Review Question - QID 218083

A 68-year-old female presents to your office with complaints of right shoulder pain. She denies any specific trauma but reports over the last several months she has had increasingly significant pain over the anterolateral aspect of the shoulder that is worse with overhead activities. She does report some weakness in certain positions but pain is her primary complaint at this time. On examination, she achieves 160° of active range of motion when forward flexing her right upper extremity. She has a positive empty can test, pain with resisted external rotation with the arm adducted, and a negative Hornblower's test. Supraspinatus and infraspinatus strength are 4/5, while subscapularis strength is 5/5. She is diagnosed with a chronic rotator cuff tear and does not wish to be treated surgically. Which of the following is true regarding the nonoperative treatment of chronic rotator cuff tears?