The risk of injuries and tissue damage is high in tissues and joints that are highly mobile and functional. The shoulder joint is a ball and socket joint. All the major activities across this joint are promoted by rotator cuff muscles that stabilize the shoulder joint in all upper limb 3-dimensional movements.
Rotator cuff injury involves moderate to severe injury to the shoulder region that may be acute in the form of trauma, accidental fall or it may occur in a chronic setting as a result of overuse injury due to repetitive movements across upper limb that makes supporting tendons or ligaments weak and vulnerable to minimal trauma. Rotator cuff tear manifests as painful movements and limitation of range of motion across the shoulder joint that is also followed by weakness of shoulder and visible abnormal angulations due to swelling in some cases.
You are at likely risk of developing rotator cuff tearing if you are an athlete or sports person who has a high rate of physical activity along the shoulder joint especially swimmers, carpenters and painters. You are also at risk if you are employed in body building and weight lifting or of advancing age with degenerative bone or joint diseases
Rotator cuff tear injuries is the most common form of injuries in professional tennis and badminton players and moderate to severe damage to rotator cuff muscles can greatly limit all types of activities across the shoulder joint. Physical therapy is needed for a number of reasons. It is very important to maintain normal circulation of blood across the joint capsule without affecting the nerve supply (brachial plexus) or healing tissues of shoulder joint. This is only possible if physical activity is performed across shoulder joint under tight supervision to avoid any trauma. Physical therapy helps in early recovery and restoration of full range of movement across the shoulder joint. Physical therapy is soothing and helps in relieving inflammation related shoulder joint pain.
Rotator cuff tear involves ligamentous damage in most cases and unless the tearing is very severe, no surgical manipulation is needed. Almost 80% of the cases get resolved with conservative therapy like ice-packs, steroid injection and anti-inflammatory medications to relieve pain and edema. Although the rotator cuff is made up of 4 different muscles, supra-spinatous is most vulnerable to injury or tearing in a rotator cuff tear. Most therapies aim at making your shoulder injury painless or numb so that the natural and innate immune system can take over the task of tissue healing and repair (or regeneration).
As discussed previously, rotator cuff tears are most commonly seen in professional players and athletes and besides improving the injury, physical therapy also helps in stabilization and strengthening of small muscles and fibers. This is because these muscle fibers are more likely to suffer injuries because of high impact motion across shoulder joint and most gym exercises aims at strengthening of large muscle groups only.
Physical therapy exercises that aims at correcting rotator cuff tear involve weight lifting and muscle strengthening via light dumbbells. To support and stabilize joint tissue, resistance banding is also performed that helps in relieving edema or swelling in the joint region and restore the compromised blood supply across the joint capsule. Medicine balls and other similar equipment help in healthy recovery and improved range of motion by passive muscle contraction.
It is strongly recommended not to lift heavy weights from the affected limb and avoid overstressing the shoulder joint by hardcore physical exercises. Never start any therapy without seeking the advice of your healthcare provider or without the supervision of your physical therapists.
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