Rotator cuff injury is an injury to the muscles and tendons of the shoulder joint. Rotator cuff consists of 4 muscles that help in proper movement of the shoulder, besides maintaining stability of the joint. The four muscles that make rotator cuff include subscapularis, supraspinatus, infraspinatous, teres minor. The tendon of this muscles connect humerus (bone of upper arm) to scapula (shoulder blade). The muscles also hold the ball of upper arm bone in the shoulder socket. The whole mechanism is aimed at giving greatest range of motion and stability to the shoulder joint.
What Causes Injury To Rotator Cuff?
Injury to the rotator cuff is a common shoulder joint problem that may occur due to irritation or damage to any of the four muscles and its tendon. Most often the injury is caused due to following reason such as,
- It usually occurs as you grow old, more common after the age of 40 as a result of degenerative process of the tissues. Constant wear and tear may further aggravate the condition. Presence of bony spur in shoulder bone can also damage the rotator cuff muscles.
- Trauma to the shoulder joint: A direct blow to the joint or falling on the arm can tear the tendons and ligaments of the rotator cuff muscles.
- Lifting too heavy objects or pulling a heavy object can stain the muscles and tendons of the shoulder joint, it can cause irritation and tear giving rise to pain and difficult movement.
- Repeated movements can cause inflammation and irritation of the tendons which may ultimately get torn. It is common complaint among swimmers and tennis players. It is also common problem among carpenters and painters.
Symptoms Of Rotator Cuff Injury
The symptoms arise due to the inflammation in the tendons and muscles. Since the muscles are deep seated in the joint space, inflammation is not easily evident after injury. The swelling may occupy small space in the joint and it may compromise with its proper movement.
The four main symptoms of rotator cuff injury include:
- Pain, weakness of shoulder joint, restricted movement range, person avoiding the use of affected shoulder joint.
- In acute rotator cuff injury, the symptoms appear suddenly. The shoulder joint is extremely painful. Shooting pain radiates to the back and towards the elbow. The patient is not able to move his arm due to pain and spasm of the rotator cuff muscles. There may be internal bleeding and formation of hematoma in the shoulder joint. If the tear is large, patient is unable to lift the injured arm due to loss of muscle power and pain.
- In chronic cases, the pain is felt at night while sleeping on the affected side of the shoulder. The shoulder joint gradually becomes weak. He is unable to move the arm away from his body either side ways or laterally.
- Patients may find difficulty in wearing the shirt or combing the hair and are unable to lift heavy object.
Preventing Injury To Rotator Cuff
Certain preventive measures can be adopted, especially those who are at a risk of suffering from rotator cuff injury such as carpenters, tennis players, swimmers, and those whose job require repetitive shoulder motion. These include,
- Follow regular shoulder exercise.
- If your job or activity consists of repetitive shoulder movement, take a break in between your work. It will give rest to the muscles of the shoulder.
- While playing sports which may strain your shoulder joint, rest for a while in between to relax the muscles of the joint.
- Whenever you experience pain in the shoulder joint, apply ice pack or hot fomentation to reduce inflammation.
How To Heal A Rotator Cuff Injury?
Usually rotator cuff injury heals after sometime on its own, if you take proper home care. Following procedure may be helpful:
- Rest: give rest to the affected shoulder joint. Avoid doing any tasks that may cause pain in the joint. Avoid lifting very heavy objects. Restrict overhead activities till the pain becomes less.
- Support with sling may be beneficial for few days, but do not prolong it as it may lead to stiffness of shoulder joint.
- Ice and hot fomentation: apply ice kept in a clean towel over the injured shoulder joint for 10 minutes every hour for few hours if the pain is acute. Ice fomentation helps in reducing pain and inflammation. Once the pain has reduced, you can apply hot pads to relax the muscle spasm.
- Pain can be controlled with anti-inflammatory painkiller drugs.
- Physiotherapy exercises strengthen the shoulder muscles. It also helps to improve flexibility provided you follow the exercise regularly as directed by the therapist. Depending on the severity of the injury, you may have to do the exercises for weeks or months to elicit improvement in motion and function of the shoulder joint.
- Home remedy such as turmeric powder mixed in honey taken regularly at night may also help in reducing the inflammation.