When you straighten your arm at the elbow and lift your arm up high, like you’re raising your hand in class, you are able to make that motion courtesy of your rotator cuff. The Cleveland Clinic describes the rotator cuff as a group of muscles and tendons in your shoulder that keeps the ball of the upper arm bone (humerus) in the shoulder blade socket.
What Does This Injury Feel Like?
If you’ve injured that rotator cuff, you may not actually know it. For instance, the Mayo Clinic says not only do some rotator cuff injuries not cause any pain, but the pain may be minimal — especially if it’s been getting worse over time. You may feel a dull ache in the shoulder, or it may be uncomfortable sleeping, and you may have some arm weakness that prevents you from doing everyday tasks like lifting your arm to comb your hair. Sometimes people with a torn rotator cuff presume it’s something else causing the discomfort.
Causes of Rotator Cuff Injury
Often, the rotator cuff will be injured from wear and tear and is more common as we age. It’s an injury that affects more than 2 million people in the United States every year. However, it can occur because of injury like a broken collarbone or dislocated shoulder. It can also be hurting because of overuse. For example, people that have jobs using repetitive use or motion with their shoulder doing overhead tasks, like carpenters, mechanics, and painters, often feel the discomfort of a partial or full rotator cuff tear.
Physiologically, rotator cuff tears happen when tendons pull away from the arm bone. A partial tear is just that — the tendon is still partially attached. When dealing with a complete tear, the tendons disconnect from the bone. At that point you’re probably wondering, can a torn rotator cuff heal on its own, or will it require surgery?
Treatment Options
When you start feeling pain or discomfort, it’s best to have your provider take a look at it. There are some things that can be done to provide relief. Without treatment for a prolonged period, you will likely experience decreasing strength and perhaps even a loss of motion. Can a torn rotator cuff heal on its own? The answer: It depends.
A complete tear will typically require surgery, but there are rotator cuff surgery alternatives when you have a partial tear. In fact, the Mayo clinic says 80% of people with partial tears get better without surgery, although it will take time.
Here are four treatments to try when you have shoulder pain.
- Over-the-counter pain relievers
- Arm sling and rest with ice compresses
- Physical Therapy to strengthen the muscles
- Visit QC Kinetix
Easing Shoulder Pain at QC Kinetix
QC Kinetix is a non-surgical regenerative medicine practice dedicated to helping you minimize pain associated with musculoskeletal conditions or injuries. When you visit our clinic, we spend time getting to know you and understanding the cause of your shoulder pain so we can customize a treatment plan designed to improve your quality of life. Regenerative medicine utilizes natural biologics to minimize pain in the shoulder due to injuries like rotator cuff tears. Our regenerative therapies are restorative, providing you with shoulder pain treatments.
In partnership with your regenerative medicine clinical treatment, we can enhance your experience using our natural biologic supplements. Our natural ingredients can remedy deficiencies your body may be experiencing and help ease shoulder soreness.
Our joint pain relief is designed using a scientific formula with ingredients specifically tailored to help promote overall joint health, joint mobility, and support joint comfort.
Ready to learn more about our regenerative therapies and supplements? Find a QC Kinetix location near you and request an appointment for a free consultation.
