(1) Background: Even though rotator cuff tears are the most frequent tendon injuries in adults, the effectiveness of conservatively treated partial-thickness tears still remains a matter of debate. The purpose of this review is to compare corticosteroid injections to other drugs in the treatment of partial rotator cuff tears, focusing on the effectiveness of this therapeutic modality in terms of pain and shoulder functionality. (2) Methods: A systematic electronic search was performed using the PubMed (MEDLINE), EMBASE and Cochrane Library databases. All studies comparing the use of corticosteroids and other infiltrative techniques in the treatment of partial lesions (excluding studies that considered subacromial impingement as inclusion criteria) were pooled, data were extracted and statistically analyzed. (3) Results: Nine studies were included in this systematic review. Those studies, composed by a total of 494 shoulders treated, have been published from 1985 to 2019. All compared techniques have shown a significant improvement over baseline condition. PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) injections have been shown to be significantly more effective in both functional and pain control only in the long term. (4) Conclusions: None of the techniques prevail indisputably on the others. Anyway, the treatment of partial rotator cuff tears with PRP injections seems to lead to significantly better outcomes in terms of pain and shoulder function in long term follow up. Whereas in short and medium term follow up, PRP injections was superior only in terms of shoulder function. The small number of studies on prolotherapy did not enable us to provide an opinion on the outcomes of this technique.

Insufficiently treated shoulder pain may cause mental disturbances, including depression and anxiety. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) is a patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) that aims to identify depression and anxiety in patients in nonpsychiatric wards. The aim of this study was to identify the minimum clinically important difference (MCID) and patient acceptable symptom state (PASS) scores for the HADS in a cohort of individuals with rotator cuff disease. Using the HADS, participants’ degrees of anxiety and depression were assessed at inception and at their final assessment 6 months after surgery. To calculate the MCID and the PASS, distribution and anchor approaches were employed. The MCID from inception to final assessment was 5.7 on the HADS, 3.8 on the HADS-A, and 3.3 on the HADS-D. A 5.7 amelioration on the HADS score, 3.8 on the HADS-A, and 3.3 on the HADS-D, from inception to final assessment, meant that patients had reached a clinically meaningful improvement in their symptom state. The PASS was 7 on the HADS, 3.5 on the HADS-A, and 3.5 on the HADS-D; therefore, for the majority of patients, a score of at least 7 on the HADS, 3.5 on the HADS-A, and 3.5 on the HADS-D at final evaluation was considered a satisfactory symptom state.