In this section on rotator cuff injuries I want to talk about all of the different potential cuff injuries and rotator cuff symptoms.

You are almost certainly reading this page because you have suffered one of the rotator cuff injuries I am about to describe.

I want to give you a simple, straightforward explanation about what it is that may be affecting you.

In the following sections I talk in much more detail about the various possible cuff injuries.

Here I want to give you a detailed overview of the types of rotator cuff injuries you may have or could suffer.

Before I do however I want to give a brief summary of exactly what the Rotator Cuff is and what it does. This is explained in much greater detail on the sections on rotator cuff anatomy and rotator cuff muscles.

What is a Rotator Cuff?

Quite simply the rotator cuff is a group of four muscles that are positioned around the shoulder joint and connect to the upper arm bone or humerus. They are shown above are named as follows:

• Supraspinatus



• Infraspinatus



• Subscapularis



• Teres minor

The rotator cuff muscles work together as a unit. They have two important roles both to stabilize the shoulder joint and to assist with shoulder joint movement.

The four tendons, tendons attach muscles to bones, of the rotator cuff muscles join together to form one larger tendon, called the rotator cuff tendon.

It is this tendon that connects to the head of the humerus. There is a space underneath the acromion of the scapula, shown above, called the subacromial space and rotator cuff tendon passes through here.

What are the commonest rotator cuff injuries?

Shoulder pain affects around one in five people; so you are definitely not alone.

Just as significantly is the fact that rotator cuff symptoms are by far the most common cause of shoulder pain. There are a number of different reasons for the onset of painful rotator cuff symptoms.

Trauma

You may have suffered a major trauma that has affected the rotator cuff such as a car crash or high impact sporting injury.

This will almost certainly have badly affected not only the rotator cuff but the shoulder as a whole and possibly more of your body. This type of injury can require rotator cuff surgery.

This is the most common of the rotator cuff injuries to affect younger people (under 40). Thankfully these are relatively rare events; although it was just such a sporting injury that got me started on my own rotator cuff journey.

Rotator Cuff tendonitis

The most common form of shoulder pain is without doubt rotator cuff tendonitis. Rotator Cuff tendonitis is caused by irritation and inflammation of the tendons of the rotator cuff muscles.

Rotator Cuff tendonitis often has a sudden or acute onset. Rotator Cuff tendonitis can be brought about by overuse of the shoulder. For example, it can occur in those who participate in such things as throwing sports or tennis.

In non-athletes there may be a history of recent heavy lifting or activities involving repetitive movements of the shoulder.

There is another form of rotator cuff tendonitis known as calcific tendonitis. This can occur when due to long standing inflammation calcium is deposited in the tendons and they are said to have become calcified.

Rotator Cuff tendon tear

Rotator cuff tears are most common in people over the age of 40 years.

A rotator Cuff tendon tear can take two forms either a full tear, possibly requiring rotator cuff surgery; or a partial tear mainly treated by exercise.

The classification is based purely upon the amount of damage. This is best seen using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).



Rotator cuff tears are most commonly a rotator cuff tendon tear rather than a tear in any of the muscles themselves.

Rotator Cuff tendon tear injuries are most common in older people, over 40 and become more common with advancing age. A rotator cuff tendon tear is, for example, much more likely in a person of 80 rather than a person of 40.

Rotator Cuff impingement

A rotator cuff tendon tear is often caused by rotator cuff impingement syndrome; this is discussed in great detail under the heading “rotator cuff impingement” in the anatomy section.

Basically impingement occurs when the rotator cuff tendon gets trapped or squashed in the subacromial space. The tendon is repeatedly scraped against the shoulder blade and this can lead to a fraying of the tendon. This means that the tendon weakens and is more likely to tear.

Impingement syndrome can occur because a weakness of the rotator cuff muscles leads to a lack of stability and therefore wear and tear. It can also happen due to problems with the bone of the acromion, arthritis, bony spurs and problems with the bursa in the shoulder joint.

If you have suffered from an injury, get yourself a shoulder wrap or shoulder support immediately to ease tension and not aggravate it further.  You need to take care of your rotator cuff or it will get worse.  In the mean time, you can decide how to proceed.  As always, I would recommend natural healing methods.