What is a Rotator Cuff?
Whenever you move your shoulder you use the rotator cuff to stabilize and it helps in moving the joints. It is a group of muscles and tendons in your shoulder. Its vital role is to keep the ball of the upper arm in the shoulder blade socket. One of the prevalent causes of rotator cuff injury is a dull ache in the shoulder. The result would be not being able to sleep properly at night.
All Four muscles in the Rotator cuff
- Supraspinatus: The Supraspinatus is over the spine of the shoulder blade. This muscle terminates the rounded top of the humerus bone. The humerus bone is also popular as “Greater tuberosity”.
- Infraspinatus: Unlike supraspinatus, this bone begins underneath the spine of the shoulder blade. This bone connects with the back of the humerus.
- Teres Minor: The teres minor muscle begins at the outer side border of the shoulder blade and it connects with the lesser tuberosity.
- Subscapularis: This fourth muscle in the rotator cuff begins on the front of the shoulder blade. This muscle also connects with the lesser tuberosity.
Four important functions of the Rotator cuff
- The first is to stabilize the top of the humerus in the shoulder
- Help a person to lift the shoulder up and sideways
- Externally rotating
- Letting free movement of the humerus at the time of elevation
List of Rotator cuff injury Symptoms
- Severe pain when reaching overhead
- Facing pain that halted various activities
- Sleeping problem on the affected shoulder
- Difficulty reaching behind the back
If you lose function in your arm or are facing the symptoms above then it is better to get in touch with the best rotator cuff surgeon in Delhi. Those who play sports like tennis or baseball face this injury. Even the people whose job is to do repetitive lifting can face this injury.
How are rotator cuff injuries diagnosed?
The doctor will do the following-
- Check your medical history
- A physical exam will happen
- Run imaging scans
The rotator cuff doctor will ask the entire details about your physical activities at the workplace. Furthermore, the doctor will test strength and range of motion. It is mandatory to do! Also, X-rays enable doctors to know about bone spurs. Well, Bone spurs can cause severe pain and inflammation, so the doctor will identify that. The doctor will also go for Ultrasound scans and MRI which help in identifying the tears.
Nonsurgical treatment
- Using hot or cold packs to eliminate swelling
- Normal exercise to get back strength
- Resting the affected arm
- Taking the medications like ibuprofen and naproxen
- Physical therapy to restore range of motion
Approximately 80% improvement in rotator cuff when going for nonsurgical treatments. For the surgical treatment, you can book your appointment with the best rotator cuff surgeon in Gurugram who can help you in eliminating the symptoms.
