Rotator cuff pain is generally crippling to your spirits in addition to what activities you can stand to do. You can be benched for a long while after a rotator cuff injury. The sad thing is that this is something that can be easily prevented in most cases. There are also some surprisingly simple steps you can take in order to stop it unless it stems from a serious tear.
Generally there’s a protracted diagnosing process before you get to the treatment, but most rotator cuff pain stems from a physical injury. This can be a fresh injury or an old one that never properly healed and may lead to chronic problems. There are a few differences between the major problems that lead to rotator cuff pain, but most have the same treatment. Surgery can be avoided in most cases, but not all. If you didn’t run screaming to a doctor after the injury, it’s likely that you can deal with the problem on your own.
Bursitis and full thickness rotator cuff tears are the problems you may need additional help with. For bursitis, it can be necessary to drain the fluid of the bursa. This can be done at the doctor’s office. Full thickness rotator cuff tears tend to require surgery in a large portion of the cases.
You have two ways to treat rotator cuff pain and one optional add on. Respectively, these are stretching, exercise, and anti-inflammatories. The first two on the list can also be used for prevention. The anti-inflammatories help with the pain and can help to restore some motion, allowing you to get back into activities that you miss more quickly. Be careful if you opt to take these as there has been a history of side effects in some cases.
When you stretch, you work to increase your range of motion. This means they’ll be looser and less likely to get pulled or harmed. When you stretch or exercise a muscle group, it increase the blood flow to it. This improved blood flow will help you to recover more quickly.
When you stretch, do so slowly with full breaths. You should also focus on slow, controlled motions for the exercises with light weights. This helps to reduce the risk of aggravating the injury further. You’ll still promote the growth of new muscle fibers and the strengthening of the tendons. In many cases, you may not need to use weight at all to start with. Check your ego at the door, otherwise you’ll huff and you’ll puff and you’ll blow your arm out further. Overexertion, along with periods of neglect, is what typically leads to rotator cuff pain to begin with.
