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Research Article of the Week: Subacromial Impingement Definition

rotator cuff related pain rotator cuff tendinopathy shoulder pain subacromial impingement subacromial pain syndrome
Charles Neer

Research Articles of the Week

Subacromial Impingement Definition

Rotator cuff related pain has many different names. There’s rotator cuff tendinopathy, rotator cuff disease, rotator cuff related disorders, subacromial impingement syndrome, bursitis, subacromial pain syndrome, biomechanical impingement of the shoulder 3,4,5

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines impingement as: “A forceful coming together of two things.”6

Dr Charles S. Neer, who is known as the “father of modern shoulder surgery,” published his seminal paper, “Anterior Acromioplasty for the Chronic Impingement Syndrome in the Shoulder: A Preliminary Report.” He defines subacromial impingement as: “Symptomatic mechanical irritation of the rotator cuff tendons from direct contact at the anterior edge of the coracoacromial arch.”1 

Subacromial Pain Syndrome is a more recent term to describe the pain thought to originate from structures lying between the acromion and the humeral head.8



  1. Neer CS 2nd. Anterior acromioplasty for the chronic impingement syndrome in the shoulder: a preliminary report. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1972;54(1):41-50.
  2. de Witte PB, Nagels J, van Arkel ER, Visser CP, Nelissen RG, de Groot JH. Study protocol subacromial impingement syndrome: the identification of pathophysiologic mechanisms (SISTIM). BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2011;12:282. Published 2011 Dec 14. doi:10.1186/1471-2474-12-282
  3. Cools AM, Michener LA. Shoulder pain: can one label satisfy everyone and everything?. Br J Sports Med. 2017;51(5):416-417. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2016-096772
  4. Dhillon KS. Subacromial Impingement Syndrome of the Shoulder: A Musculoskeletal Disorder or a Medical Myth?. Malays Orthop J. 2019;13(3):1-7. doi:10.5704/MOJ.1911.001
  5. McFarland EG, Maffulli N, Del Buono A, Murrell GA, Garzon-Muvdi J, Petersen SA. Impingement is not impingement: the case for calling it "Rotator Cuff Disease". Muscles Ligaments Tendons J. 2013;3(3):196-200. Published 2013 Aug 11.
  6. Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Impinge. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved October 16, 2021, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impinge
  7. Khan Y, Nagy MT, Malal J, Waseem M. The painful shoulder: shoulder impingement syndrome. Open Orthop J. 2013;7:347-351. Published 2013 Sep 6. doi:10.2174/1874325001307010347
  8. Diercks R, Bron C, Dorrestijn O, et al. Guideline for diagnosis and treatment of subacromial pain syndrome: a multidisciplinary review by the Dutch Orthopaedic Association. Acta Orthop. 2014;85(3):314-322. doi:10.3109/17453674.2014.920991

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