Torn rotator cuff symptoms are fairly easy to identify but getting it wrong or ignoring them can lead to a lot of potential problems, so what are the classic symptoms and how do you treat them.
The rotator cuff is a group of four relatively small muscles that help to stabilise and move the shoulder joint. Most of the time you are not aware of them and it is only when we damage them that we are reminded, usually painfully, that they are there.
Their job is to pull the top of the arm into the socket of the shoulder to prevent us from dislocating our shoulder and also to help when we rotate our arms.
The socket of the shoulder joint is very shallow which gives us the wide range of movement that we enjoy but it also gives the shoulder its inherent weakness. Each of the four muscles of the rotator cuff attaches 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 start with a dull ache in the shoulder which spreads down the arm. You will almost certainly experience pain when trying to raise the arm to the front or side and may have trouble reaching behind you, to tuck in clothing for example. The arm will usually start to get 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 happen in a number of different ways. You might start out with shoulder tendonitis with just occasional pain or a dull ache, usually after work or exercise. This is caused by one of the tendons getting inflamed and can usually be treated with rest and anti-inflammatory drugs and/or ice packs.
If you fail to treat shoulder tendonitis it can eventually lead to a shoulder impingement. This comes about when tendon becomes so swollen that it gets pinched or impinged when you move. This is a more serious condition and although the treatment is almost identical to tendonitis the timescales involved can be longer. It is vital that you treat a shoulder impingement as if this is ignored it can eventually lead to a rotator cuff tear as the tendon gets worn by the rubbing action.
A fall or knock can also result in a rotator cuff tear or injury. Any sports or work activity that involves a lot of overhead reaching can bring on the symptoms.
The best 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 doctor. The sooner you start treatment the less likely you are to make things worse and the quicker the recovery will be.
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 rotator cuff symptoms and shoulder exercises visit my blog at
http://myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com
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