Rotator Cuff Tear Rehab – Will Not Always Mean Surgical Intervention



Posted: Tuesday, November 10, 2009

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Just because you have damaged your rotator cuff, it does not mean that you are going to require corrective surgery. Rotator cuffs get injured in a number of different ways and every injury can be different depending on how you managed to acquire it in the first place.

Think of the tendons of the rotator cuff as being just like a piece of old tow rope, I say old simply because that's how my rotator cuff felt when I tore it. If you use the rope too often or allow it to rub against something sharp, it might begin to fray, get worn a bit. and weaken.

On the other hand if you try towing something that is too heavy, you will stretch the rope, pulling the fibres apart. Pull away too quickly when you are towing and put a sudden load on the rope and it might just snap or come away from the car.

The same can happen to the tendons of the rotator cuff. You can just wear them out by doing the same action over and over, you can put too much load on them and pull the fibres apart or if you are really unfortunate you can end up snapping them completely.

All full thickness tears will need corrective surgery. If you have managed to detach the tendon from the bone you will certainly be needing corrective surgery to sort it out.

I am happy to say , however, nearly all or most partial rotator cuff tears can be fixed without surgery, providing you look after them properly right from the start and don't try carrying on regardless.

Even a small rotator cuff tear will cause inflammation of the tendons. The swelling can lead to impingement which means that your tendons are getting caught against or pinched by bone every time that you move your shoulder in a certain way. Lifting your arm above your shoulder may be painful, reaching behind you might be painful, you will find that sleeping is difficult because you can not put your weight on your injured arm.

You need to listen to the message that your muscles are sending because each pain is a sign of you doing more damage. You need to rest the shoulder, avoiding any of the movements that cause pain or discomfort.

Rotator cuff tear treatment will involve rest to allow the tendons to begin repairing, combined with treating any inflammation. Try using anti-inflammatory drugs like Ibuprofen, if there is no improvement, a steroid injection may be called for. You can also treat the injury with ice packs to bring down the inflammation.

Once the swelling has subsided movement will become easier. It will not be 100% immediately and that is where exercise helps to build up the rotator cuff tendons and get the shoulder moving again. This will be low resistance exercise aimed at isolating the rotator cuff muscles. Using large weights will just get the major muscles working and either ignore or at worst further damage the rotator cuff muscles.

The good news is that, because of that, most of these exercises Can be done at home. 

Rotator cuff tear rehab doesn't always mean surgery, most repairs can be achieved with rest and exercise.  Treat a rotator cuff tear correctly and you can have a pain free shoulder back easily and quickly, work through it and you might as well book surgery straight away.

Nick Bryant lives in Shropshire in the UK with his wife and two young children where he is a director in their family recruitment business. His hobbies and interests tend to be family orientated and focussed on the outdoors and sporting activities. He is the proud owner of a vintage VW camper and he and his family spend a great deal of their spare time at the coast camping, body-boarding and surfing in the summer months. He is also a keen golfer. He writes on a number of subjects around personal health and well being and has recently started a blog at http://www.strongershoulders.com.
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