Rotator Cuff Tear

What is a rotator cuff tear?

Your rotator cuff is a group of tendons that keep your shoulder joint in the socket and allows you to lift and rotate your arm.

In between the rotator cuff and the top shoulder bone is the bursa, a sac that lubricates the rotator cuff tendons, helping them move easily. When the tendons become damaged, the bursa can become inflamed, causing pain with movement.

Rotator cuff tears can be classified as a partial tear, where the tendon is damaged but still attached. In a complete tear, the rotator cuff tendons separate from the bone causing a hole in the tendon.

What causes a rotator cuff tear?

Rotator cuff tears can result from direct trauma and falls or repetitive stress, often due to sports participation. Certain sports like baseball and tennis require repeated motions of the shoulder, which increases your risk of overuse-related tears. You can also develop these tears as the result of repetitive motions required by manual labor jobs.

Other causes of rotator cuff tears include degenerative conditions like osteoarthritis, which breaks down the structure of the tendons gradually as the disease progresses. Your risk of rotator cuff tears also increases as you get older and your tendons wear down naturally.

What are the symptoms of a rotator cuff tear?

If you injure your rotator cuff in a fall, you can experience intense pain right away and your arm can become weaker.

When rotator cuff damage happens gradually, you might notice pain increasing every time you lift your arm or reach over your head. As the condition gets worse, you could find it difficult or impossible to do everyday tasks like washing your hair or putting on a shirt. Your sleep quality could decrease because lying on the affected shoulder can be painful.

What treatments are available for rotator cuff injuries?

If you have a partial tear in your rotator cuff, you might try rest and over-the-counter medications to ease the pain and inflammation. Avoiding strenuous activities and sports can give your tendons time to heal.

When the rotator cuff is completely torn from the bone, you’ll need surgery to repair the damage. The surgeons at Alpha Orthopedics & Sports Medicine offer several surgeries, including computer-assisted robotic surgery and minimally invasive arthroscopy.

Following surgery, physical therapy can improve the efficiency of your healing and restore mobility and range of motion in your shoulder.

Don’t ignore shoulder pain. Visit the McKinney and Propser offices as a walk-in or schedule a consultation online or by calling the office nearest you today.