By Charlie Geddes
What is the “rotator cuff” and rotator cuff injury?
The rotator cuff refers to a group of small muscles that run from the shoulder blade and attach to the top of the arm bone (head of the humerus). Specifically, the rotator cuff is comprised of 4 muscles (supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis).A rotator cuff injury is an injury to 1 or more of these muscles. Typically the site of injury is at the tendon’s attachment near the head of the humerus.
How does it happen?
Injury to the rotator cuff is the most common shoulder injury. This shoulder injury may come on suddenly and be associated with a specific injury such as a fall (acute), or it may be something that gets progressively worse over time with activity that aggravates the muscle (chronic). The type of injury can range from an inflammation of the muscle without any permanent damage, such as tendinitis, to a complete or partial tear of the muscle.
What are the symptoms?
- Pain is usually felt in the upper arm or point of the shoulder.
- Shoulder movements become painful and restricted, especially reaching above the head and moving the arm out to the side.
- Often the pain is worse at night, disturbing sleep, a typical sign of inflammation.
- Generally pain gets progressively worse without treatment and muscle weakness and imbalance compounds the problem
What should you do?
Email us or give us a call on +61 2 9413 2979 (Chatswood Physiotherapy @ BJC Health) or +61 2 9890 7633 (Parramatta Physiotherapy @ BJC Health) so we can help your shoulder pain and help you regain full movement.
Often the longer you persist with activity and pain the longer the injury will take to recover. BJC Health offers rehabilitation for rotator cuff injuries in the form of remedial massage, physiotherapy and graded exercise plans at both our Parramatta and Chatswood locations. One of our Physiotherapists can assess and advise you on the best management plan.
In the mean time avoid aggravating activities and you may apply ice to the point of the shoulder area as initial management.
Typical Management
Assessment of the severity of injury is the first step and that may include referral for imaging e.g. Ultrasound or MRI. Physiotherapy will usually involve some hands on soft tissue treatment but most importantly the prescription of a graded exercise program to strengthen specific muscles in the rotator cuff. Even in the case of a complete tear of one of the muscles strengthening of compensatory muscles can result in acceptable outcome avoiding surgery.
Sometimes surgical repair of the rotator cuff is the only option. It can be a long process typically requiring 6 weeks in a sling and 12 months of rehabilitation. With or without surgery diligent rehabilitation is the key to improving/removing symptoms.
