How to Know if You Have a Bad Rotator Cuff

Overview

What is the rotator cuff?

The rotator cuff is a grouping of muscles and tendons in your shoulder. They help you lift and move your artillery away from your body. The rotator gage keeps the ball of the upper arm bone (humerus) in the shoulder blade socket.

What is a rotator cuff tear?

The shoulder is a ball-and-socket joint that's office of the skeletal system. It'due south like a golf ball sitting on a golf tee. Rotator cuff tears occur when tendons pull abroad from the arm bone. A tear may effect from overuse or another injury.

What are the types of rotator gage tears?

Types of torn rotator cuffs include:

Partial: With an incomplete or partial tear, the tendon even so somewhat attaches to the arm os.
Complete: With a full-thickness or complete tear, the tendon separates completely from the bone. At that place'south a pigsty or rip in the tendon.

How common are rotator cuff tears?

More than two million Americans experience some blazon of rotator gage problem every year. Rotator cuff tears affect people of all ages and genders, but the problem is more mutual in adults.

Symptoms and Causes

What causes a rotator cuff tear?

An accident, such as a autumn, tin can crusade a broken collarbone or confused shoulder that tears the rotator gage.

More usually, rotator cuff tears occur over time every bit the tendon wears down with age and use (degenerative tear). People over 40 are almost at hazard.

Causes of degenerative tears include:

Bone spurs: Bony growths can form on the top of the shoulder os. These bone spurs rub confronting the tendon when you lift your arm. This shoulder impingement creates friction between the os and tendon. Eventually, a partial or complete tear may occur.
Decreased blood flow: Blood catamenia to the rotator cuff decreases equally you become older. Your muscles and tendons need a salubrious claret supply to repair themselves. If blood doesn't nourish the tendons, they can tear.
Overuse: Repetitive shoulder movements during sports or on the chore can stress muscles and tendons, causing a tear.
What are take chances factors for rotator cuff tears?

Anyone can experience a rotator gage tear. These factors may increase your take a chance:

Family history of shoulder problems or rotator cuff injuries.
Poor posture.
Smoking.
Being age 40 or older.

Degenerative tears are more common amid people who do the same repetitive shoulder movements, such every bit:

Carpenters.
Mechanics.
Painters.
Recreational and professional athletes who play baseball, softball and tennis or are function of a rowing crew.

Do rotator gage tears affect both shoulders?

Tears tend to occur on your ascendant side, but can exist on either side. Having a tear in i shoulder increases the likelihood of a tear in the opposite shoulder. You lot might not take shoulder pain on the opposite side, merely tests may indicate a tear. The opposite may also be true: you may have a tear but have no pain or symptoms.

What are the symptoms of a rotator cuff tear?

Sudden tears from accidents cause immediate, intense shoulder hurting and arm weakness. With degenerative tears, you may have mild pain that improves with over-the-counter pain relievers. Over time, the pain gets worse, and pain relievers don't help. Non everyone has pain, merely nearly people have some degree of arm and shoulder weakness.

Signs of a rotator cuff tear include:

Difficulty and pain caused by raising your arm.
Popping or clicking sounds or sensations when moving your arm.
Shoulder pain that worsens at night or when resting your arm.
Shoulder weakness and struggling to lift items.

Diagnosis and Tests

How is a rotator cuff tear diagnosed?

Your healthcare provider volition perform a concrete test to bank check for shoulder tenderness, range of motion and arm force.

To confirm a diagnosis, you may get:

An X-ray to check for arthritis or os spurs.
An MRI or ultrasound to look for tendon tears.

Management and Treatment

What are the complications of a rotator cuff tear?

A rotator cuff tear can go worse without treatment. A complete tear can make it most incommunicable to move your arm. Without handling, you may accept chronic shoulder pain and find it very hard to utilise the injured arm.

What are nonsurgical treatments for rotator cuff tears?

Rotator gage tears practise non heal on their ain without surgery, but many patients can meliorate functionally and decrease pain with nonsurgical treatment past strengthening their shoulder muscles. But because there is a tear, does not necessarily mean a surgery is needed. About viii out of 10 people with partial tears get improve with nonsurgical treatments. It can have upwardly to a year for the condition to improve.

Nonsurgical treatments include:

An arm sling and rest to give your shoulder time to heal. Y'all may need to modify activities and finish certain work or sports for a menses of time.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to minimize hurting and swelling.
Physical therapy to learn strengthening and stretching exercises.
Steroid injections to ease pain and swelling.

What are the surgical treatments for rotator cuff tears?

Your healthcare provider may recommend surgery if you lot have a complete tear or nonsurgical treatments don't assistance a partial tear. Yous may as well have surgery if your job or able-bodied interests affect the shoulder.

Most rotator cuff surgeries have place arthroscopically through small incisions. The surgery is an outpatient process. Yous go home the same 24-hour interval, but the overall recovery after this surgery is very substantial and tin can have up to a twelvemonth or more.

Some tears are not repairable due to the size and/or age of the tear, and may necessitate reverse shoulder replacement, tendon transfer, or a debridement of scar tissue without repair.

During surgery, your healthcare provider:

Inserts an arthroscope (pocket-size camera) through a small incision in your shoulder.
Refers to images from the arthroscope to perform the procedure.
Inserts tiny instruments into small incisions in your shoulder to remove os spurs and reattach the tendon to the upper arm bone.

For a partial tear, your healthcare provider may merely demand to trim fraying pieces of a partially torn tendon. This debridement procedure keeps the shoulder ball and socket from catching on the tendon and tearing it more than.

After surgery, you demand to wearable a sling to immobilize your arm for four to six weeks. You lot can and then beginning physical therapy. Most people regain shoulder function and strength within four to 6 months after surgery, just full recovery may accept upwardly to 12-18 months.

Prevention

How tin can I prevent a rotator gage tear?

To prevent a rotator cuff tear, it's important to keep your muscles and tendons flexible. Your healthcare provider can teach you stretching and strengthening exercises to do at dwelling.

Outlook / Prognosis

What is the prognosis (outlook) for people who have a rotator cuff tear?

Virtually people come across improvements with nonsurgical treatments. Recovery takes time because your body needs fourth dimension to heal. Most people who have surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff regain function.

It's possible to tear the same tendon again, peculiarly if the first tear was bigger than one inch. A re-tear that causes severe pain or loss of movement may require surgery.

Living With

When should I telephone call my healthcare provider?

You should call your healthcare provider if you experience:

Chronic shoulder and arm pain.
Hurting that worsens at night or interferes with sleep.
Redness, swelling, or tenderness in the shoulder joint expanse.
Shoulder or arm weakness.

What questions should I inquire my healthcare provider?

You may want to ask your healthcare provider:

What caused the rotator cuff tear?
What is the best treatment for me?
What can I practise to lower the risk of getting another rotator gage tear?
Should I look out for signs of complications?
Which signs of complications?

A note from Cleveland Clinic

If you piece of work a very concrete job or you lot're an athlete, a rotator cuff injury will likely demote y'all, simply it doesn't have to exist the end of your career. Talk to your healthcare provider near the all-time treatment options, whether nonsurgical or surgical. Your shoulder may be weak and painful for a while, simply information technology will eventually heal.

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Source: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/8291-rotator-cuff-tears-overview