Rotator cuff tears are one of the most common reasons patients enter an orthopedic surgeon’s office.
The rotator cuff is made up of 4 muscles which control how smoothly your shoulder works. Tears can occur in this area because of an injury, trauma or simple overuse. Here are 3 facts you must know about rotator cuff tears.
1. The Most Common Cause of a Rotator Cuff Tear is Degeneration
To put it simply, your tissue wore out over time. These tears can become larger with time, but this is not always the case. Many degenerative tears are small, and patients can usually avoid surgery. If you have a partial or small degenerative tear, a discussion with your doctor concerning surgery should only occur after you have failed a proper non-surgical treatment procedure, such as physical therapy. Complete rotator cuff tears that do not respond to physical therapy may require surgical repair as well. For larger tears that require surgery, repairing it with a patch may improve the surgical result.
2. Trauma or Injuries Can Cause Rotator Cuff Tears
If you have fallen on your side, and you now find you can’t move your arm due to pain or weakness, you have likely suffered a large traumatic tear in the rotator cuff. In this situation, you had a normal tendon which tore because of a traumatic event. These types of injuries are usually treated with surgery to repair the rotator cuff. In this case, don’t wait too long before seeing your orthopedist.
3. Retraction and Atrophy
Muscles in our body are under tension like a rubber band stretched between two fingers. If a tendon is torn on the end, it will begin to retract or pull backwards towards the other end. If you have a large tear, then your rotator cuff can retract significantly. If it has retracted more than 3 centimeters the repair may be difficult to perform and your result might suffer, or degrade over time. If you have had a tear for a while, then there is a chance that the muscle has turned to fat, and is not capable of working like a muscle anymore.
