Alright, I know that if you have a painful shoulder at the moment the last thing you need is some happy soul being glib about how to sort it out, but the reality is that for almost all of us rotator cuff rehab is really quite simple.
Okay, I know that if you are suffering from rotator cuff pain right now the last thing you want is some cheery soul being glib about how to fix it, but the reality is that for almost all of us rotator cuff rehab is really very simple. The only exceptions to that are if you have either managed to acquire a bad tear or what is known as a full thickness tear. If you have then you'll be booking surgery before you are able to start using your shoulder again.
But, like I said, for the majority of us rotator cuff rehab is reasonably simple.
The first thing that you need to understand is what kind of injury you have, because once you do, then you begin to understand just how you are going to fix it.
A rotator cuff injury is damage to the muscles of the rotator cuff. The rotator cuff is made up of four muscles that all connect to the scapula or shoulder blade at one end and the top of the arm at the other. What they do, in the great scheme of things, is to hold the arm in place as you move. Depending on how you move, different muscles within the four work harder. Once you get your arm above shoulder height your rotator cuff is working at its hardest to prevent the ball of the humerus coming away from the socket of the shoulder joint
This is why when you injure your rotator cuff it always seems to hurt worst when you raise your arm above shoulder height or reach for something.
the muscles are all grouped tightly together forming a cuff of muscle around the shoulder joint to help stabilise it. They run over the surface of the shoulder blade. One of them, called the supraspinatus even runs through a channel of bone at the top of the shoulder blade before it attaches to the humerus.
This tendon causes the most trouble with a rotator cuff injury because when it gets inflamed and starts to swell it has nowhere to go so it starts to get trapped or impinged by the bone which leads to further pain and injury. Think of it like a tow rope being rubbed against a hard surface. Sooner or later it will start to fray and eventually it will snap.
So if you want a rotator cuff to heal completely there are really three steps.
Step one, Let the muscle rest so that it can heal. That means avoiding any painful movements. Which may involve changing the way in which you work for a while or even taking some time off.
Step two, work on the the inflammation. Try anti-inflammatory drugs like Ibuprofen and start using ice packs whenever you are able. If that doesn't worksee if your doctor will give you a steroid injection.
Step three, when the cuff has settled down start a simple course of shoulder specific physical therapy exercises aimed at strengthening and rebuilding the muscles of the rotator cuff. These will involve small movements with light weights or low resistance that isolate and exercise this small but important group of muscles.
It's quite logical really. Muscles won't heal unless you rest them. Working through a rotator cuff injury will cause more damage. Let the inflammation go down before you start exercising and do exercises that strengthen the right muscles.
Told you it was simple! I know because that's exactly how I fixed my shoulder.
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