Authors assessed lean body mass (fat free tissue), upper and lower, and bone mineral density (BMD) in patients of osteoporotic bone distal radius fracture (DRF) and degenerative rotator cuff tear (RCT) patients of shoulder. We predict inferior muscle mass and osteoporosis are more frequent in DRF group than RCT group.

Between January 2016 and June 2017, overall 38 of DRF and 30 of RCT were eligible for this retrospective comparison study after excluding of patients with compounding factors. BMD and other body composition, fat and lean body mass, were assessed with a single dual energy X-ray absorptiometry in one hospital.

T-score of spine were −2.2 and −1.6 in DRF and RCT patients with significant difference ( P =0.040). Final BMD score, lower score of patient between spine and femoral score, of both group also presented difference with significance, −2.4 of DRF and −1.9 of RCT patients ( P =0.047). Diagnosis of osteoporosis was confirmed in 19 patients (50%) from DRF compared with 9 patients (30%) from RCT. The mean lean soft tissue mass of the arm was 3.7 kg and 3.8 kg in the DRF and RCT, respectively, without significant difference ( P =0.882). The mean lean body mass of the leg was 11.0 kg and 10.5 kg in the DRF and RCT, respectively, without significant difference ( P =0.189). The relative overall appendicular lean mass was not significantly different between groups.

Even though BMD difference, we did not find muscle mass difference between DRF and RCT patients.