Saturday, March 5

Cuff Tendonitis - What It Is And When To Treat It

By Tom Nicholson


Rotator cuff tendonitis is a fairly common sports injury, especially in people over 40. For that reason, cuff tendonitis is also known as tennis shoulder, swimmer's shoulder, and pitcher's shoulder. The condition is often the result of repetitive movement of the arm over the head like when pitching baseball.

The inflammation of shoulder tendons is cuff tendonitis and these tendons may become irritated and inflamed from misuse or overuse. Tendons may sometimes tear; you do not have to be a sports extremist to have cuff tendonitis. You can sometimes injure these tendons by turning over while sleeping or even landing on the shoulder during a fall.

Cuff tendonitis is classified as acute or chronic. Chronic tendonitis can develop over years and afflicts people who perform the same overhead motion repeatedly, like weight lifters and athletes. Acute cuff tendonitis is the result of an injury that stretches, tears, or ruptures the tendons in your shoulder.

Chronic cuff tendonitis symptoms include pain in the shoulder that may become more intense at night, pain that intensifies over time, the inability to lift the arm over the head or out to the side and a general weakness of the area. Sudden severe pain and muscle spasms may be the result of acute cuff tendonitis. Tendons may even bleed causing bruising to the area.

Treatment for cuff tendonitis depends upon how severe the damage is. You may be able to treat the injury at home by using ibuprofen to reduce inflammation and ice packs to relieve pain and swelling. Tears in the tendon may require surgical repair. In either case, the tendon must be allowed to rest in order to heal.

Physical therapy is used to treat tendonitis and to help prevent it from recurring. Exercises are prescribed that strengthen the rotator cuff muscles. If pain is too severe to do the exercises, steroids may be injected into the joint to help relieve swelling and pain so the shoulder regains full range of motion.

Cuff tendonitis may call for various types of treatments to be effective. It is possible to regain the normal use of your arms and shoulders as well as the ability to resume your daily activities. However, for the elderly, severe tendon tears may take longer to heal fully.

The inability to heal properly from cuff tendonitis may lead to bursitis, which is the inflammation of a fluid filled cavity in the shoulder. Bursa works to reduce the friction of the muscles and tendons in the shoulder joints. When the bursa is inflamed, you may suffer from pain as well as a limited range of motion in the arms and shoulders.

You cannot really prevent the condition of cuff tendonitis, however, you can try avoiding repetitive movements that cause tendon strain, while building muscle strength in the shoulder muscles. You should also take care not to land on the shoulder while falling as you play sports.

Generally, cuff tendonitis is not serious; however, it can prove to be painful and annoying. Unless the pain is continual and severe, you can treat it at home; otherwise, you should consult with a medical professional.




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