Torn Rotator Cuff Treatment - Recently Updated Pages

Rotator Cuff Treatment for Fast Recovery

torntotator — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:04:08 CST

The rotator cuff is made up of a series of tendons and 4 muscles that originate in the shoulder blade area and continue on as a group to form a cuff over the shoulder area. This is a common problem area for many people, especially as the reach middle age or older. It is not uncommon for a rotator cuff tear to occur, either through repetitive stress, such as listing things over the head over and over at work for many years or through injury such as in a fall. When the rotator cuff problems are due to repetitive stress the symptoms seem to develop over time, causing pain that is at first easily controlled through drug store pain medications but over time requires stronger pain pills and at times therapy or even surgery. Rotator cuff injuries caused by injury are usually felt suddenly as pain and a weakness in the arm, however it is not always a rotator cuff tear as it happens sometimes the area is just bruised.

When a person has a rotator cuff problem they should seek the advice of a medical professional to see what the problem really is and what the underlying causes are, whether they are from a tear or from bruising. They will be able to make the determination of what kind of rotator cuff treatment is necessary, either therapy or surgery, or perhaps a combination of both. At times they may treat the rotator cuff by immobilizing it and allowing it to heal, and at other times they may treat it with therapy, mimicking the movements of the rotator cuff with progressive resistance to build strength.

The Cure For a Torn Rotator Cuff Depends on How Bad the Injury Was!

torntotator — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:03:23 CST

The phrase torn rotator cuff covers a multitude of injuries. Firstly there are four muscles in the rotator cuff, any one of which can be torn. Secondly there are degrees of tear and finally, how you tear your rotator cuff can influence the treatment and how it responds to therapy.

Think of the tendons of this group of muscles as an old rope that you have kept in the trunk of your car and used occasionally for towing. It could break for several reasons. It could simply fray over time because of age and over use. If you relate this to a torn muscle, this could be a fairly easy tear to fix as it has happened quite gently, the trauma to the muscle is slight and it may be that simply rest and exercise would be enough to fix it.

If on the other hand your rope snapped because you tried pulling something that was too heavy, it could have snapped clean through or stretched, pulling the filaments apart. Relate this to a shoulder injury and you could be looking at something that needs surgery to fix a bad tear or complete break.

Putting aside my old tow rope, whenever tendons join to bone there is a possible weakness. Lifting too much weight or lifting badly can cause the tendon to become detached or a piece of bone to break away. In this case you would almost definitely be looking at surgery as part of the treatment.

Another cause for possible surgery is a shoulder impingement. This is caused when an injury causes the tendon to become inflamed. As it swells it becomes trapped under the collar bone. If rest doesn't reduce the inflammation it may be necessary to operate to shave away a piece of bone to free up the trapped tendon.

The good news is that most shoulder injuries are soft tissue damage and don't involve bone damage so a lot are curable with rest and exercise in that order. Rest to allow the muscle or tendon to heal and exercise to start strengthening them again. Never try working through a shoulder injury as it will almost inevitably lead to more damage.

Although treatment may well involve anti-inflammatory drugs and pain killers be careful not to overdo it with these and mask the symptoms as this can lead to further injury simply because you are hiding the problem rather than dealing with it.

Physical therapy to strengthen the rotator cuff will help with a huge percentage of shoulder injuries and will also help to prevent future injuries. As we age our rotator cuff weakens, which in turn weakens our shoulders and makes them more susceptible to injury. Even healthy people can benefit from rotator cuff exercises simply because it wakes up these muscles and prevents injuries.

With 30% of us suffering a shoulder injury at some time in our lives it is well worth considering as prevention is definitely better than a cure.

Torn Rotator Cuff Treatment - The Good News is That it Rarely Involves Surgery

torntotator — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:01:44 CST

A torn rotator cuff can come about for a variety of reasons. For most of us it will simply be as a result of wear and tear as we get older. This is an injury that is most common in the over fifties but can also be acquired through a knock or fall or even simply through a repetitive action such as throwing a baseball. This is why it is sometimes referred to as pitcher's shoulder.

Surgery tends to be restricted to the unfortunate few who either manage a complete rotator cuff tear or whose injury does not respond to conventional treatment.

So what is the best form of torn rotator cuff treatment?

Firstly rest! You need to let the muscle heal and if you carry on using it, either it will slow down the recovery process or the worst case scenario is that you will make the injury worse. Depending on which of the rotator cuff muscles you have damaged some of your shoulder movements will be painful. The classic symptoms for a Supraspinatus tear for example are pain when lifting your arm above shoulder height or reaching for anything, pain when reaching behind you and difficulty sleeping because the shoulder is so tender. If you carry on doing the movements that are painful you are going to further damage the muscle which could result in a full thickness tear that will definitely need surgery.

Secondly, treat the inflammation and pain. This could be done with anti-inflammatory drugs such as Ibuprofen or with cortisone injections. Treating the inflammation will often alleviate the pain simply because a lot of the pain in shoulder injuries is caused by swollen tendons getting pinched. Ultra sound can also be used to help with the inflammation and help to improve healing.

Once the muscle has settled down and movement has become easier you can start exercising the rotator cuff muscles to strengthen them. These exercises will be small exercises with little or no weight or resistance. These are small muscles that often suffer injury as a result of neglect. Most of us are unaware of the importance of these muscles until we suffer an injury, but they are key to a healthy shoulder joint, holding the arm into the socket as we lift and move. A small increase in strength of the rotator cuff can have a dramatic affect on the overall strength of the shoulder joint.

Rotator cuff specific exercises are needed. Don't start working out with weights as this is likely to simply work the major muscles of the shoulder and do nothing for the injured muscles. Rotator cuff exercises will isolate these muscles and get them working again. You'll be surprised how quickly your shoulder will return to full health once you get these muscles working again.

But remember, rest and treat the inflammation before you start any rotator cuff exercises. If you need to modify how you work in order to rest your shoulder then do it. Working through a rotator cuff injury can only lead to further injury.

And finally. It is worth mentioning that self diagnosis of shoulder problems is not a good idea. Different injuries need different treatments and it's worth getting it right just to avoid further problems.

Torn Rotator Cuff Treatment Home

torntotator — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:00:42 CST

Torn Rotator Cuff Treatment - Exercise Or Rest?

Yes is the answer but not in that order. It also depends on how badly you have torn it. Most tears will respond to rest and exercise but any serious partial tear or full tear may require surgery before you do any therapy exercise.

The important thing with any type of torn rotator cuff treatment is to rest and let the injury begin to heal. Working through the pain of a rotator cuff is likely to leave you needing surgery as you do more damage to the tendons.. so rest is the first order of the day.

Along with rest, you need to reduce the inflammation before you can think about starting any form of exercise. The rotator cuff is a group of muscles that help to stabilise the shoulder joint by pulling the head of the humerus into the socket of the shoulder joint. They are small but important muscles that surround the shoulder joint forming a cuff of muscle that supports it. in doing so they run over and sometimes under the bones of the shoulder.

Any inflammation to these tendons can cause pain as the inflamed tendon can catch or impinge on bone. A classic example of this is the supraspinatus muscle which runs under the collar bone and the acromion of the shoulder blade. When this muscle become inflamed it can catch on the channel of bone and start to fray. Worst case scenario is that it could eventually snap leaving you needing shoulder surgery.

So let the muscles rest. This means avoiding any movement that causes pain. If your work involves a lot of overhead movement you may need to modify the way in which you work. If you sit at a desk, you might need to rearrange your desk to avoid stretching or reaching movements with the damaged arm. It might even be necessary to take a few days off to rest the arm properly.

At the same times start to treat the inflammation. This could be by using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as Ibuprofen and also by using ice packs on the damaged muscle to help to reduce swelling. If symptoms persist it may be necessary to have a cortisone injection into the muscle to combat the inflammation. Your doctor should be able to do this for you.

Once the muscle has started to settle down you can start simple exercises aimed at strengthening the rotator cuff muscles. Do not rush off to the gym thinking that any type of exercise will do the trick. It won't. Using weights before the muscle has healed properly is likely to cause more damage.

Rotator cuff exercises use little or no weight when recovering from an injury. They will start with gentle exercises that do not cause any pain. If you feel pain when exercising stop immediately as this is an indication of further damage being done. It may be that you started exercising too soon.

And finally, when your shoulder is fixed and back to its full pain free movement, don't stop the exercises. Rotator cuff injuries are very common but a lot of them can be avoided by keeping the rotator cuff muscles strong so just take five or ten minutes a day to keep them in shape.