The rotator cuff muscles (supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis and teres minor) are small muscles situated around the shoulder joint that work to keep the shoulder stable, which can become damaged due to overuse.
Rotator cuff tears make up a large proportion of shoulder injuries, and this injury is more common in people over 40 years of age.
Rotator cuff injuries are often overuse injuries that begin as inflammation caused by repeated irritation. Shoulder muscle weakness and shoulder posture also play a role. If the cause of the inflammation is not addressed, partial tears may develop in the cuff that could eventually become a tear all the way through one or more of the rotator cuff muscles.
Rotator cuff injuries can result from wear and tear as we’re ageing or due to an acute injury. While the instances of an acute tear is lower, it is often accompanied by other injuries like a broken wrist or a dislocated shoulder. Acute tears may happen if you have had to use your arm to break a fall or if you have lifted heavy weights or items that caused a jolt to the muscle.
Tears or injuries due to wear and tear or old age are the more common factors, taking place over time as our body ages. This degenerative tear is painless in comparison. Chronic tears like these are the result of repetitive motions or a lack in the supply of blood.
Repetitive motions of the shoulder add stress to your rotator cuffs due to excessive use. Playing a sport is one such example of a repetitive action that leads to muscle overuse. Certain tasks and occupations can also cause your muscles to be stressed in a repetitive motion, which increases the severity of the rotator cuff tear.
Reduced blood supply to the rotator cuff is yet another result of ageing, hindering the body’s ability to repair tears or injury in the tendons. Rotator cuff injury physio at Hartwell Physio in Melbourne addresses these concerns by helping heal the muscles and tendons affected by trauma or ageing.
Interestingly, pain from a rotator cuff overuse injury is not always felt in the shoulder! Often the injury refers pain a bit further down into the upper arm area. Sufferers may also feel pain and tightness around the back where the shoulder blade lies, given all of the rotator cuff muscles run from the shoulder blade across to the upper arm.
If there is significant inflammation of the rotator cuff, the area will often ache at night, and many people have great difficulty lying on the injured side. This interruption to sleep is often the thing that triggers sufferers to come in for physiotherapy treatment.
It’s important to pay attention to the flexibility, strength and endurance of the shoulder muscles. There is also a chance of some underlying shoulder instability so care must be taken with selection of shoulder exercises. Shoulder stabilisation exercises under the supervision of a physiotherapist can help prevent damage to the rotator cuff tendons.
It is important that any increase in the amount of exercise or activity involving the shoulder must be gradual in order to prevent overload of the rotator cuff muscles.
Physiotherapy treatment for rotator cuff in Melbourne can reduce acute (short-term) inflammation and chronic (long-term) degeneration of the rotator cuff. The objective of physiotherapy treatment is to limit inflammation initially before building strength and stability, and avoid surgery. Treatment may include:
