Would You Know Torn Rotator Cuff Symptoms and Know How To Treat Them?
Posted: Monday, January 04, 2010
by Nick Bryant
Torn rotator cuff symptoms are relatively simple to recognise but getting it wrong or ignoring them can cause a lot more serious problems, so what are the classic symptoms and how do you treat them.
The rotator cuff is a group of four fairly small muscles that stabilise and help to move the shoulder. Most of the time they work on autopilot and it is only when we damage them that we are reminded, usually painfully, that they are there.
They are designed to pull the head of the humerus or upper arm into the socket of the shoulder to prevent us from dislocating our shoulder and also to help with rotational movement of the arm.
The shoulder socket is very shallow which allows us the wide range of movement that we enjoy but it also gives the shoulder its inherent weak point. Each of the four muscles of the rotator cuff is attached to the shoulder blade at one end and attaches to the upper arm bone (humerus) at the other. All of them take a slightly different route depending on where, on the humerus, they attach. Together they form a cuff of muscles around the joint stabilising it, hence the name.
Torn rotator cuff symptoms can begin with just a dull ache in the shoulder which spreads down the arm. You will experience pain when trying to lift the arm to the front or side and may have trouble reaching behind you, to tuck in clothing for example. The arm will become weaker and the pain can quickly become debilitating. One test is to try slowly raising your arm whilst someone else pushes gently against it. If this hurts then you almost certainly have torn a rotator cuff muscle.
A torn rotator cuff can come about in a number of different ways. You could start out with shoulder tendonitis with just occasional pain or a dull ache, usually after exercise or work. This can be caused by one of the tendons becoming inflamed and is usually treated with rest and anti-inflammatory drugs or ice packs.
If you fail to treat shoulder tendonitis it can eventually lead to a shoulder impingement. This is where tendon becomes so swollen that it is getting pinched when you move. This is more serious and although the treatment is almost identical to tendonitis the timescales involved will be longer. It is important to treat a shoulder impingement as if it is ignored it can eventually lead to a rotator cuff tear as the tendon gets worn by the rubbing action.
A knock or fall can also lead to a rotator cuff tear or injury. Any sports or work activity that involves a lot of overhead reaching can bring on the symptoms.
The simplest advice is that if you have had shoulder pain that has gone on for more than three days or is getting worse with time, it is best to get it checked out by a professional. The sooner you start treatment the less likely you are to make things worse and the quicker the recovery time.
Treatment, if started early, usually means resting, treating the inflammation with anti-inflammatory drugs and ice packs and then starting some shoulder specific exercises to strengthen the rotator cuff and surrounding muscles.
There are a few of us who who may have a genetic disposition to rotator cuff problems. In this case or if you have managed to get a particularly bad tear, you may need surgery but this is actually quite rare and usually undertaken after non surgical treatments have failed.
If you found this article useful and would like more information on shoulder rehabilitation exercises visit my blog at
http://www.strongershoulders.com
The rotator cuff is a group of four fairly small muscles that stabilise and help to move the shoulder. Most of the time they work on autopilot and it is only when we damage them that we are reminded, usually painfully, that they are there.
The shoulder socket is very shallow which allows us the wide range of movement that we enjoy but it also gives the shoulder its inherent weak point. Each of the four muscles of the rotator cuff is attached to the shoulder blade at one end and attaches to the upper arm bone (humerus) at the other. All of them take a slightly different route depending on where, on the humerus, they attach. Together they form a cuff of muscles around the joint stabilising it, hence the name.
Torn rotator cuff symptoms can begin with just a dull ache in the shoulder which spreads down the arm. You will experience pain when trying to lift the arm to the front or side and may have trouble reaching behind you, to tuck in clothing for example. The arm will become weaker and the pain can quickly become debilitating. One test is to try slowly raising your arm whilst someone else pushes gently against it. If this hurts then you almost certainly have torn a rotator cuff muscle.
A torn rotator cuff can come about in a number of different ways. You could start out with shoulder tendonitis with just occasional pain or a dull ache, usually after exercise or work. This can be caused by one of the tendons becoming inflamed and is usually treated with rest and anti-inflammatory drugs or ice packs.
If you fail to treat shoulder tendonitis it can eventually lead to a shoulder impingement. This is where tendon becomes so swollen that it is getting pinched when you move. This is more serious and although the treatment is almost identical to tendonitis the timescales involved will be longer. It is important to treat a shoulder impingement as if it is ignored it can eventually lead to a rotator cuff tear as the tendon gets worn by the rubbing action.
A knock or fall can also lead to a rotator cuff tear or injury. Any sports or work activity that involves a lot of overhead reaching can bring on the symptoms.
The simplest advice is that if you have had shoulder pain that has gone on for more than three days or is getting worse with time, it is best to get it checked out by a professional. The sooner you start treatment the less likely you are to make things worse and the quicker the recovery time.
Treatment, if started early, usually means resting, treating the inflammation with anti-inflammatory drugs and ice packs and then starting some shoulder specific exercises to strengthen the rotator cuff and surrounding muscles.
There are a few of us who who may have a genetic disposition to rotator cuff problems. In this case or if you have managed to get a particularly bad tear, you may need surgery but this is actually quite rare and usually undertaken after non surgical treatments have failed.
If you found this article useful and would like more information on shoulder rehabilitation exercises visit my blog at
http://www.strongershoulders.com
This Article has been viewed 1,232 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)Hi Nick - enjoyed your article. I too, golf and the to four times and week. May handicap, besides being white and male is around 12. Looking forward to your next article
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.