Fig. 1

Treatment allocation flowchart. Intervention was determined in consultation between the surgeon and the participant. Management decisions were made at two stages. First, the surgeon and participant jointly made a decision between either conservative management (the anterior deltoid rehabilitation programme) or surgery. Second, an intraoperative decision on surgical management was made by the surgeon: if the torn tendon was mobile and could be pulled back to the tuberosity, arthroscopic repair was performed; if the torn tendon could be mobilised following release enough to allow attachment of a patch, repair was performed using a patch; and if the torn tendon could not be mobilized following release, a debridement was performed