If it hurts to brush your hair or throw a baseball, and the pain doesn’t go away after a few days, you could have a rotator cuff tear. It’s a pretty common cause of shoulder pain and disability among adults, and it’s the most commonly torn structure in the shoulder. Each year, almost 2 million people go to their doctors for a rotator cuff tear, and approximately 300,000 rotator cuff surgeries are performed in the United States.
A torn rotator cuff will make many activities you typically take for granted – pulling a shirt over your head, combing your hair, reaching for something on a high shelf – painful and difficult to do.
Torn rotator cuff symptoms:
- Shoulder pain at rest and when lying on the affected shoulder
- Pain when lifting and lowering your arm
- Weakness when lifting or rotating your arm
- Popping when lifting your arm
A rotator cuff tears when the edge of the rotator cuff tendon is pulled away from its normal attachment to the humeral head (upper arm bone). This can result from a sudden force on the shoulder, such as a fall on the arm, or from progressive wear. Tears can be partial or full-thickness.
There are both surgical and non-surgical approaches to treating a rotator cuff tear. The best treatment depends on the tear and the patient, and can only be determined by a qualified physician after an examination and imaging. Nonsurgical treatment options may include rest, activity modification, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication, strengthening exercises and physical therapy, or steroid injections. Surgery may be recommended if pain does not improve with nonsurgical methods, if the tear is quite large, or if loss of function is significant.
If you are experiencing chronic shoulder and arm pain, don’t “tough it out.” See a qualified orthopaedist like Dr. Thomas Fyda of Great Basin Orthopaedics, who is fellowship trained in Sports Medicine, for a diagnosis. Not only can early diagnosis and treatment prevent your symptoms from getting worse and get you back to your normal routine more quickly, ignoring it may cause further damage.
Reference material for this article was found at American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons website, http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00064, and the SportsMD website, https://www.sportsmd.com/sports-injuries/shoulder-injuries/torn-rotator-cuff/