Inclusion Criteria:  Forty years of age or older patients that had been diagnosed for a partial rotator cuff tear that was unrelated to trauma by a specialist orthopedist with MRI and physical examination and no other shoulder problems on the diagnosed shoulder were included into this study.  Exclusion Criteria:  Patients diagnosed with full-thickness or massive rotator cuff tear, patients who had undergone previous surgery, patients diagnosed with frozen shoulder or glenohumeral instability, and athletic patients younger than 40 years of age with symptoms of acute RC tear were not included in this study.