Rotator Cuff Injuries

Rotator cuff injuries/tears are another common shoulder injury you might encounter on different occasions. The rotator cuff is a series of tendons that help to keep the forearm bone attached to the shoulder bone and helps in rotating and lifting the arm. A rotator cuff tear is caused due to injury and degeneration, and results in pain and disability. There are two kinds of rotator cuff tears – acute and degenerative. Acute tear involves falling on your outstretched arm or lifting heavy things with a jerk.

Degenerative tear involves the wearing down of the tendon. Repetitive stress, bine spurs, and lack of blood supply contribute to degenerative tear.

Causes

• Lack of blood supply
• Bone overgrowth
• Fall on an outstretched arm
• Repetitive stress
• Wearing of tendons due to age

Symptoms

• Pain while lying on the affected shoulder
• Crackling sounds on shoulder movement
• Pain while lifting the shoulder
• Weakness when rotating or lifting arms

Diagnosis

The common imaging tests conducted to diagnose a rotator cuff injury are:

• MRI
• X-Rays
• Ultrasound

Treatment

When you go to an orthopedic specialist, he will diagnose the severity of the rotator cuff injury to recommend the most suitable treatment from non-surgical or surgical techniques.

Non-surgical treatments

Rest: Proper rest allows the shoulder inflammation to heal and sometimes sling is also preferred for protection. However, simple exercises are recommended to avoid frozen shoulder.

Activity modification: Any activities that cause stress on the rotator cuff must be avoided, or else it will increase pain. Some of such activities are vigorous exercises, heavy lifting, and irregular sleeping posture.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication: Anti-inflammatory medications can control the symptoms of rotator cuff tears like pain and swelling.

Physical therapy: It is essential to practice physical therapy to restore the lost mobility and strength of the muscles. Simple exercises like stretching can help reduce discomfort and promote a better range of motion.

Steroid injection: Injections like cortisone is used to control the rotator cuff injury tears and render temporary relief from inflammation and unbearable pain.

Surgical treatment

Arthroscopic surgery: It is a type of shoulder surgery in which your orthopedic surgeon will create small incisions on the muscles of the affected shoulder. A small tube with tiny surgical instruments and a camera attached at one end is inserted through the incisions. The tube is called an arthroscope, and thus arthroscopic surgery.

Open surgery: The procedure uses surgical equipment that is inserted via a large hole made in the muscles of the shoulder.

Mini-open surgery: In this procedure, both open and arthroscopic surgeries are used. The first part involves arthroscopic surgery and in the second part, the surgeon uses open surgery to complete the treatment.

After the surgical treatment, you must follow the rehabilitation tips your orthopedic surgeon suggests. Contact us to discuss your rotator cuff injury.