Saturday, March 5, 2011

Looking For And Treating Torn Rotator Cuff Symptoms and Pain

By Tom Nicholson


Though they generally occur in the middle age group, it's not uncommon for torn rotator cuff symptoms to manifest themselves in the younger generation. Accidents, repeated strains in the muscles are some of the common causes of this problem. Though accidents are also responsible for injuring the rotator cuff, such injuries are normally quite apparent. However, problems like repeated stress syndrome where a person keeps doing tasks which put a strain on the ball and socket joint of the shoulders gradually damage the rotator cuff over time.

The first sign of an injured rotator cuff is usually throbbing pains which happen periodically and are not usually very severe. Many simply take a pain reliever and ignore the problem - which is a serious mistake, since they tend to continue putting stress on the injured joint, exacerbating the problem. All the pain reliever does is to numb the pain for a short time, with the symptoms returning worse than before once it wears off. The other early signs of an injured rotator cuff are stiffness, swelling and weakness. These symptoms show up slowly and worsen over time, which allows the suffer to prevent the worst possible outcome if they take action, since these symptoms will be experienced before the tear actually occurs.

A condition called "frozen shoulder" (adhesive capsulitis) may develop if no treatment is sought after experiencing the earlier torn rotator cuff symptoms. This condition is characterized by a reduction in the ability to move the shoulder, often to the point where even routine tasks like dressing or driving can be done only with the greatest difficulty.

All too many patients don't begin to take notice of the problem until their torn rotator cuff symptoms have progressed to the point where they are unbearable. As the shoulder becomes more inflamed with continued stress, the symptoms gradually become more severe. Once the symptoms become very severe, the injury is often to the point where a full recovery could take years. Rather than allowing things to degenerate this far, it is better to listen to what your body is telling you and start treating the condition with a rotator cuff exercise program. Don't just use pain relievers to hide the pain - it will only return worse than ever as you keep causing more damage to your rotator cuff.

Anyone whose work is physically demanding or is active in athletics needs to be particularly vigilant in watching for torn rotator cuff symptoms. As the inflammation worsens, symptoms such as frozen shoulder can be nearly disabling.

The best way to prevent torn rotator cuff symptoms from affecting your life is to get diagnosed and treated early. The diagnostic tools used to establish a torn rotator cuff include x-rays, ultrasound, MRI, arthograms and physical examination. The treatment depends on the severity of the injury and of the torn rotator cuff symptoms; these may include heat or cold, exercise and stretching, physical therapy and in very severe cases, steroids.




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