Lilly Physical Therapy in Edmonds-Shoreline WA | Free Screening

Fast Pain Relief and Physical Therapy in Edmonds-Shoreline WA

Physical Therapy & Fast Relief in Edmonds WA

24007 Edmonds Way, Edmonds, WA, 98026

Walk-Ins Welcome (425) 224-2476

  • Home
  • Team
  • Patient Info
  • Payment Info
  • About
  • Contact
  • Patient Portal
  • Careers
  • Blog
You are here: Home » Physical Therapy » Shoulder Pain–All About Rotator Cuffs

Shoulder Pain–All About Rotator Cuffs

April 1, 2019 By Lilly Bojic

Spring sports are in full swing right now, and with it, so are rotator cuff injuries. Don’t get me wrong, we love that the Mariners are off to a good start and are hosting Los Angeles this week, but it’s a sure sign that a wave of rotator cuff injuries are on their way from archery, baseball and tennis players.

So, what is a rotator cuff injury, how is it treated and how do you prevent it in the first place? We’ll answer each of these questions for you here one by one.

Tug-of-War–How The Rotator Cuff Works

Your shoulder is the most mobile joint in the body. The top of the humerus (long upper arm bone) has a ball on it that fits neatly into the shoulder. On its own, it would swing loosely whichever direction it was being pulled.

Instead, your arm is held stable by four muscles surrounding the top ball (glenohumeral joint), all pulling in different directions to keep it stable. To understand how this works, imagine a tug-of-war; the flag in the middle stays suspended in the air as long as both sides are pulling equally hard. If one side pulls less than the other, however, the flag moves. The same is true of the four muscles stabilizing your arm at the shoulder.

Those four muscles, abbreviated as S.I.T.S. make up the rotator cuff.

  • Supraspinatus
    • Abducts (pulls away from the body) and elevates the shoulder out to the side.
  • Infraspinatus
    • Rotates the arm out away from the body. (if your elbow is bent and tucked into your side this movement moves your hand further from your body)
  • Teres Minor
    • Externally rotates the arm out away from the body (same as infraspinatus) while helping hold the shoulder in place.
  • Subscapularis
    • Sitting directly above the ribs, this muscle depresses the head of the humerus (the top ball part of the bone) so that it can move smoothly in the joint without grinding up against the bones and muscles that make up the socket.

Treating Injured Rotator Cuff Muscles

Rotator cuff injuries are classified as either acute tears or generative tears.

Acute tears are sudden injuries such as jerking a heavy item up too hard or catching yourself when you trip in a way that tears one of the four rotator cuff muscles.

Degenerative tears are more common. These are injuries caused by wear and tear on the tendons holding the rotator cuff muscles in place. While they are more common as we age, they primarily come from one of three different reasons:

  • Repetitive stress:
    • Performing the same shoulder movements over and over again can stress your rotator cuff muscles beyond what they can bear. Often, you see this cause for injury in baseball and tennis players
  • Lack of blood supply:
    • As we age, less blood is delivered to our rotator cuff tendons. Having a regular blood supply is essential for every part of the body to maintain itself. Blood both carries away dead cells and delivers nutrients needed to rebuild damaged tissue. Small daily damage that accrues over time with regular use builds up, and with stunted healing from a lack of blood, the recovery time is too slow to keep up with the regular wear.
  • Bone spurs:
    • Bone overgrowth is common on the underside of the acromion bone. When we lift our arms, these spurs rub on the rotator cuff tendon, creating extra strain and potentially tearing it. The graphic to the right highlights the acromion bones.

Treatment for a rotator cuff injury can range between everything from simple bed rest to surgery.

Basic treatment for less severe injuries often includes:

  • Rest
    • Your doctor may suggest limiting overhead activities and being more proactive about resting your shoulder. A sling is sometimes used to keep the shoulder still, allowing it to heal.
  • Activity modification
    • This one is simple–if it hurts, don’t do it. Avoid movements that cause additional pain.
  • Anti-inflammatory medication
    • Drugs like naproxen and ibuprofen can reduce pain while lessening swelling.
  • Physical Therapy
    • Strengthening exercises must be performed to restore movement and return function to your shoulder. This includes different range of motion exercises as well as flexibility focused movements. Strengthening can both relieve pain and prevent further injury.

Injury Prevention

Baseball players take the spotlight for rotator cuff injuries. The excessive force placed on their shoulders, especially pitchers, frays the tendons over time. Throwing a small leather coated cork ball isn’t the only guilty party here, though. You can injure your rotator cuff muscles just reaching up to change a lightbulb.

The first sign of a rotator cuff injury, unfortunately, is pain; reaching out to put your jacket on, grabbing something from the back seat of your car or even just shaking hands with someone. If these hurt, there’s a good chance your rotator cuff is torn or frayed.

Injury prevention for the rotator cuffs, thankfully, is fairly straightforward.

Weightlifting and stability exercises can develop the muscles in your shoulder keeping it safely secured. Because your shoulder has more range of motion than any other joint in the body it is significantly more at risk to injury. Increasing the strength of the muscles responsible for keeping the joint stable decreases your chances of injury.

An effective preventative plan must include both strengthening the larger surrounding muscles of the shoulder while isolating the smaller S.I.T.S. muscles to ensure the entire shoulder is improved.

You don’t need to be Felix Hernandez for rotator cuff work to be important. Exercises and stability work benefits everyone no matter their age or level of activity.

If you’re in the Snohomish/King County area and need help getting a painful shoulder back into healthy shape, call Lilly Physical Therapy at (425) 224-2476.

Filed Under: Physical Therapy

Community Doctor of the Month!

This Month, Lilly PT has Chosen:

Dr. Ella Bostanjian is an experienced family physician with over 15 years of experience. She is dedicated to providing quality medical care by getting to know her patients. She established her medical practice with her patients in mind – providing the same care as any physician or their family members would expect to be given, and helping them make highly informed decisions about their health and wellness.

Education:      Yerevan State Medical Institute, Armenia

Residency:      Brooklyn Medical Center, New York

Languages:     Armenian, Russian

Interests:         Outdoor activities, reading, playing piano

Do You Need Expensive Pelvic Gadgets to Heal Incontinence?

How to Stop Peeing Your Pants in Public!

A Surprisingly Simple Way to Cure Spastic Bladder!

How We Saved a Life

Stop, Breathe

Follow Us

Facebookyoutubeinstagram

Ailments We Treat

  • Arthritis
  • Back Pain
  • Bursitis/Tendonitis
  • Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
  • Elbow pain
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Headaches/Migraines
  • Neck SI
  • Plantar Fasciitis/Heel Pain
  • Sciatica
  • Scoliosis
  • Shoulder
  • Sports Related Injuries
  • and [much much more]...

DON’T PUT IT OFF ANY LONGER…

make-appt (1)

How To Prepare For Your 1st Visit

Our Location

24007 Edmonds Way  Edmonds, WA, 98026

Revolutionary Pain Relief & Healing

830laserpic The 830Laser stimulates healing and reduces pain at an accelerated rate. No heat is generated so it is safe for use anywhere* on the body. It successfully treats most muscle, joint, tendon, and nerve pain associated with Arthritis, Back Pain, Bursitis/Tendonitis, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Heel Spur/Plantar Fascitis, Migraines, Osteoarthritis, TMJ, and more. It’s even safe on children. Learn more>>>

Current Blog to Check Out!

  • Plantar Fasciitis Season is here! Make sure you can do all your favorite gardening, running, and hiking pain free! ‪Click here!Screen Shot 2016-05-04 at 3.12.31 PMWhat is that Plantar Fasciitis?
  • Symptoms of Plantar Fasciitis
  • Who is prone to Plantar Fasciitis?
  • How to get rid of Plantar Fasciitis?
  • How to treat Plantar Fasciitis?
  • Self care for Plantar Fasciitis

Click here to check out how this patient overcame her severe and prolonged Plantar Fasciitis pain!

FREE REPORT

FREE REPORT

FREE REPORT

Terms of Use / Legal Notice / HIPAA Privacy Notice / Resources

Staff Only

Follow Us

Facebookyoutubeinstagram
Copyright 2021 Lilly PT - Powered by IndeFree - Physical and Occupational Therapy Clinics

Physical Therapy in Shoreline

Physical Therapy in Edmonds Washington

Sitemap