Rotator Cuff Injury

The rotator cuff consists of four muscles and their tendons, which cover, strengthen and protect the main shoulder joint; where the upper arm bone sits on a shallow socket in the shoulder blade. The rotator cuff helps you raise and rotate your arm. Besides helping in shoulder movement, all four muscles and their tendons work together to stabilize the shoulder joint.

You might be wondering what is rotator cuff tear in a shoulder. If tendons at the ends of the muscles get torn, you experience severe pain in shoulder joint. This is known as torn rotator cuff. Such an injury results in restricted movement of the arm. This type of injury occurs suddenly from trauma (for example, falling) or gradually from chronic overuse. Generally, people above 40 years of age are susceptible to such injuries.

An Injury to Rotator Cuff

Causes
Weak Muscles: Shoulder joint injury can develop gradually from overuse of the shoulder joint or can be experienced suddenly from a trauma. The main reason behind the injury is often the weakened rotator cuff. If the muscles are not strong enough for the given task, obviously, tendons will be torn. There can be irritation and inflammation of the rotator cuff tendons.

Aging: Aging makes the tendons weaker, less flexible, and more vulnerable to injury. Some activities like swimming, tennis, carpentry, stacking objects on high shelves, etc. involve repetitive overhead movement of your arms. This type of chronic overuse of shoulder may result in rotator cuff injury. If you leave minor injuries untreated, then such overlooked injuries can later cause chronic inflammation and degenerative changes in the tissues. Therefore prompt treatment is important.

Poor Posture: Slouching is the main reason behind undue stress on shoulder joint, that often leads to an injury. Maintain proper posture and keep shoulders down and back.

Participating in Sports: Sudden or acute shoulder injuries are often due to a blow to the shoulder or a fall.

Symptoms
The main symptoms of these injuries are shoulder pain, restricted movement of the joint, weakness, and popping or clicking sounds when the shoulder is moved. You can experience severe pain if you try to lift the arm above shoulder level. An accident or fall may result in such type of an injury but it is observed that the majority of such injuries occur gradually and symptoms also appear gradually. If you notice any symptoms of injured rotator cuff, you should consult your physician to know rotator cuff exercises to avoid. Normally, you should avoid all repetitive overhead activities which involve shoulder movement. You should avoid lifting heavy weights too.

Treatment
Rotator cuff injury treatment involves:

• Avoiding overhead activities and any activity that causes pain
• Rehabilitative rotator cuff exercises
• Anti-inflammatory medications
• Applying ice covered by a cloth for about 15-20 minutes, to avoid swelling, to alleviate pain.
• Compression (wrapping with elastic bandage) and massage do help to reduce stress.
• Rotator cuff stretches to prevent frozen shoulder
• Cortisone injections in a few cases
• Surgery in rare cases.
• Applying heat after swelling has subsided can result in increased circulation, relaxed muscles and this can help get rid of pain.
• Applying heat for 15 to 20 minutes at a time, thrice or four times in a day.

Prompt Diagnosis
Your doctor will perform a physical exam and ask you about the symptoms. To confirm the location of the injury, you may have to undergo X- ray ( to rule out fractures and bone spurs), arthrogram, MRI scan, arthroscopy or ultrasound.

Healing Time
If you perform the exercises recommended by your doctor religiously, then it might take 2-20 weeks to recover from the injury. The time may vary according to your dedication to your rehabilitation program and how much the shoulder muscles are affected. Typically, athletes require anywhere from 2-12 weeks of healing time, depending on the severity of the injury. Physical therapy plays an important role in recovery from rotator cuff injury.

Performing warming up exercises before routine workouts is necessary to prevent injuries and damages. Regular shoulder exercises can strengthen the joint well. As we depend on the shoulder for many activities, shoulder joint injuries can be frustrating experiences and can bring in the feeling of helplessness. Regular exercise is essential for conditioning of the muscles and can prevent such injuries.