Although rotator cuff tears may affect anyone progressively or in an instant, your vulnerability increases if your job or sport entails repetitive overhead arm movement. Lucky for you, effective treatment is available. West Chester orthopedic surgeon Ronald Hess, MS, DO and his team employs proven methods to repair rotator cuff tears and restore your shoulder function at Beacon Orthopedics & Sports Medicine.
What Is A Rotator Cuff?
The rotator cuff implies a collection of muscles and tendons in the shoulder that controls most of the joint's motion. They keep the head of the humerus, which is the ball part of your shoulder joint, in the socket of your shoulder blade.
A bursa denotes a fluid-filled sac that sits between your rotator cuff and the bone at the top of your shoulder, allowing the joints to move freely. If your rotator cuff is injured, the bursa may be affected as well.
What Is A Rotator Cuff Tear?
A rotator cuff tear happens when one or more of the rotator cuff's muscles or tendons rips or tears. Some rotator cuff rips occur gradually, beginning as a little fray and progressing to a painful condition. Acute injuries, on the other hand, occur in a flash.
Partial tears in the rotator cuff occur when the muscle or tendon is torn but not completely severed. On the other hand, full-thickness tears separate one of the tendons from the humerus bone's head.
Shoulder soreness or pain, as well as shoulder weakness, are symptoms of rotator cuff injuries. Because the shoulder has the most range of motion of any of your joints, you will feel a substantial difference in mobility if you have a rotator cuff tear.
How Rotator Cuff Tears Happen
Acute injuries or progressive deterioration can cause rotator cuff tears. Lifting extraordinarily large goods or falling on outstretched arms can cause acute shoulder injuries. Degenerative tears form due to age, but factors such as poor circulation, bone spurs, and frequent movements might hasten their onset.
When determining a diagnosis, the Beacon Orthopedics & Sports Medicine team looks for additional injuries, such as shoulder dislocations, that may have caused or occurred concurrently with the rotator cuff tear.
Rotator Cuff Tear Treatment
Although more conservative therapies for rotator cuff injuries are usually effective, Dr. Hess can undertake minimally invasive orthopedic surgery to repair the tear if necessary. The following are some of the more conservative treatments for rotator cuff tears:
• Physical therapy
• Over-the-counter pain relievers
• Heat and ice therapy
• Steroid injections
• Activity modification
If you have attempted these steps and are still in pain after 6-12 months, or if the rip is significant. Dr. Hess navigates the shoulder joint through small incisions called portals during arthroscopic rotator cuff surgery. He manipulates small surgical tools to repair the ligament while watching a monitor's real-time image of the inside shoulder.
Dr. Hess uses research-backed therapies such as dual-row fixation with sutures or augmentation with a graft to strengthen the weak tendons.
Do not suffer the discomforts of rotator cuff tears unnecessarily. If you seek immediate relief, contact Beacon Orthopedics & Sports Medicine for a practical treatment plan. Call or schedule an online appointment with the experts today.
