Thursday, February 24

Torn Rotator Cuff Symptoms - Find Out Ways to Identify the Problem

By Tom Nicholson


Though they generally occur in the middle age group, it's not uncommon for torn rotator cuff symptoms to manifest themselves in the younger generation. Accidents, repeated strains in the muscles are some of the common causes of this problem. Though accidents are also responsible for injuring the rotator cuff, such injuries are normally quite apparent. However, problems like repeated stress syndrome where a person keeps doing tasks which put a strain on the ball and socket joint of the shoulders gradually damage the rotator cuff over time.

Typically, the first sign of these injuries are minor throbbing pains which recur periodically. In general, people shrug this pain off, often taking an over the counter pain reliever and ignoring the problem. This is a big mistake, since these people tend to continue working their shoulders, causing further damage. When the pain reliever wears off, the pain returns worse than ever, often along with restricted mobility of the affected shoulder. Other signs of a rotator cuff injury include weakness, stiffness and swelling in the injured shoulder joint. However, since gradual strain is the most common cause of this type of injury, these symptoms will show up before there is actual tearing of muscles or tendons, meaning that the worst can be averted if action is taken.

When people ignore the torn rotator cuff symptoms, they can also develop what is known as adhesive capsulitis or in common parlance called the frozen shoulder. In such a state, the patient cannot even perform common tasks like putting on their clothes or driving a car.

Most people start taking heed of the torn rotator cuff symptoms when they start becoming unbearable. These symptoms build up over time and are a result of the inflammation of the rotator cuff. Once these symptoms manifest themselves completely, then it can take years to heal the problem. Therefore, it's better to nip this problem in the bud by paying attention to the early symptoms and then enrolling yourself in a rotator cuff exercise program. The pain killers do not heal the cause of the problem; they just take care of the symptoms which worsen when the effects wear off.

If you engage in sports or other athletic pursuits or have a career which involves a lot of physical strain, you need to be especially careful about watching for the onset of torn rotator cuff symptoms. As the injury becomes worse, so do the symptoms - and conditions like frozen shoulder can be truly debilitating.

The best way to prevent torn rotator cuff symptoms from affecting your life is to get diagnosed and treated early. The diagnostic tools used to establish a torn rotator cuff include x-rays, ultrasound, MRI, arthograms and physical examination. The treatment depends on the severity of the injury and of the torn rotator cuff symptoms; these may include heat or cold, exercise and stretching, physical therapy and in very severe cases, steroids.




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