and Conclusion: Combining concentric and eccentric exercises reduced pain, increased rotator cuff muscle strength, and improved shoulder function in patients with rotator cuff tendinopathy. In the future, the efficacy of combined concentric and eccentric exercise, as well as isolated concentric and eccentric exercise, could be studied to determine long-term efficacy and optimal parameters for the best outcome with each type of exercise.
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