103 patients with a rotator cuff tear (less than 3 cm) were randomly assigned to primary tendon repair or physiotherapy treatment. The purpose of this trial was to compare surgical to non-operative treatment methods for rotator cuff tears. The primary outcome of interest was the Constant score. Findings indicated superior outcomes in Constant score, ASES score, VAS pain and patient satisfaction in patients who underwent primary tendon repair compared with patients who only underwent physiotherapy. However the differences were small and may be below the level of a clinically important difference.