Rehabilitation post surgical repair of the rotator cuff is an important determinant of the quality of the healing process, and of the clinical and functional results. Techniques used have been reported to favor certain of those parameters at the expense of others. Several approaches have been proposed; none has reached a consensus yet. The level of evidence in the literature does not allow for definitive recommendations and elaborating a protocol relies on clinical experience as well as expert opinion, incorporating scientific data. An initial period of rest with limited passive motion emerges though as an approach suited to the treatment of most clinical situations.