37 studies (n=2251 repairs) investigating either early or delayed initiation of active range of motion exercises in patients who had undergone rotator cuff repairs were included in this meta-analysis. As postoperative rehabilitation has been suggested to influence the structural integrity of the repair, the present analysis was conducted in order to determine if retear rates were affected by the timing of active ROM initiation. Early initiation of active range of motion exercises displayed a higher risk of retear when tears were 3cm or less and repaired with transosseous and single-row suture anchor techniques, 3cm or greater overall and among those repaired with a double-row suture bridge technique, or 5cm or greater and repaired with a double-row suture bridge technique.