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If You've Got A Rotator Cuff Injury – Don't Worry,The Remedy Is Often Easier Than You Might Think

By: Nick Bryant

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Shoulder problems come in a variety of shapes and sizes. It is probably the most complex joint in the body and is one of the easiest to develop a problem with and one of the commonest shoulder problems is a rotator cuff injury. Around thirty percent of us will suffer from a problem with these small but important muscles at some point in our lives.

The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles that help to hold the joint in place by helping to pull the rounded head of the humerus or upper arm into the socket of the shoulder formed by the end of the shoulder blade. These four muscles run over and around the shoulder forming a cuff of muscle, hence the name. Without these muscles it would be very easy to dislocate your shoulder as the ball and socket joint of the shoulder is a very shallow joint to allow the wide range of movement that we enjoy.

If you damage the rotator cuff you can start to suffer from a wide range of symptoms. These include trouble getting comfortable when you lie down leading to sleepless nights, pain when you try lifting your arm above shoulder height or to the side. You can also experience discomfort whenever you reach behind you, tucking in a shirt or blouse can be almost impossible and if you ignore them the symptoms simply get worse until your injured arm becomes too painful to use.

So how do you get this type of injury in the first place? It might be a knock or fall that causes trauma to these muscles. Lifting something that is too heavy can tear the muscle or a repetitive movement can cause wear to the muscle. This condition is known as pitcher's shoulder because baseball pitchers often have rotator cuff problems from the constant overhead throwing action. If you are in your fifties you have a fairly good chance of being in the group of people who suffer with shoulder pain simply from wear and tear.

As we (age we change our posture and these changes in posture can result in problems with one or both of our shoulder joints. One of the muscles of the rotator cuff runs through a channel of bone at the top of the shoulder blade. This muscle can start to rub against the bone either because it has been injured and become inflamed or simply because we hold ourselves a bit differently as time goes by. The inflammation can cause a shoulder impingement where the muscle is literally getting pinched and damaged by the bone. Ignore this at your peril because a shoulder impingement can become a partial or complete tear of the muscle. The latter will certainly require surgery.
Happily, the vast majority of rotator cuff injuries can be sorted out with rest and exercise. Rest first!

Sounds easy but you quickly|soon begin to} realise just how frequently you use your shoulder, so the most sensible advice is to avoid any movement that causes discomfort. The pain in a rotator cuff injury is an indication that damage is being done. Try anti-inflammatory drugs like Ibuprofen to bring down any swelling. Do not try to work through this type of injury as you can end up turning a simple problem into a major muscle tear that will need surgery.

Once the inflammation and pain has subsided you can start gentle exercise aimed at strengthening the muscle, gradually building up the amount and frequency of exercise until the shoulder is back to full, pain free, movement. Exercise for this sort of injury does not involve heavy weights or high resistance as that will tend to make you use the major muscles of the shoulder rather than the rotator cuff

Whatever you do, don't stop the exercises once you are better. If you have suffered a shoulder injury once there is a fair chance that you can do it again so, seeing that prevention is better than cure, keep your shoulders in shape as you gracefully age and keep up the exercises.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

If you found this article interesting check out my full story at www..myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com My name is Nick Bryant and I tore my rotator cuff lifting something that was too heavy. Despite being told that I would need surgery I have managed a full recovery with just exercise. Check out my story at www..myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com

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