Rotator cuff pain can be one of the most debilitating conditions to affect us. Why?

Because we use our shoulders in almost everything we do.

Rotator cuff pain is the most common of the rotator cuff symptoms.

Despite this though, not everyone who has a torn rotator cuff will suffer pain.

In this section I want to concentrate on those who do have cuff pain.

I intend to cover the full range of painful rotator cuff symptoms.

I intend starting with the mild ache that some suffer and that is only felt when performing some strenuous overhead activity. I will conclude with the constant severe pain that can be associated with a full thickness rotator cuff tear.

I also want to touch on how to deal with your pain. In everything but the most severe of cases torn rotator cuff treatment can be successfully achieved through rotator cuff exercise.

What is pain?

I pose the question above as if we are to discuss rotator cuff pain.

We should have some understanding of what it actually is. Pain has been defined as follows

"An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage".

Pain is the most prominent member of a class of sensations known as bodily sensations, which includes itches, tickles, tingles, orgasms, and so on.

Bodily sensations are typically attributed to bodily locations and appear to have features such as volume, intensity, duration, and so on, that are ordinarily attributed to physical objects or quantities. Examples such as the following

• 1. I have a sharp pain in the back of my right hand
• 2. There is a throbbing pain in my left thigh
• 3. My right shoulder hurts
• 4. My wisdom tooth aches intensely.

Although we describe pain in this way, pain is a subjective experience. Our understanding of pain seems to be that instead of treating pains as objects of perceptual experience, it treats them as experiences themselves.

Each individual learns the application of the word through experiences related to injury in early life. That is why it is different for each of us.

I do not intend a theological debate on the subject that is for minds far, far greater than mine but I feel it is important to consider the subject.

Rotator cuff pain

So what about cuff pain specifically? As I have already said it is the most common of the rotator cuff symptoms anyone is likely to suffer. Despite or possibly because of it cuff pain is hard to define.

Cuff pain can be described as nothing more than a dull ache.

I am considering here a person with, let's say, very early onset of rotator cuff impingement.

A condition that, given time, has the capacity to eventually develop into a full thickness rotator cuff tear.

Such a condition would initially be confined to periods of exertion especially after overhead use of the arm.

If left untreated with appropriate rotator cuff exercise the rotator cuff symptoms experienced will increase as will the pain.

As the impingement increases so will the pain.

The rotator cuff pain will become more common and be felt across the front of the shoulder and possibly radiating down the arm. If there is inflammation of the tendons a burning sensation may be noticed in the shoulder.

If the tendon eventually tears you may actually feel a tearing sensation in the shoulder. This will be associated with a sharp pain that can be quite intense and located again across the front of the shoulder and almost certainly down the arm.

This pain will be increased on lifting the arm away from the body or above head height. It is possible for this pain to fade away over a period of months. This recovery will be speeded up with the correct torn rotator cuff treatment and rotator cuff exercise.

The most severe form of cuff pain is for a full thickness tear that also detaches the tendon from the humerus. There will be severe pain, this will, gradually lessen over time but it will still be painful. In the case of a chronic tear that develops over time the pain is unlikely to diminish as the process is ongoing.

No matter how severe your rotator cuff pain I hope you find some answers on this site to aid your recovery. Like you I have been plagued with pain and I found the permanent, natural answer in rotator cuff exercise.

My personal tried and trusted recommendations to assist with easing pain are The Elasto Gel Shoulder Wrap and Thera Therm moist heating pads.  These are amazing for a healing supplement and I have used them repeatedly.  They are very effective and soothing.

As for the Elasto Gel Shoulder Wrap, this is one of the best products you can get to aid in healing your injury.

Whatever your particular rotator cuff symptoms I genuinely hope I can help, even if it is only to reduce your rotator cuff pain a little.