What is Rotator Cuff Syndrome?

Rotator cuff syndrome is a commonly encountered shoulder problem. The symptoms include pain, weakness, and loss of motion especially on abduction through a painful arc. It is commonly caused by physical activities involving the shoulder, mostly overhead activities.

Being actively involved in sports such as freestyle swimming, basketball, javelin throwing, and tennis can cause rotator cuff syndrome. People involved in occupations such as: tree pruning, fruit picking, nursing, grocery clerking, longshoring, warehousing, carpentry seem to be particularly prone to rotator cuff syndrome…

A group of four muscles surround the shoulder. They are: supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis. Usually the tendons of these muscles and not the muscles themselves get torn to result in a rotator cuff syndrome. The supraspinatus muscle tendon is more prone to such torn.

The rotator cuff syndrome may be present in a patient for many years with a minor tear and may gradually aggravate or it may happen all of a sudden. The signs of this condition are pain when lying on the affected side of the shoulder, pain or ache over the front and the outer aspect of the shoulder, pain upon reaching forward to lift things, and pain on lifting the hands above the shoulder.

Treatment for rotator cuff syndrome is two pronged. The patient is advised either operative or non-operative treatment. Depending on the severity of the condition doctors advise applying ice-packs, anti inflammatory medicines to reduce pain, and rest. A sling is also prescribed in some cases to rest the shoulder and bring it to position.

Physical therapy is followed as a part of rotator cuff rehab to bring back strength gradually to the shoulders. Steroidal injections are prescribed in cases where there is severe pain. Surgery is performed in extreme cases to get relief from rotator cuff syndrome.

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