Rotator Cuff Injury Help is the hub for all your rotator cuff injury needs. Be it symptoms, treatment or causes, we are here to help and provide you with all the information you need in order to guide you through your injury.
The rotator cuff is one of the most important, often used muscle groups in the human body. From throwing a baseball to turning a page in a book, the rotator cuff plays an integral part in permitting the body to perform such actions. The rotator cuff consists of four muscles that help move and stabilize the shoulder joint. Your shoulder joint is a ball and socket joint, formed by the ball-shaped end of your upper arm bone (humerus) and a socket on the periphery of your shoulder blade (scapula). Your shoulder joint is looped around by tendons, forming a cuff around the ball of your humerus.
The rotator cuff muscles are the dynamic stabilizers and movers of the shoulder joint and adjust the position of the humeral head and scapula during shoulder movement. Any injury or damage to one of the four muscles or their ligaments that attach the muscle to bone can occur because of slight injury, overuse, or aging. This can cause pain and disability resulting in a lack of range of motion or use of the shoulder joint.
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One of the most frequent triggers of rotator cuff pain is damage and inflammation. Three typical situations that can make an impression on the rotator cuff are:
- rotator cuff tendonitis
- rotator cuff impingement syndrome
- rotator cuff tear
The degree of injury to the rotator cuff can vary. The severity can range from a slight strain and swelling of the tendon, damage that will not lead to any significant adversity, to a slight or complete tear of the tendon that may result in frequent physio sessions or surgery to help repair the damage.
Rotator Cuff Injury Causes
When the rotator cuff is injured, it’s the tendons of the rotator cuff that are torn. When the tendons have swelled up or torn, they cannot function efficiently.
Injuries to muscle-tendon units are called strains and are defined by the amount of damage to the muscle or tendon fibres.
Grade I injuries are the stretching of the tendons, however without any tears.
Grade II injuries are slight muscle or fibre tearing.
Grade III injuries are characterized by a complete tear of a muscle or tendon.
Causes of rotator cuff injuries include:
Falling or Tripping. Utilizing an outstretched hand to prevent a fall or landing on your arm
Wear and tear. Increasingly occurs with aging, you’re at an increased risk of injury because your tendons start to wear down with age and become more prone to injury.
Chromic Overuse. Repetitive overhead arm motion can add pressure to your rotator cuff muscle tissue and tendons, leading to inflammation and eventually tearing. This occurs often in athletes, mainly baseball pitchers and weight lifters.
Lifting or pulling. Lifting any heavy object or lifting it the incorrect way (how I injured mine) can cause a tear. Likewise, pulling something, can be equally treacherous.
Rotator Cuff Injury Symptoms
The most common symptom of a rotator cuff problem is pain and tenderness. Individuals usually complain of pain over the top of the shoulder and arm. In some individuals, the pain can slip down the outside of the arm all the way to the elbow.
Another common symptom of a rotator cuff tear is weakness of the shoulder. This weakness is most apparent when reaching overhead, reaching behind your back, lifting, pulling or sleeping on the affected side.
Other rotator cuff injury symptoms usually include:
- Sudden, tearing feeling in the shoulder, followed by pain through the arm.
- Limited movement of the shoulder due to pain or muscle spasm.
- Sharp pain for a few days which can clear away in a few days.
- Tenderness over the point of rupture/tear.
- Loss of shoulder range of motion.
- Inclination to keep your shoulder inactive.
