Shoulder Conditions
- Rotator Cuff Injury
- Labrum Tear
- Impingement Syndrome
- Subacromial Bursitis
Rotator Cuff Injury
Overview
The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that surround the shoulder joint, keeping the head of your upper arm bone firmly within the shallow socket of the shoulder. A rotator cuff injury can cause a dull ache in the shoulder, which often worsens when you try to sleep on the involved side.
Symptoms
The pain associated with a rotator cuff injury may:
Be described as a dull ache deep in the shoulder
Disturb sleep, particularly if you lie on the affected shoulder
Make it difficult to comb your hair or reach behind your back
Be accompanied by arm weakness
Treatment
If you are at risk of rotator cuff injuries or if you’ve had a rotator cuff injury in the past, daily shoulder stretches and strengthening exercises can help prevent future injury.
Labrum Tear
Overview
Injuries to the tissue rim surrounding the shoulder socket can occur from acute trauma or repetitive shoulder motion. Examples of traumatic injury include:
Symptoms
The symptoms of a tear in the shoulder socket rim are very similar to those of other shoulder injuries. Symptoms include
- A sense of instability in the shoulder
- Shoulder dislocations
- Pain, usually with overhead activities
- Catching, locking, popping, or grinding
- Occasional night pain or pain with daily activities
- Decreased range of motion
- Loss of strength
Treatment
Until the final diagnosis is made, your physician may prescribe anti-inflammatory medication and rest to relieve symptoms. Rehabilitation exercises to strengthen the rotator cuff muscles may also be recommended.
In many cases, nonsurgical methods are effective in relieving symptoms and healing the injured structures. If these nonsurgical measures are insufficient, your doctor may recommend surgery. Depending upon your injury, your doctor may perform a traditional, open procedure, or an arthroscopic procedure in which small incisions and miniature instruments are used.
Impingement Syndrome
Overview
Is a syndrome which occurs when the tendons of the rotator cuff muscles become irritated and inflamed as they pass through the subacromial space, the passage beneath the acromion. This can result in pain, weakness and loss of movement at the shoulder.
Symptoms
The most common symptoms in impingement syndrome are pain, weakness and a loss of movement at the affected shoulder. The pain is often worsened by shoulder overhead movement and may occur at night, especially when lying on the affected shoulder.
Treatment
Impingement syndrome is usually treated conservatively, but sometimes it is treated with arthroscopic surgery or open surgery. Conservative treatment includes rest, cessation of painful activity, and physical therapy.
Subacromial Bursitis
Overview
is a condition caused by inflammation of the bursa that separates the superior surface of the supraspinatus tendon (one of the four tendons of the rotator cuff) from the overlying coraco-acromial ligament, acromion, and coracoid (the acromial arch) and from the deep surface of the deltoid muscle
Symptoms
Subacromial bursitis often presents with a constellation of symptoms called impingement syndrome. Pain along the front and side of the shoulder is the most common symptom and may cause weakness and stiffness. If the pain resolves and weakness persists other causes should be evaluated such as a tear of the rotator cuff or a neurological problem arising from the neck or entrapment of the suprascapular nerve.
Treatment
Many non-operative treatments have been advocated, including rest; oral administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; physical therapy; chiropractic; and local modalities such as cryotherapy, ultrasound, electromagnetic radiation, and subacromial injection of corticosteroids