Caring for a Rotator Cuff Injury with Physical Therapy
Is shoulder pain making everyday tasks feel impossible? Whether it’s the result of a sports injury or years of wear and tear, physical therapy can help you find relief without the need for invasive procedures.
I am Lauren Masi, a physical therapist and Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist. I’m also the owner and Clinical Services Director of Bay Area Physical Therapy and Lafayette Physical Therapy. Today, we’re going to talk about how physical therapy can help you care for a rotator cuff injury.
What Is the Rotator Cuff?
The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles that come off of the backside and underside of your shoulder blade, then wrap around to the outside of your arm bone or your humerus.
These muscles primarily help with lifting the arm out to the side and, of course, rotation as the name suggests.
What Can Cause a Rotator Cuff Injury or Tear?
Rotator cuff injuries can occur from various causes, including:
- Overuse: Repeated stress or strain on the muscles, often seen in athletes (like baseball pitchers) or those involved in physically demanding activities with lots of overhead lifting.
- Trauma: Sudden injuries from accidents or heavy lifting.
- Wear and tear: Over time, the rotator cuff muscles can become weak or damaged. This is often seen in the geriatric population.
Is Your Pain a True Rotator Cuff Injury?
One thing that we want to make sure of is that we’re actually treating the right thing. When it comes to rotator cuff injuries, I have people who walk into my clinic with shoulder pain and the first thing they assume is that they have a rotator cuff injury. But there are so many other structures in the shoulder that can be affected by stress or strain.
We have a special test that we can do on evaluation day to test your strength in different ranges of motions to get us to a diagnosis. We also have the availability of musculoskeletal ultrasound, which allows me to see images of many of the structures of the shoulder, including the rotator cuff tendons. With this, I can look for tearing, tendonitis, tendinosis, all of those typical tendon injuries that we can treat here in physical therapy.
Do You Need Surgery for a Rotator Cuff Injury or Tear?
A lot of times, I’m talking people off the ledge when they come in for shoulder pain. They hear that they have a rotator cuff injury, and they assume that means they have to have surgery. But not everyone who has a rotator cuff injury must be rushed into surgery—and honestly, most people shouldn’t be rushed into surgery.
We want to make sure that we always exhaust our conservative care approaches first. This includes considering the activities, exercises, and hobbies that you might do to gauge the demand that’s going to be put on those tissues in the future. This can help us know if you really should be a surgical candidate or not.
How Physical Therapy Can Help You Recover from a Rotator Cuff Injury or Tear
First, we’re going to do all that testing to make sure we get to the root cause of what we’re treating. For example, if you are an athlete, we’re going to be looking at your throwing mechanics. If you are an overhead worker, we’re going to make sure you’re strong in the other areas and look at exactly what position your shoulder is in while you’re doing the activities that you have to do for your job.
Then we’re going to start with the conservative approaches of strengthening, stretching, and evaluating the biomechanics that might’ve gotten you injured in the first place. We’re also going to help treat your pain with some of the modalities we have in office, such as electrical stimulation or our Class IV laser. These will help treat the pain and inflammation to improve your range of motion and make it easier to rebuild your strength.
Reach Out to Bay Area PT for a Consultation
If you need help and would like to discuss how we can help you control your pain and hopefully prevent surgery, please call our front desk today for a complimentary consultation or to schedule an evaluation. You can reach us at (925) 284-3840.