Your shoulder is a marvelous piece of design. It allows your arm to move up and down, it allows your arm to twist, and it provides the strength needed to stabilize whatever you have in your hand. A lot of the mobility that you have in your shoulder is thanks to your rotator cuff. Your rotator cuff is a group of four muscles that provide strength and provide stability to your shoulder joint. In order for your rotator cuff to work as it should, all of the muscles and ligaments that are attached to your shoulder bone must be in good health. If just one of those four muscles or just one of the ligaments is damaged, it can result in pain, loss of strength, loss of flexibility, and loss of mobility. If you are in this situation, you are likely looking for options regarding treatments for rotator cuff tears.

There are a lot of reasons why you might injure your rotator cuff. A lot of rotator cuff tears are related to repetitive stress. These types of injuries are often seen in athletes, especially pitchers, tennis players, and golfers. Repeatedly doing the exact same motion puts unusual stress on the rotator cuff, leading to damage and pain.

Another reason for rotator cuff tears includes the degeneration that happens to the body as we get older. Unfortunately, as we age, our body is not able to supply the rotator cuff and its tendons with the blood and nutrients that it needs. This means that our rotator cuff is not able to repair itself as quickly as we would like. Also, if you injure your rotator cuff muscles one time, the muscles and tendons can become so weak that your rotator cuff becomes prone to injuries.

When you injure your rotator cuff, it leads to a whole range of symptoms. The primary symptom is pain. And the pain can be so intense that it makes you not want to move your shoulder. Muscle spasms can further minimize your range of movement. When your rotator cuff is not working properly, the muscles in your shoulders do not make the adjustments needed to let the humeral head move smoothly. So, there will be some impingement with the muscles and the tendons that are attached to the bones.

With time, rotator cuff injuries can lead to arthritis. And this will drastically limit the range of motion that you have. As calcium begins to build up on the bony edges of the joint, your tendons and your muscles in the rotator cuff are going to be sore and your range of movement is going to be limited.

Rotator cuff tears vary in severity. Some are extremely mild and lead to only light inflammation. Then there are partial or complete tears of one of the muscles in the rotator cuff. These might require surgery and can lead to some long-term consequences that can impede the use of your shoulder and your arm.

If you are seeking professional treatment for rotator cuff tears, ask your physician for a referral to visit the office of Dr. Albert Swafford M.D., Inc. in Bakersfield. Contact your doctor today to get started!