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Rotator cuff

A rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that surround the shoulder joint to keep the head of the upper arm bone firmly within the shallow socket of the shoulder. The rotator cuff helps stabilise and move the shoulder joint. It is a commonly injured area.

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What are the common rotator cuff injuries?

The most common injuries that may occur in your shoulder joint include:

  • Strains: Rotator cuff or tears are caused by acute or overuse injury, a car accident, or other sudden injuries, which may cause intense and immediate pain.
  • Tendinitis: This is an injury caused by overuse of the rotator cuff, which causes the rotator cuff to be inflamed.
  • Bursitis: This is an injury caused by inflammation of the bursa. A bursa is a fluid-filled sac that is situated between the rotator cuff tendons and the underlying bone.

What are the symptoms of a rotator cuff injury?

Rotator cuff injury symptoms may include:

  • Avoiding certain activities because they cause pain
  • Difficulty achieving full range shoulder motion
  • Tenderness or pain when reaching high
  • Progressive weakness of the shoulder
  • Trouble reaching behind the back or combing your hair
  • Disturb sleep especially when lying on the affected shoulder

It is important that you seek medical attention if you are experiencing these symptoms for longer than a week or you lose function in your arm.

What does rotator cuff injury treatment involve?

If conservative treatments and steroid injections haven’t reduced the pain, Dr Bismilla may recommend surgery depending on the diagnosis. He may recommend one of the following:

  • Arthroscopic tendon repair: During this procedure, Dr Bismilla will insert a tiny camera, called an arthroscope and other surgical tools in your shoulder through small incisions. He will then reattach the torn tendon to the bone.
  • Open tendon repair: During this procedure, Dr Bismilla will make a large incision on your shoulder and reattach the torn tendon to the bone.
  • Tendon transfer: If the tendon is too damaged to be reattached to the arm bone, Dr Bismilla will replace it using a nearby tendon.

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