EXC PHYS Rotator Cuff Tea A Courtesy Publication fo
The shoulder is a ball and socket joint that offers a remarkable amount of motion unparalleled anywhere else in the body. Because of this high degree of mobility, this joint requires a lot of stability in order to keep it in its proper place. The rotator cuff is a series of muscles and tendons that surround the shoulder joint with the purpose of providing stability as well as helping lift and rotate the arm.
By Philip Zhu, PT, DPT, University City Clinic
Degenerative Tears Rotator cuff tears are the leading cause of shoulder pain and shoulder-related disability (1). The two main causes of rotator cuff tears are injury and degeneration. The prevalence of degenerative tears increases with age and is more common among people who
ROTATOR CUFF MUSCLE
Supraspinatus Muscle Infraspinatus Muscle Subscapularis Muscle Teres Minor Muscle
Posterior View
Anterior View
perform repetitive shoulder movements. As we age, normal micro-tears in our rotator cuff tendons will occur. Think of them as gray hairs and wrinkles on the inside. One study found as many as 62% of patients over the age of 80 have abnormalities in their rotator cuff (1). Most small degenerative tears usually show no symptoms. In fact, they are shown to be about twice as common as symptomatic ones (2). When tears become larger over time, there may be dull shoulder pain with some associated range of motion and strength deficits. Complete tears will result in increased pain, more severe range of motion limitations, and significant difficulty in performing daily living activities, such as lifting the arm, picking up and grabbing objects. Signs to look out for: • Symptoms in the dominant arm • Pain (dull/deep) top of the shoulder or down outside of the arm • Increased pain at night and when lying on the affected shoulder • Shoulder/arm weakness and pain with lifting items
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