Forget handcuffs, we are talking rotator cuffs! Rotator cuffs are the large muscles and their associated tendons that stabilize the shoulder. Their function is to stabilize the glenohumeral joint (otherwise known as the shoulder joint, or the point at which your arm pivots around the rest of your torso). So when you exercise or even pick things up with your arms, your rotator cuff muscles are at least somewhat in play, to stabilize your shoulder and to make sure your arm doesn’t pop out of its socket.
What is a tear?
I’m sure you’ve heard of rotator cuff tear, be it from your friends that play sports, the Internet, from people complaining about playing sports, or maybe you yourself have had one. A rotator cuff tear is an injury concerning the tendons of the rotator cuffs, and it is in fact one of the most common injuries the shoulder can sustain. There are two types of tears, acute and chronic.
Acute tears can occur with sudden improper movements, such as trying to break your fall from a great height with your hands (although to be fair, at that point, a rotator cuff injury is probably the least of your concerns), or improperly exercising the shoulder joint with excessive weight, like trying to lift the equivalent of your body weight above your head.
Chronic tears are the tears that accumulate as a result of age or long-term stress; usually, they occur in the dominant arm, but they can also occur in the inferior arm. Blood supply is also an important aspect of this, because decreases in blood flow due to atherosclerosis and other age-related conditions can make rotator cuff injuries more severe.
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Preventing Tears
Aside from abstaining from doing impressive activities such as trying to lift your body weight above your head, there are other things you can do to minimize your chances for rotator cuff injuries, such as:
- stretching regularly
- using proper form when working out
- resting after working out
- strengthening the back, chest, and upper arm muscles (this way, your rotator cuff muscles can be relieved of some strain when being worked)
- exercising in all directions for the shoulder muscle
Treating Tears
In general, nonsurgical treatment is chosen for people who have sustained tears, because it is currently debated as to whether or not surgical treatment is the best choice of action for a lot of rotator cuff injuries. In terms of nonsurgical options, the general course of action is physical therapy, where you stretch and slowly strengthen the muscles to prevent stiffness during recovery, and medication, either administered orally or through injections. These medications promote healing and usually consist of steroids and local anesthetics. A relatively new treatment is to apply iontophoresis, which allows a battery-operated patch to deliver the medication directly to the rotator cuff for the sake of convenience. Medication and therapy will differ from person to person, but the general method of assessment remains the same.
I hope this was an informative article, and you have learned how to prevent rotator cuff injuries!
