What is the Best Treatment For Rotator Cuff Injuries?
Whether it is shoulder tendonitis, a shoulder impingement or a rotator cuff tear the best treatment for a rotator cuff injury is rest to allow the muscle to heal, treatment of any inflammation followed by shoulder specific exercises aimed at strengthening the rotator cuff. What varies with each injury is the timing.
Shoulder tendonitis is simply inflammation of one of the tendons of the rotator cuff. It tends not to last very long a few days rest and treatment with ice packs and anti inflammatory drugs will tend to sort it out quite quickly. If the pain lasts more than two or three days it is worth getting it checked out by a medical professional. The best way to make sure that it doesn’t happen again is to start exercises aimed at strengthening the shoulder muscles and rotator cuff in particular.
A shoulder impingement is caused when an inflamed tendon becomes trapped or impinged. The tendon that is most at risk is the supraspinatus tendon. This is one of the rotator cuff muscles which, unlike the others runs through a channel of bone on its journey from the shoulder blade to the upper arm. When it gets damaged and inflamed it can become too large for the channel of bone and start to get trapped. This leads to an increase in pain as the tendon gradually becomes worn. Treatment is the same as for tendonitis but the rest period needs to be longer and the treatment for inflammation needs to be far more intensive. Again exercise will help to strengthen the rotator cuff to avoid a repeat of the injury but should only be done when the shoulder is pain free. Any movement that causes pain should be avoided as this is an indication of further injury being done to the muscle.
Again the best treatment for rotator cuff tears will initially follow the same route but the timing will be different with each stage of the recovery taking longer. Occasionally if conservative treatment doesn’t work it may be necessary to have surgery to either free up the impingement or clean up the damaged tendon to facilitate healing.
The important thing with any shoulder injury is proper rest. Trying to work through a shoulder injury will invariably result in a worse injury, requiring a longer recuperation period so always resist the urge to ignore even simple shoulder problems.
If you found this article useful and would like to know what I consider the best treatment for rotator cuff injuries read my blog at http://myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com
My name is Nick Bryant and I am an older dad to two young children aged seven and five. I am keen on staying fit and active so that I can enjoy an active life with my children as they grow. Having suffered a shoulder injury that put me out of action for several painful months, I was keen to share my experience and let others know how I managed a full recovery without surgery despite being told that it was necessary.
