Fresh articles from More Free Information Article Directoryhttp://www.morefreeinformation.com/Fri, 10 Sep 2010 15:33:35 CDTMorefreeinformation.com http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/17340/90/Do-You-Know-the-Torn-Rotator-Cuff-Symptoms-and-Know-How-To-Treat-Them.html
Torn rotator cuff symptoms are fairly simple to identify but getting it wrong or ignoring them can lead to a lot more serious problems, so what are the symptoms and what should you do if you have them

The rotator cuff is a group of four relatively small muscles that help to stabilise and move the shoulder joint Most of the time you are not aware of them and it is only when we manage to damage one of them that we are reminded, usually painfully, that they are there

Their job is to pull the head of the humerus or upper arm into the socket of the shoulder to prevent us from dislocating our shoulder and also to help when we rotate our arms

The shoulder socket is very shallow which allows us the wide range of movement that we have but it also gives the shoulder its inherent weak point Each of the four muscles of the rotator cuff is attached to the shoulder blade at one end and attaches to the humerus at the other All of them take a different route depending on where, on the humerus, they attach Together they form a cuff of muscles around the joint stabilising it, hence the name

Torn rotator cuff symptoms can start with a dull ache in the shoulder which spreads down the arm You will almost certainly experience pain when trying to lift the arm to the side or front and may have difficulty reaching behind you, to tuck in clothing for example The arm will become weaker and the pain can quickly become debilitating One test is to try to slowly lift your arm whilst someone else pushes gently against it If this hurts then you almost certainly have torn a rotator cuff muscle

A torn rotator cuff can happen in a number of different ways You might start out with shoulder tendonitis with just occasional pain or a dull ache, perhaps after work or exercise This is caused by one of the tendons becoming inflamed and is usually treated with rest and anti-inflammatory drugs or ice packs

Shoulder tendonitis if left untreated can eventually lead to a shoulder impingement This comes about when tendon becomes so swollen that it is getting pinched when you move This is more serious and although the treatment is almost identical to tendonitis the timescales involved can be longer It is important to treat a shoulder impingement as if this is ignored it may well lead to a rotator cuff tear as the tendon gets worn by the rubbing action

A knock or fall can also result in a rotator cuff tear or injury Any sports or work activity that involves a lot of overhead reaching can bring on the symptoms

The simplest advice is that if you have had shoulder pain that has gone on for more than three days or is getting worse with time, it is best to get it checked out by a professional The sooner you start treatment the less likely you are to make things worse and the quicker the recovery will be

Treatment, if started early, usually means resting, treating the inflammation with anti-inflammatory drugs and ice packs and then starting some shoulder specific exercises to strengthen the rotator cuff and surrounding muscles

There are a few of us who who may have a genetic disposition to rotator cuff problems If you fall into this category or if you have managed to get a particularly bad tear, you may need corrective surgery but this is actually quite rare and usually only done after conservative treatments have failed

If you found this article useful and would like more information on rotator cuff pain and shoulder therapy exercises visit my blog at http://myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/17340/90/Do-You-Know-the-Torn-Rotator-Cuff-Symptoms-and-Know-How-To-Treat-Them.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/17205/90/Shoulder-Impingement-Exercises-Will-Fix-Your-Shoulder-But-When-Should-You-Begin.html
Shoulder impingement exercises are essential to reduce the recovery time from a shoulder impingement or shoulder tendonitis, but it is important to start doing them at the right time and to avoid any exercise that causes you pain when doing them

Shoulder tendonitis is simply inflammation of one or more of the tendons of the rotator cuff which all help with shoulder stability and movement

A shoulder impingement, however, is a potentially worse injury It can start when the supraspinatus tendon becomes inflamed and gets pinched or impinged The supraspinatus tendon helps you to raise your arm up to the front or side which is why these movements are painful when you have a shoulder impingement

The tendon normally runs through a channel of bone at the top of your shoulder blade where your shoulder blade attaches to the collar bone When it gets inflamed it can become too big for the channel and begin to get pinched whenever you move your arm This is a shoulder impingement Classic symptoms are pain when raising your arm to the side or front which gets worse with use, together with shoulder weakness

Whether you have shoulder tendonitis or a shoulder impingement the exercises will be the same However the timing may be slightly different

What you are trying to do with shoulder impingement exercises is strengthen the whole shoulder There are twenty two muscles involved in shoulder movement and by strengthening all of them you can speed up the recovery of your rotator cuff It is vital that you do not feel pain when exercising as this could be a sign of additional damage being done

If you have a shoulder impingement it is vital to reduce the inflammation and rest the shoulder before you begin any exercise It may take a few weeks of rest and anti-inflammatory drugs before you are able to begin exercising the shoulder You might need to change the way that you work or even stop driving for a while to avoid painful movements, but this is essential Pain when you have a shoulder impingement is usually a sign that more damage is being done The contradiction is that you need to keep your shoulder moving to avoid developing frozen shoulder So keep teh shoulder moving but avoid painful movements

With both shoulder impingement and shoulder tendonitis, the exercises will tend to be quite gentle, focusing more on stretching, flexibility and control The rotator cuff muscles are relatively small muscles which are designed to hold the arm in place in the shoulder joint Small increases in strength of the rotator cuff can have a dramatic effect on shoulder health

Most of us tend to neglect the rotator cuff as we get older so it is no surprise that the majority of shoulder problems come about in the over forties age group Other people at risk are sportspeople and anyone who uses their shoulders a lot at work, reaching up to work

Once you have had a shoulder injury it is advisable to include shoulder exercises in your morning routine two or three times a week just to help keep your shoulder healthy

If you liked this article and would like to know more about the shoulder impingement exercises that fixed my shoulder check out my site at http://myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/17205/90/Shoulder-Impingement-Exercises-Will-Fix-Your-Shoulder-But-When-Should-You-Begin.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/17204/90/Rotator-Cuff-Exercise-The-Secret-of-Shoulder-Health.html
If you have ever felt a dull ache or sharp pain in your shoulder or upper arm, have trouble reaching into your back pocket or tucking in a shirt or are unable to get comfortable at night because of pain in your shoulder, then you have probably damaged your rotator cuff

Rotator cuff troubles are one of the most common shoulder injuries Over eight million Americans will go to their doctor with shoulder problems this year and the vast majority will be problems such as bursitis,tendonitis and cuff tears The rotator cuff comprises of four fairly small muscles that all run from the scapula or shoulder blade to the head of the Upper arm bone (humerus) Their job is to pull the arm into the socket of the joint stabilizing the shoulder as we move They also move the shoulder whenever we rotate the arm

The most common injury is to the supraspinatus tendon which helps when we raise our arm and is at most risk of injury when we lift our arms above shoulder height With a supraspinatus tear you will have an ongoing pain in your upper arm with a sharp pain in your shoulder when you raise your arm The arm will become weak and you will experience difficulty lifting it as well as night time pain

It may be, that rather than a torn rotator cuff, you have acute tendonitis which can present with very similar symptoms The best way to get an accurate diagnosis is with an MRI scan

You are more likely to need surgery if you have torn your rotator cuff Tendonitis ,however, will nearly always respond well to rest, treatment with ice packs and anti-inflammatory drugs followed by rotator cuff exercises aimed at rehabilitating and strengthening the rotator cuff

Tears are fairly rare in younger people They tend to come along as we get older and our muscles weaken although younger people who play repetitive overhead sports can be at risk Swimmers, baseball players and gymnasts often suffer from rotator cuff tears

Research has shown that a lot of people can get by perfectly well with a rotator cuff tear A lot will depend on the level of pain that you experience and how you intend to use your shoulder The main reason for surgery is to help with pain relief rather than to restore movement Recovery from a shoulder operation can take up to eighteen months depending on the severity of the injury Tendonitis on the other hand can usually be healed within four to six weeks

Which is why it is so important to treat shoulder problems sooner rather than later to avoid them getting worse Tendonitis that is ignored can develop into a tear that will require a much longer rehabilitation time or even surgery to rectify

One of the most important things, as we get older, is to stretch and condition our shoulders before we do any serious exercise with them A few shoulder stretches done before playing baseball with the kids can save you from weeks of pain and inconvenience And if you are over forty and still have healthy shoulders a few rotator cuff exercises will go a long way towards avoiding potential problems

If you liked this article and would like more information on rotator cuff exercises that fixed my shoulder check out my site at http://myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/17204/90/Rotator-Cuff-Exercise-The-Secret-of-Shoulder-Health.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/15674/90/Rotator-Cuff-Tear-Symptoms-EarlyDetection-Can-Speed-Up-Recovery-Time.html
Rotator cuff tears or injuries can happen in a number of different ways but the one thing that they all have in common is that the sooner that you start treating them the better the prognosis So how can you recognise rotator cuff tear symptoms and when do you need to get professional advice

Firstly, rotator cuff problems for the main part come about in one of three ways You can suffer a traumatic event to the shoulder This is basically any event that causes a sudden injury Some sports where you make sudden snapping movements with your shoulder can result in a tear to the rotator cuff Baseball pitchers have given rotator cuff problems the name pitcher's shoulder because they are such common injuries You could lift something that is too heavy and tear the muscles The cuff is designed to hold the arm into the socket so lifting too much can damage a weak rotator cuff A fall or knock in an accident is also a way to damage a rotator cuff

If the injury comes about as a result of a traumatic event then the symptoms will commence quickly and with no warning They will include pain when lifting the arm to the front or side, difficulty getting comfortable at night and weakness in the effected shoulder and arm The pain will get worse over time One simple test that you can do is to have someone push gently against your arm whilst you try to move it up to the side If this results in shoulder pain you have almost certainly damaged the rotator cuff If pain worsens or carries on beyond two or three days see your doctor An MRI scan can confirm the diagnosis

Rotator cuff problems can also come about through wear and tear This tends to be as we age and is more common amongst in over forties but can also present in anyone who does a repetitive overhead movement in their work or sports This again will begin with shoulder pain but perhaps more general than with a specific injury This is usually caused by the supraspinatus tendon getting pinched in the subacromial space

In simple terms, the tendon runs through a channel of bone This tendon helps you to lift you arm to the side or front Some of us have a smaller channel of bone than others and are more likely to get this problem As we age our posture changes which can result in problems The tendon gets rubbed against the bone and becomes inflamed As it becomes inflamed it starts to get trapped and rubbed more leading to a downward spiral as the tendon deteriorates Left untreated it is possible to wear the tendon completely through

Symptoms are similar to above but tend to come on more slowly with pain gradually increasing as the tendon becomes more damaged Again it is vital to get an early diagnosis and treatment to avoid a more serious injury

The good news is that nearly all rotator cuff injuries, caught early enough, will respond to rest and exercise It is vitally important to rest the shoulder completely, avoiding any movement that results in pain You also need to treat the inflammation with ice and anti inflammatory drugs Once you control the inflammation the pain will be controlled Shoulder specific exercises will help to strengthen the shoulder and rotator cuff facilitating healing but should only be done when the shoulder is pain free Any exercise that causes pain should be discontinued as this is a sign of further damage being done

Rest, Ice and anti-inflammatory drugs and then shoulder specific exercises but always seek professional advice

And remember to keep up the exercises when your shoulder is better If you have had one shoulder injury you may well be susceptible and prevention beats cure every time

If you found this article useful and would liek to know more about rotator cuff tear symptoms check out my blog at http://myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/15674/90/Rotator-Cuff-Tear-Symptoms-EarlyDetection-Can-Speed-Up-Recovery-Time.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/15532/90/I-Cured-my-Rotator-Muscle-Tear-with-Simple-Shoulder-Exercises.html
That statement may not mean a great deal to you but to me it meant a lot I tore the rotator muscle in my left shoulder and had ended up with a shoulder impingement I had been in pain for about six months and even had surgery booked so being able to sort out the tear with rest and exercise came as a bit of a surprise, albeit a welcome one

If we go back about a year I will explain from the start

I was moving some flat packed office furniture I was finally being allowed a home office and was keen to get it set up Being impatient I lifted a heavy package on my own I was careful, looked after my back and took the weight using my thigh muscles Where I went wrong was to keep my left arm absolutely straight which meant all the weight was pulling straight down on my shoulder I felt a twang and that was the start of months of pain and inconvenience

I had torn the supraspinatus which is one of the four tendons which make up the rotator cuff group of muscles It was only a partial tear but it caused the muscle to become inflamed Since the supraspinatus runs through a channel of bone in your shoulder, the inflammation caused it to get trapped, rubbing against the bone

This in turn meant that every time that I moved it in a certain way, the tendon was getting damaged further

What had begun as a sore shoulder soon got worse as I continued to use my arm The pain spread down my arm and went from being occasional to being a constant pain in my shoulder My shoulder started to stiffen up and become immobile and my arm just got weaker and weaker

I went to the doctor who sent me to a specialist He diagnosed a rotator cuff tear and shoulder impingment He gave me a steroid injection to help with the inflammation and told me to rest the arm

To cut a long story short; after two more steroid injections my arm was no better The injections alleviated the symptoms for a while but gradually the pain would return, so in the end I was booked for surgery to free up the trapped tendon

It was while I was waiting for my operation that I started looking into shoulder injuries on the internet and discovered that exercise features in all recovery programmes Where I had been going wrong, was not resting the arm properly Every movement was causing more damage so although the injections helped with the inflammation, I was causing more trouble by continuing to use the shoulder

So I stopped using my arm, avoiding carefully any movement that gave pain I stopped driving, rearranged my desk at work and asked for help with anything I found difficult I also started taking anti-inflammatory drugs every four hours The pain reduced and I started to get some movement back

Then I started exercising my shoulder No lifting weights, these were gentle low weight, low resistance exercises focusing more on flexibility and control They were Pilates based rather than bearing any resemblance to gym based exercises Gradually over the following weeks I increased the amount of exercise always taking care that I did not feel any pain My shoulder became more mobile and is now back to normal without the promised surgery

What do I put this down to? I think rest is the most important thing to do with a rotator muscle injury Treating the inflammation helps with the pain and stops you doing further damage The exercises focused on the whole shoulder, which meant that other muscles could take the strain while my rotator cuff healed

As we get older our posture changes putting a strain on different muscles I think that the exercises woke up a few sleepy muscles and improved the overall health of my shoulders

Whatever it was, I'm taking no chances Exercising my shoulders is now routine

If you found this article useful or just plain interesting then and would like to know more about rotator muscle injuries and their treatment read my story at http://myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/15532/90/I-Cured-my-Rotator-Muscle-Tear-with-Simple-Shoulder-Exercises.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/15363/90/Simple-Shoulder-Pain-Exercises-Sorted-Out-My-Torn-Rotator-Cuff-in-Just-A-Few-Weeks.html
It was about a year ago that I tore my rotator cuff while lifting some flat pack office furniture If I am honest with myself, it was too heavy for me but I was in a rush so tried lifting it on my own I was careful of my back, bent my knees, took the strain with my thigh muscles and all was going well until I felt a pop in my shoulder I put the desk down, gave my shoulder a rub and waited for my friend before continuing

The next day I woke up to a sore shoulder which had started to stiffen up Over the next few days it began to hurt more, lifting my arm to the side or front hurt, my shoulder gradually got worse until it was painful all the time and the pain was spreading down my arm It got weaker and weaker and more and more painful and the range of movement just got worse I could not lie on it so sleep became difficult

Finally, after a few weeks, I went to see my doctor who diagnosed a rotator cuff injury and sent me to see a specialist He also gave me firm instructions to stop using my shoulder as much as possible and to take some anti-inflammatory drugs to help with the inflammation

At the hospital I had an MRI scan which confirmed that I had torn the supraspinatus tendon in my left shoulder What was more, I now had a shoulder impingement because the tendon had become inflamed and was now getting trapped whenever I moved; hence the pain He gave me a steroid injection to bring down the inflammation and told me to rest my arm

Although there was a common theme of advice about resting my arm I was too pig headed to take any notice and really just paid lip service to it The injection worked wonders and within a couple of days my shoulder felt great but it gradually deteriorated over the next few weeks as I carried on using it as normal

Another steroid injection did the same By now, I had been suffering for about six months and seeing the specialist for the third time He suggested surgery to release the impingement The idea was to shave away a piece of bone to create some space and let the tendon heal My operation was booked for three months away

I was not looking forward to surgery The general anaesthetic worried me; so I started researching different solutions on the internet and found out that shoulder pain exercises form a large part of most treatments for rotator cuff injuries

This time I rested my shoulder properly, stopped driving, rearranged my desk at work At the same time, I started taking anti-inflammatory drugs every four hours Gradually the pain subsided Then I started a shoulder specific exercise programme These were Pilates based and focused on control and flexibility They were low weight low resistance exercises designed to stretch, strengthen and stabilize the whole shoulder to help support the rotator cuff while it healed

I gradually increased the level of exercise My shoulder started to get better and over the next few weeks it got back to 100% pain free movement All the time, I was careful to steer clear of any exercise that caused pain

So, if you have damaged your shoulder, learn from my mistake Rest it and rest it properly Then start exercising, carefully, gradually building it up to strengthen your shoulder And when your shoulder is better, keep up the exercises

If you liked this article and would like to know more about the shoulder pain exercises that fixed my shoulder check out my site at http://myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/15363/90/Simple-Shoulder-Pain-Exercises-Sorted-Out-My-Torn-Rotator-Cuff-in-Just-A-Few-Weeks.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/14559/90/Rotator-Cuff-Strengthening-is-As-Basic-As-A-B-C.html
Rotator cuff strengthening exercises are essential for shoulder health, whether you are trying to build strength, recover from a shoulder injury or just stay fit In my case it was a shoulder problem that started me looking into ways to strengthen my rotator cuff but whatever your motivation you can learn from my story

Shoulders are the most complicated joint in the body They have to be simply because of the wide range of movement that we enjoy with them They are capable of moving our arms in just about any direction This ability comes about because the shoulder is made up of a very shallow ball and socket joint The ball at the head of the arm sits on a shallow socket of bone at the edge of the shoulder blade If you think of this as like a soccer ball sitting on a saucer you get apicture of teh make up of teh joint

Although the structure of the joint gives us the benefit of a wide range of movement it also gives the shoulder its inherent weak point which is that it is very easy to knock the ball off the saucer and dislocate the shoulder

Along with cartilage and ligaments the rotator cuff group of muscles are designed to hold the ball on the saucer preventing dislocation and giving us stability in the joint When we use our shoulders in a way that puts a strain on them, our cuff muscles take over to pull the arm into the socket They are worked hardest when we make rotational movements, hence the name When we raise our arm out to the front or side we put an extra load on the rotator cuff This is why these movements hurt if you have damaged the rotator cuff

So a weak or damaged rotator cuff equates to a weak shoulder It has been found that weight lifters who include rotator cuff strengthening exercises in their regime can lift significantly higher weights than those who neglect this group of muscles

So the secret to healthier shoulders is to strengthen the rotator cuff muscles

Unfortunately it is never quite that simple if you have a damaged rotator cuff I had managed to tear my left rotator cuff lifting something awkwardly I was facing shoulder surgery to sort it our but through exercise managed to avoid surgery

The first thing I had to do was allow my shoulder to rest properly avoiding any of the movements that caused pain I had to stop driving and rearrange my desk at work to help with this At the same time I treated the pain and inflammation with anti inflammatory drugs

Then I started some stretches to help return mobility to my joint Several months of not working properly had caused some stiffness

Next I began a series of exercises designed to stabilise and strengthen not only the rotator cuff but all the muscles of the shoulder These were low resistance, low weight exercises that gradually built up over a few weeks Because I had actually torn my rotator cuff it was important to strengthen the other shoulder muscles in order that they could help the injured tendon while it healed With over twenty muscles involved in moving your shoulder there are plenty to help out as long as you get them working properly

It took me a couple of months to get my shoulder back to one hundred percent pain free movement It would have been much easier to have started exercising my rotator cuff before I tore it So take my advice, if it's not too late, and start working on your shoulders

If you found this article useful and would like more information on rotator cuff strengthening exercises visit my site at http://myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/14559/90/Rotator-Cuff-Strengthening-is-As-Basic-As-A-B-C.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/14479/90/Shoulder-Exercises-Improved-My-Life-In-Just-Two-Months.html
It seems hard to believe but shoulder exercises helped me to lose weight and get fit or should I say helped me get fit again

Around twelve months ago I managed to tear my rotator cuff Until then I was a reasonably fit person, I went running three times a week, I had occasional bouts of gym membership, swam regularly, Played squash, played gold and looked after myself pretty well I was in my early fifties, looking good and proud of it

And then I managed to tear my rotator cuff I woke up one morning with a painful shoulder I knew I had hurt it the day before lifting something awkwardly but had thought little more of it Over the next few days my shoulder got worse What started out as a sore shoulder became an arm that was constantly hurting; raising my arm to the side or front caused extra pain Getting showered, getting dressed all became difficult The more I used my arm the worse it felt

I had to stop going to the gym, I couldn't swim, golf and squash both had to go and finally the running became too painful Every step caused a shooting pain through my shoulder

I took myself off to the doctor, who diagnosed a rotator cuff problem and referred me to a specialist The specialist confirmed a torn rotator cuff and started steroid injections to reduce teh inflammation and pain It helped for a week or two but the pain returned Another steroid injection worked no better so in the end I was booked for surgery to free up a trapped tendon

All this was taking time, time in which I was unable to exercise because of the pain A gentle walk was about all I could manage My weight went up, my general fitness levels dropped and all because of a simple shoulder injury

I was booked for surgery but it was three months away so in desperation I started researching shoulder injuries and their treatment I discovered that shoulder exercises are a big part of most shoulder therapy programmes especially rotator cuff problems

Your rotator cuff helps to move and stabilise the shoulder joint especially when you raise your arms or rotate them If you damage your rotator cuff it beocmes inflamed and in some cases the tendons can become trapped against the shoulder blade This is what happened in my case

What shoulder exercises do in rotator cuff injuries is strengthen the shoulder muscles to help support the rotator cuff and allow it to heal It is important to treat the inflammation, resting the shoulder completely to let it start to heal before you try any exercise I gave it a go

By now my shoulders were quite weak from lack of exercise so I started with some simple stretching exercises aimed at improving mobility, following up with low weight, low resistance exercises to start to strengthen the muscles Gradually over the next few weeks I upped the intensity of the exercises My shoulder started to improve I could feel it improving and getting stronger as each week went by The exercises focused on flexibility and control not just strength

I am now back to running, have started swimming again and even played a round of golf The surgery is postponed, the extra weight is starting to go and I feel a lot fitter So don't underestimate the power of simple shoulder exercises They definitely changed my life for the better

If you found this article useful or just plain interesting and would like to know more about shoulder exercises then check out my site at http://myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/14479/90/Shoulder-Exercises-Improved-My-Life-In-Just-Two-Months.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/14413/90/A-Rotator-Cuff-Repair-Might-Be-Easier-Than-You-Thought.html
Rotator cuff problems are one of the most common injuries Eight million people in the USA will visit their doctor with a shoulder injury each year and most of them will be for rotator cuff problems These could range from a strain to a full thickness tear

The good news is that for most people a rotator cuff repair will not involve any surgery Surgery is thought of as a last resort unless your shoulder injury is getting in the way of work, you are keen on a particular sport or you have a full thickness tear Recent research has shown that there are a number of us walking around with torn rotator cuffs without exhibiting any of the usual symptoms The number could be as high as thirty percent in the over fifties who have a rotator cuff tear that gives them no trouble This figure could be as high as seventy percent in the over eighties

Physical Therapy is now the number one treatment for rotator cuff problems and most cuff injuries will respond well to it The theory, confirmed by recent research, is that a rotator cuff tear does not need to heal in order to be rehabilitated With twenty two seperate muscles involved in shoulder movement there are plenty of muscles around to help a damaged rotator cuff

The aim of shoulder physical therapy in shoulder injuries is not just to work on the rotator cuff but also to strengthen all the muscles so that the shoulder works more efficiently This way other muscles will take the load and allow the cuff to heal

Therapy for a shoulder injury will include a period of rest to allow healing to start, treating the inflamed tendons with ice and anti-inflammatory drugs at the same time If you manage to control the inflammation in shoulder injuries you tend to control the pain If off the shelf anti-inflammatory drugs do not seem to do the trick then steroid injections administered by your doctor will kick start the process

When the injury has settled down and better movement has returned you can begin a shoulder specific physical therapy programme to facilitate the rotator cuff repair This will usually start with simple stretching exercises to improve mobility gradually moving on to low resistance or low weight exercises to start working on the weakened shoulder muscles The important thing is that you take it easy and don't rush it as you need to avoid any painful movements

Gradually over the next few weeks you increase the level and variety of exercises to strengthen the shoulder This in turn, supports the injured rotator cuff tendon and allows it to heal

These exercises do not involve pushing weights at the gym Gym work will probably cause more damage Shoulder rehabilitation exercises focus on flexibility and control before moving on to strengthening exercises Some will focus on individual muscles and some on groups of muscles but the end result is to strengthen the whole shoulder to support the healing and avoid future injuries

So if you are worrying about a rotator cuff repair, stop, it is probably a lot easier than you think

If you found this article useful and would like more information on rotator cuff repair then check out my site at http://myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/14413/90/A-Rotator-Cuff-Repair-Might-Be-Easier-Than-You-Thought.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/14395/90/Do-Not-Avoid-Shoulder-Tendonitis-Therapy-Unless-You-Enjoy-Pain.html
Shoulder tendonitis can begin as just mild shoulder pain especially when lifting the arm to the front or side You might find that you just get a twinge of pain when you reach for something or struggle to get comfortable when you go to bed because your shoulder hurts when you lie on it

All of the above are early symptoms of shoulder tendonitis This is an inflammation of the tendons of the rotator cuff which is a group of four muscles that help to stabilise the shoulder joint by pulling the head of the humerus into the socket of the shoulder The rotator cuff muscles are vital for a healthy and strong shoulder but unfortunately they are all relatively easy to injure

Some of us are born with inherently weak shoulders and can be susceptible to shoulder problems Some of us will get shoulder tendonitis because of a sport or work Any repetitive over arm movement such as throwing a ball or stacking shelves in a supermarket can all lead to inflamed tendons in the shoulder Bad posture can also bring on shoulder problems as can age Just gaining a few yeras is often enough to set things off

So what should you do? It is tempting with shoulder pain to simply take some pain killers and carry on regardless In the short term you might get away with that Some shoulder problems will get better with a couple of days rest but if your symptoms persist then you may be heading for more serious problems If you have had shoulder pain for more than three days then get it checked out

Shoulder tendonitis is inflammation of the tendons Because the shoulder is such a complex joint it can lead to a shoulder impingement where one of the tendons is getting pinched or impinged against bone whenever you lift your arm The rubbing action of the bone on tendon causes the tendon to gradually becoming frayed The fraying causes more inflammation and suddenly you are in a downward spiral with surgery waiting at the end of it

Shoulder tendonitis therapy is needed if you want to avoid this It will start with rest to allow the tendon to heal combined with treatment of the inflammation using ice packs and anti-inflammatory drugs When teh inflammation is under control the pain will go This is not a cure In order to preventteh condition returning you need to do some shoulder specific exercises to strengthen the shoulder muscles This will in turn take the load off the damaged tendon, allowing it to heal and avoiding future injury

Shoulder Tendonitis is a common complaint Nearly eight million Americans will visit their doctor this year complaining of shoulder pain Some of them are going to need surgery followed by physical therapy to sort out their problems, usually because they ignored a small problem and let it get worse You can avoid this simply by taking care of your shoulders and doing some specific shoulder exercises

The great news is that you don't even need to join a gym These exercises are low weight, low resistance exercises that can easily be done at home

No excuse really, is there?

If you found this article useful or just plain interesting and would like to know more about shoulder tendonitis therapy then check out my site at http://myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/14395/90/Do-Not-Avoid-Shoulder-Tendonitis-Therapy-Unless-You-Enjoy-Pain.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/14322/90/Start-Shoulder-Tendonitis-Treatment-Before-You-Get-A-Serious-Shoulder-Problem.html
Shoulder tendonitis is a condition that a lot of us will suffer from at some time in our lives It is simply the inflammation of the tendons of the rotator cuff Early symptoms can include pain after activity or exercise This usually gives you some indication of what activity is aggravating the condition If you leave it untreated the pain can become constant It tends to be at the side and top of the shoulder and is at its worst when lifting your arm above shoulder height

Your shoulder might feel weaker than normal, depending on how long you have had the condition Movement may be accompanied by a popping or caracking sound and as the condition worsens you may have trouble getting comfortable at night so sleep may become difficult

The temptation is to carry on regardless and work through the pain, especially if it is not too bad but ignoring this relatively minor condition can lead to serious problems

Shoulder Tendonitis can come about for a number of different of reasons Some of us are more likely to get it simply because of the build of our shoulders If your work involves using yoru shoulders a lot or you use them a lot in a sports activity you can be susceptible especially if it is overhead activity Shelf stackers, painters and decorators are all at risk of shoulder tendonitis

Early shoulder tendonitis treatment is important to avoid more serious problems This will involve the R I C E formula Rest, Ice Compression and Elevation

You need to stop any activity that causes you pain and aggravates the condition If you feel pain with a particular movement stop doing it This may involve changes at work or home but is essential Each painful movement causes more damage to the rotator cuff muscles and you can end up with a rotator cuff tear if you ignore this

Ice, compression and elevation are all intended to help reduce the inflammation that is causing the pain Anti-inflammatory drugs taken at regular intervals will also help If you control the inflammation you control the pain

When you have got the pain under control it is important to start some shoulder specific exercises to strengthen not only the rotator cuff but also the rest of the shoulder muscles By getting your shoulder muscles in shape you significantly reduce the risk of another bout of shoulder tendonitis There are 22 muscles involved in shoulder movement If you get them all working together they can help your rotator cuff solve your shoulder tendonitis and you will avoid further problems

These will not be exercises for the gym Lifting weights will do nothing They tend to be exercises with little or no resistance, often Pilates or Yoga based ,they focus on flexibility and control above strength The good news is that they can usually be done at home at a time to suit you

Exercise is the key to successful shoulder tendonitis treatment Deal with the inflammation and pain and once things have settled down exercise and strengthen your shoulder muscles and rotator cuff

That way you will easily avoid the inconvenience and pain of a torn rotator cuff

If you found this article useful and would like more information on shoulder tendonitis treatment check out my blog at http://myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/14322/90/Start-Shoulder-Tendonitis-Treatment-Before-You-Get-A-Serious-Shoulder-Problem.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/14292/90/Torn-Rotator-Cuff-Exercises-Can-Sort-Out-A-Lot-Of-Shoulder-Problems.html
I was unlucky enough to tear my rotator cuff about twelve months ago I knew that I had done something but like most of us had no idea what my rotator cuff was until I injured it It was only then that I started to take an interest in things and research all about shoulders to try to find out what had gone wrong with mine It was then that I found out about the torn rotator cuff exercises that helped to fix my bad shoulder

I had torn my supraspinatus which is the tendon that runs through a channel of bone at the top of your shoulder before connecting to the head of the humerus Because it was torn, it became inflamed and when it got inflamed it started to get pinched by the bone From then on every time I lifted my arm I got a painful reminder of my injury and the pain just got worse as the bone gradually wore away at my tendon

Showering, getting dressed, reaching for anything, all became painful Driving became next to impossible When it was at its worst I was maxed out on painkillers just to get by Sleep was impossible and I was getting really fed up with the whole situation

My doctor had referred me to a specialist who after trying steroid injections for a couple of months, without any success, advised me that surgery was the best way forward The idea was to cut away a small piece of bone to free up the trapped tendon and allow it to heal

In the meantime I had been carrying on my research into rotator cuff tears and problems and had discovered that a lot of injuries are treated with exercise The first thing I needed to do was to rest my shoulder completely I was fortunate in this in that I have an office job so it was firly easy to make some adjustments to the layout of my desk to sort out work I stopped driving and started to ask for help whenever I needed to do something that was potentially painful

I started taking anti-inflammatory drugs as often as was safe and within a few weeks my shoulder had started to calm down My friends and family were fed up with running around after me but the shoulder had begun to feel better

Then I started some exercises focused on stretching and stabilising my shoulder before moving on to strengthening exercises to help build it back up

These are only small muscles so the exercises do not use any strong resistance or weights The heaviest weight I used was a tin of baked beans which was great because it meant that I could do the exercises at home

Within about eight weeks my shoulder was feeling better, pain free and fully functioning The operation is cancelled and if you look in my living room window any evening you might well see me gently lifting two tins of beans One for each shoulder After all, one torn rotator cuff is enough for me

If you found this article useful and would like to know more about torn rotator cuff exercises please check out my blog at http://myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/14292/90/Torn-Rotator-Cuff-Exercises-Can-Sort-Out-A-Lot-Of-Shoulder-Problems.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/14194/90/Shoulder-Exercises-Helped-My-Golf-Handicap.html
The last thing you expect when you tear your rotator cuff is to end up with a better game of golf, but that is exactly what happened to me Unfortunately it was not quite as easy as that I ended up having the best part of a year away from my favourite game but when my shoulder was well enough for me to play again, I had a much stronger game

I had torn my left rotator cuff about twelve months ago I lifted some furniture that was too heavy, felt a pop and thought nothing of it Over the next few days my shoulder stiffened up and gradually grew weaker, Trying to lift my arm out to the side or front caused pain, getting dressed and showered together with lots of day to day activities became difficult

My golf game fell apart I could just about manage short putts but using the woods was impossible So I had to mothball my clubs

I won't bore you too much with the details of the story but I had nine months off from my favourite game while I waited for my shoulder to heal Part of the recovery process included shoulder and rotator cuff exercises to strengthen my shoulders A rotator cuff injury involves a small group of muscles that surround the shoulder blade and shoulder forming a cuff of muscle around the joint They help the shoulder by pulling the head of the upper arm bone into the socket of the shoulder, holding it in place as we use our arms

They are small but important muscles that stabilise the shoulder whenever it rotates Consequently they are quite important for your golf swing Try hitting a golf ball without rotating your shoulders

The problem is that most of us neglect these muscles as we get older so they gradually weaken This in turn weakens the shoulder About a third of people over forty can expect to damage their rotator cuff This figure gets higher with age

What my shoulder injury did was force me to exercise my shoulders properly A balanced exercise programme that took in the rotator cuff muscles as well as the major muscles of the back, shoulder and neck What I ended up with was shoulders that were as good as new, despite the injury

Better shoulders meant a better game of golf

So if you want to win a few free rounds at the club house, put down the golf bag and start exercising your shoulders properly It does not even involve going to the gym Rotator cuff exercises can be done easily at home, they use little or no resistance or weight and only take about ten minutes at a time You will see an improvement in your game within days

If you would like to know which shoulder exercises helped to improve my game of golf check out my blog at http://myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/14194/90/Shoulder-Exercises-Helped-My-Golf-Handicap.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/13716/90/Rotator-Cuff-Physical-Therapy-Can-Heal-Your-Cuff-Tear-Fastest.html
After tearing my rotator cuff quite badly last year and ending up with an imipinged shoulder I have discovered that rotator cuff physical therapy exercises are the quickest way to get your shoulder back to its pre injury state This is equally true whether you are aiming to just speed up recovery time or get over surgery

Physical therapy will always form part of the recovery process for rotator cuff It is usually tried before resorting to surgery as most shoulder problems will respond to shoulder specific exercises The exceptions to this are a severe shoulder impingement or a full thickness rotator cuff tear both of which may require surgery followed by a period of recuperation before beginning physical therapy

It is vital with any shoulder injury that you let your shoulder rest properly for some time until any swelling and pain have subsided Any pain that you feel with specific movements is usually a sign that you are doing more damage to the tendons and muscles Resting your shoulder properly may well mean using a sling, avoiding driving and will almost certainly mean changing your day to day activities to avoid any movements that cause you pain Along with the rest, use non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to bring down the inflammation Inflammation of the tendons and muscles is what causes the majority of pain in rotator cuff injuries and bringing down the inflammation is key to a successful recovery

When the pain and inflammation are under control it is essential to begin shoulder specific exercies that are aimed at rehabilitating this group of muscles and strengthening the shoulder Physical therapy exercises will not be the general weight bearing shoulder exercises that we use to build muscle as these tend to focus on the main muscles of the shoulder and avoid the rotator cuff

Rotator cuff physical therapy will involve exercises with little or no weight or resistance often relying just on the natural resistance of the body to achieve results Simply lifting the weight of your arm is often enough load to achieve the desired effect at first, moving on to small weights as the muscles gets better Any exercise routine should include a series of gentle stretches to avoid further injury to the damaged muscle, followed by stabilising and strengthening exercises You will be surprised how quickly your shoulder can return to normal once you start developing the rotator cuff muscle

In my case, I managed to fix a bad shoulder rotator cuff tear and shoulder impingement, which I was told would require surgery, in just eight weeks using rotator cuff physical therapy exercises

If you found this article useful and would like more information on rotator cuff physical therapy check out my blog at http://myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/13716/90/Rotator-Cuff-Physical-Therapy-Can-Heal-Your-Cuff-Tear-Fastest.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/13710/90/If-You-Are-Over-Forty-It-May-Be-Time-to-Think-About-Shoulder-Physical-Therapy-Exercises.html
Shoulder injuries are not the exclusive domain of the over forties, but if you are at risk of a mid-life crisis you are also at a higher than normal risk of injuring your shoulder Approximately a third of us will suffer a problematic shoulder injury once we get beyond our fortieth birthday I managed do delay mine until past fifty and had I known then what I know now, I could probably have managed to avoid it altogether

As we get older, our posture changes, we do not carry ourselves in the same way at forty as we did in our twenties so it should come as no surprise that our shoulders change at the same time Because of the complexity of the shoulder joint, any change in how we hold ourselves can result in potential problems

The most common shoulder injury is a rotator cuff tear This is a group of four muscles that help to pull the upper arm bone into the socket of the shoulder, doing two different roles, helping to stabilise the shoulder joint and also helping with rotational movement of the arm Although these are relatively small muscles they are very important to the health of the shoulder and problems with the rotator cuff can cause some serious problems

Pain and wekaness when you raise your arm above your shoulder either out to the side or front, weakness in the shoulder and arm, pain when sleeping are just some of the symptoms Treatment will involve rest along with treatment of any inflammation using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and ice packs If the pain persists you may well end up having steroid injections to bring down the inflammation

Once the pain and inflammation are under control you can start shoulder physical therapy exercises to strengthen your rotator cuff and avoid future injuries The annoying thing is that these exercises are the self same exercises that you would use to train your shoulder and strengthen it to avoid an injury in the first place

Having gone through the pain and inconvenience of a torn rotator cuff and discovered shoulder physical therapy exercises that sorted it out for me, I now do ten minutes of shoulder exercises on a daily basis to ensure that my shoulders stay fit and healthy It has also woken me up to the fact that as we get a bit older we do need to make an effort to keep supple as well as fit Next step Yoga classes

If you found this article useful and would like more information on shoulder physical therapy check out my blog at http://myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/13710/90/If-You-Are-Over-Forty-It-May-Be-Time-to-Think-About-Shoulder-Physical-Therapy-Exercises.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/13708/90/Rotator-Cuff-Therapy-Fixed-My-Shoulder-Without-Surgery.html
Rotator cuff problems come in all shapes and sizes You can Get anything from a mild sprain to a complete rotator cuff tear or a shoulder impingement, all of them involve the rotator cuff muscles to some extent and all of them will involve rotator cuff therapy exercises as part of the rehabilitation

Most rotator cuff injuries can be sorted out without the need for surgery If you have managed to snap one of the tendons completely or have a severe shoulder impingement then you are almost certainly looking at surgery Surprisingly, I managed to fix a fairly nasty shoulder impingement with rotator cuff therapy

At the end of last year I tore my rotator cuff About thirty percent of us will at some point in our lives I managed to do it by lifting something that was too heavy Felt a pop in my left shoulder and woke up the next day to shoulder pain and restricted movement that just got worse as the days passed

I went to the doctor who diagnosed a rotator cuff problem and made an appointment for me to see a specialist Being somewhat pig headed and stubborn I decided to carry on using my shoulder as normal, going against my doctor's advice What I didn't know at the time was that each bout of pain I suffered as I moved was an indication that I was doing more damage

I had a shoulder impingement which is where an inflamed tendon gets pinched against my shoulder blade, gradually fraying as I continued to use my shoulder as normal Fortunately for me, the pain became so bad that I had no choice but to rest my arm

Because of the extra damage that I had done, the specialist booked me for surgery to shave away a piece of bone to free up the trapped tendon

With ten weeks to wait until the operation date I began researching rotator cuffs on the internet and found out just how lucky I had been Had I continued to use my shoulder I could easily have snapped the tendon completely

Having a second chance made me rest the arm properly this time I started to wear a sling during the day, stopped driving and avoided any movement that caused pain At the same time I was treating the inflammation with anti-inflammatory drugs and gradually the pain subsided

Once it had I was able to start some Pilates based exercises to gently get my shoulder moving again, starting with gentle stretches and moving on to strengthening exercises Because these exercises focus on flexibility and control they avoid putting any great strain on the muscles

Gradually over the following weeks I regained full movement in my shoulder and have now been able to cancel the planned operation Even though my shoulder is now better I still do shoulder exercises every day just to make sure that I don't suffer another shoulder problem After all prevention is definitely better than cure

If you found this article useful and would like more information on rotator cuff therapy check out my blog at http://myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/13708/90/Rotator-Cuff-Therapy-Fixed-My-Shoulder-Without-Surgery.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/13694/90/Doing-Shoulder-Therapy-Exercises-Can-Fix-The-Vast-Majority-of-Shoulder-Injuries.html
Our shoulders are by far the most complex joint in our bodies so it is not surprising that shoulder problems are one of our most common complaints There are seventeen different muscles and three bones as well as the cartilage, ligaments and tendons that all go to make up the joint so it should come as no surprise that there are a wide variety of things that can go wrong, most of which will respond well to exercise as long as it is done at the right time and in the right way

So when is the best time to start shoulder therapy exercises? The most truthful and probably the most irritating answer is before we get an injury, but presumably, if you are already reading this, it is already too late for that, then the answer is really down to the type of injury and the level of pain

A mild shoulder injury may well go away on its own after a few days Most of us have had a stiff shoulder at some point that has gone after a few days If the pain carries on for more than two or three days or gets worse then you need to see your doctor If you have suffered shoulder pain and been lucky enough for it to go on its own it might well be worth starting shoulder exercises to strengthen your shoulder and avoid further injuries As we get older the shoulder weakens which is why so many of us suffer shoulder injuries once we reach forty Prevention is definitely better than cure

Serious shoulder injuries, on the other hand, such as a rotator cuff tear, shoulder impingement or bursitis will all need a more disciplined approach Your body is actually the best indicator of when it is ready to start shoulder therapy exercises If you are still getting pain with certain movements, then steer clear of them You need to rest your shoulder and allow it to heal before you start any kind of shoulder therapy and this means proper rest

Avoid any movement that gives you pain as this is usually an indicator that you are causing more damage Take a look at your daily routine and make some changes to avoid painful movements Give up driving for a while, change how you work, get help from other people with some things Rest your shoulder properly

At the same time, start to treat the pain and inflammation Start taking non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to bring down the inflammation If that does not work ask your doctor for a steroid injection A lot of the pain of shoulder injuries is caused by inflammation Treat the inflammation and the pain will reduce

Your body will tell you when it is safe to start exercising Listen to it and when you are ready, start with gentle shoulder specific exercises, don't go to the gym and start working out That will come in time

With proper rest and the right shoulder therapy exercises most shoulder problems can be sorted out quickly

If you found this article useful and would like more information on shoulder therapy check out my blog at http://myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/13694/90/Doing-Shoulder-Therapy-Exercises-Can-Fix-The-Vast-Majority-of-Shoulder-Injuries.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/13639/90/Shoulder-Pain-Treatment-Stopped-Me-Needing-Surgery.html
The interesting thing about shoulder pain is that no matter how you managed to damage your shoulder, exercise will feature somewhere in the treatment I am not suggesting for one moment that you head off to the gym and start working out That is probably the best way to guarantee you a place in the queue for surgery

Most shoulder pain treatment requires a period of rest coupled with anti-inflammatory drugs and pain relief It is vital that you let a shoulder injury heal properly by letting it rest properly Depending on the injury and what you do for a living, this might well involve some fairly drastic changes to your daily routine

To give you an example

Towards the end of last year I tore my rotator cuff and despite my doctor advising me to rest, I continued to use my shoulder more or less as normal, occasionally suffering pain when I forgot about my shoulder and moved my arm above shoulder height My shoulder deteriorated until I decided to exactly follow his advice and rest it completely This meant giving up driving for starters I am fortunate in that I work in an office so it was fairly easy to avoid using my shoulder I had to rearrange my desk at work to avoid using my left arm I could still use the computer but I had to move my phone to the right side and even the place mat for my coffee mug moved across At home, I had to cut down on playing with the kids and allow my wife to help me get dressed Gardening and DIY had to go for a while too Alongside this change in routine I started taking maximum dose ibuprofen to help with the inflammation

I began to see things getting better in three weeks, the pain got better and certain movements became easier I was then able to start some Pilates based shoulder exercises to strengthen and stabilise my damaged shoulder

Having suffered from worseneing pain for several months I was back to normal within about six weeks of starting the exercises

So, if I had to give one tip for shoulder pain treatment it would be to rest your shoulder properly and not try to carry on Think about your daily routine and what causes you pain and then change or avoid these things A week or two of inconvenience is a small proce to pay to prevent months of pain and even prevent you needing surgery It is definitely worth the inconvenience

And remember, your shoulder is a complex joint with seventeen different muscles as well as ligaments, cartilage and tendons It is always worth getting a doctors advice if you have persistent shoulder pain

If you found this article useful and would like more information on shoulder pain treatment check out my blog at http://myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/13639/90/Shoulder-Pain-Treatment-Stopped-Me-Needing-Surgery.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/13635/90/Rotator-Cuff-Syndrome-It-Is-A-Pain-In-The-Shoulder.html
After tearing my rotator cuff a few months back and experiencing a lot of pain and discomfort on an ongoing basis for several weeks I decided to research the subject and find out as much as I could about my rotator cuff and why an injury to it can be so painful

The term rotator cuff suggests that there is just one of them but in fact the rotator cuff is comprised of a group of four separate muscles that together do the job of moving the shoulder and stabalising the shoulder joint They are all grouped around the shoulder joint and run across the front, back, bottom and top of the joint Some of the tendons run under each other and they all run under and over the bones of the joint

So, depending on what rotator cuff injury you suffer, if the damaged tendon becomes inflamed and starts to swell you end up with the swollen muscle getting pinched or impinged, either between other muscles or by one of the bones such as the collar bone or shoulder blade When you try moving the inflamed muscle, tendons can literally start to fray like old rope Each movement will be painful

So, is there anything you can do about it? I tried a variety of things, high dosage Ibuprofen, a steroid injection into the rotator cuff muscle as well as cold compresses to reduce the swelling All gave me some relief but nothing managed to cure it so I was offered an operation to shave away a piece of bone to free up the impinged tendon so that it could heal

Living in the UK the operation date was three months away so I started researching the subject I found out what I had been doing wrong The key to a successful recovery is rest Proper rest avoiding any movement that causes pain If I am completely honest I had paid lip service to resting my shoulder and had carried on doing things that caused pain So I rested the joint properly and used ice packs and anti-inflammatories to work on the inflammation

Gradually the joint began to settle down and after a couple of weeks I was able to start some easy exercises based on Pilates aimed at developing flexibility and control whilst strengthening the muscles The exercises started slowly with movements that I could do despite my injury all the time taking care not to cause any discomfort and gradually built up until full pain free movement had returned Just ten weeks after I started the programme I played my first game of golf in over six months Obviously I was out of practice and well below my normal performance but six months ago I could barely think about lifting a golf club yet alone think about taking a swing at a ball

My operation date has passed I postponed and I am fairly confident that barring accidents, I will not be going ahead with it My theory is that the exercises woke up some sleepy muscles and improved my posture enough to free up the impinged tendons on their own I know that as we get older our posture changes I know that I am holding my shoulders a bit straighter these days Maybe by re-educating our bodies and waking up a few lazy muscles we can sort out lots of potential health problems

In the meantime I am carrying on with the exercises One rotator cuff injury is enough for anyone

If you would like to know more about rotator cuff syndrome check out my blog at http://myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com where I give more information on rotator cuff strengthening exercises]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/13635/90/Rotator-Cuff-Syndrome-It-Is-A-Pain-In-The-Shoulder.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/13633/90/A-Successful-Rotator-Cuff-Repair-is-Often-Down-to-the-Right-Exercise.html
A rotator cuff tear is one of the most common shoulder problems Almost 8 million Americans will go to their family doctor about shoulder pain this year and nearly sixty percent of them will have damaged the rotator cuff Some will defnitely need corrective surgery but most of them will manage to repair their shoulder simply by doing specific rotator cuff exercises to strengthen this often neglected group of muscles

So what do these muscles do and why are they so easily injured? Okay, let's just imagine your shoulder joint as a soccer ball resting on a plate The shoulder is a shallow ball and socket joint in some ways it is similar to your hip The main difference between the two joints is that in the shoulder the socket of the joint is very shallow, so the analogy of a ball on a plate is fairly accurate

The shallow socket allows the joint to move freely but at a cost It is relatively easy for the ball to slip off of the socket So the rotator cuff muscles are designed to hold the ball of the upper arm in place as we move Without them it would be incredibly easy to dislocate the shoulder These are four small muscles that are all attached to the shoulder blade at one end and the head of the humerus at the other surrounding the shoulder in a cuff of muscle, hence the name These muscles stabilise the shoulder, holding the arm in place and they only really get used to any extent when we lift our arms above shoulder height

As we age the muscles start to get weaker through lack of use, but we tend to be unaware of this until we ask them to do something Playing golf, throwing a ball with the kids, reaching up for something or lifting something above our heads, all of these movements put a sudden strain on our rotator cuff and can damage them

Apart from day to day wear and tear we can also injure our rotator cuff with repetitive movements Baseball pitchers will often damage the rotator cuff, if your work means constantly reaching up you can do the same, shelf stackers working above shoulder height are putting strain on these muscles every time they lift a can or bottle

Because we don't consciously use our rotator cuff it is a difficult group of muscles to exercise, but because weakness in these muscles is a major cause of shoulder injury, exercising and strengthening them is often the route back to health and flexibility

But first, you need to rest Let the muscles repair by resting them Doing any kind of shoulder exercises just after an injury is simply going to lead to a worse injury You cannot work through a rotator cuff injury, you need to rest it and let it heal, doing passive non weight bearing exercises to keep the joint mobile for two or three weeks Avoid any movement that causes pain By all means take some anti-inflammatory drugs and pain killers but be careful of using your shoulder if you are masking the pain as you can do more harm than good

Once the muscle has started to mend it is possible to start specific exercises aimed at developing and strengthening the rotator cuff These will always be exercises with little or no weight or resistance Try to avoid any pain during exercise as this suggests that you are damaging the muscle not strengthening it

The majority of rotator cuff problems can be fixed with exercise alone but if you are in the small minority that need surgery you will still need to exercise these muscles after surgery as part of the treatment and to avoid future injuries

Look after your shoulders, both of them, not just the one that has let you down

If you want to know what rotator cuff rehab helped me to fix my shoulder without surgery check out my story at http://www.myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/13633/90/A-Successful-Rotator-Cuff-Repair-is-Often-Down-to-the-Right-Exercise.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/13317/90/Shoulder-Rehab-Exercises-Fixed-my-Shoulder.html
The one thing that all shoulder injuries have in common is that at some point you are going to have to exercise your injured shoulder in order to get it working properly again It is up to you whether this is instead of an operation or after an operation

I tore my rotator cuff lifting some furniture that was too heavy which resulted in too much force being put on the tendons of my left shoulder They tore I know that because I heard them go Just a quiet pop but I knew that I had managed to do something bad What I had was an acute tear It comes about as the result of a sudden force You can also get acute tears as the result of a knock or fall but the commonest cause is through sports, specifically sports where you are throwing which is why rotator cuff syndrome is often refered to as pitchers shoulder

If you have an acute tear you need to immobilise the shoulder for a week or two to let it heal before you start any king of shoulder rehab regime Using a sling is a good idea but definitely avoid any action that causes pain or discomfort or you will just make the injury worse possibly needing corrective surgery You also need to deal with the inflammation using ice packs and anti-inflammatory drugs If the pain persists for more than two or three days see your doctor who may administer a steroid injection to reduce inflammation When the inflammation and pain have subsided you can start exercises to build up and strengthen the rotator cuff muscles These will often be pilates or Yoga based as they focus on restoring flexibility and control as well as strength which is vital to avoid future problems

A chronic tear on the other hand is brought about through wear and tear It usually occurs in the forty plus age group as our posture changes but can also happen to anyone who works overhead a lot such as painters and decorators A Chronic tear is caused by tendons getting rubbed against bone in our shoulder It comes on gradually with you experiencing night pain in your shoulder and the pain gradually gets worse over time as the tendon gets more and more frayed The shoulder becomes gradually weaker and you will start to experience pain as you raise your arm It is possible that a tendon can snap completely if you ignore this condition but this is fairly uncommon simply because people tend to seek help because of the pain

If you have a chronic tear you will again need to focus on reducing inflammation and managing the pain Trying to avoid painful movements will help but in order to rehabilitate a chronic tear you need to address the underlying problem If this is age related, exercises to improve posture will help Again Yoga and Pilates based exercises are good as they focus on flexibility and control and also tend to help with core strength which can directly affect your posture Get your posture back to how it should be and healthy shoulders quickly follow

My one main tip for getting your shoulder back to full working order is rest Do not ignore this one tip like I did which is why I ended up in pain for six months and facing surgery

However you have managed to injure your rotator cuff carrying on regardless will only make things worse Resting your shoulder is not easy, especially if it is your dominant arm simply because you use your arms all the time and they are attached to yoru shoulder Try to change the way you work to avoid any movement that causes pain Just simple things like moving things on your desk at work can make a huge difference as can giving up driving for a few weeks Now I know that is not convenient but it will definitely help in the long run Only when the pain and inflammation has subsided is it safe to start shoulder rehab exercises

And once your shoulder is better, keep up the exercises and keep your shoulders strong

If you found this article useful and would like to know what shoulder rehabexercises stopped me needing surgery check out my site at http://myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/13317/90/Shoulder-Rehab-Exercises-Fixed-my-Shoulder.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/13212/90/Shoulder-Rehabilitation-Exercises-For-Rotator-Cuff-Injuries.html
If you have managed to damage your rotator cuff then you will need to think about some sort of shoulder rehabilitation to get things functioning properly again but what sort are best and when should you do them?

There are different types of rotator cuff injury and the treatment may vary depending on what you have managed to do and how long it has been going on

The rotator cuff is made up of four muscles These muscles all help to hold the arm tight against the socket of the shoulder joint to help when you rotate your arm That and the fact that they combine to form a cuff of muscle around the joint is what gives them their name

Two of these muscles, the supraspinatus and the infraspinatus are the most commonly injured muscles of the four Any sports activity that involves a lot of shoulder rotation puts these two muscles at risk of injury, pitching in baseball or bowling in cricket are a couple of examples

You can tear your rotator cuff in different ways

An acute tear usually comes about as a result of a sports injury or fall They are caused by a sudden force being put on the muscle You will probably feel the tear as it happens and the muscle may well go into spasm when you attempt to move it There may also be a specific tender spot at the sight of the tear Trying to move your arm out to the side without help will be painful or difficult

A Chronic tear comes about as a result of wear and tear It is caused by the tendons rubbing against bone It might be work related, if, for example you are constantly working above shoulder height Painting and decorating is a classic example of an occupation that is prone to rotator cuff problems It could also come about through age As we age our shape and how we carry oursleves changes, sometimes resulting in muscles behaving differently which can cause the rubbing that eventually injures your tendons

It is important with any type of shoulder rehabilitation to stop using your shoulder With an acute tear it could well be worth immobilising the arm in a sling But with both types of injury you need to avoid any movement that results in pain At the same time treat the pain and inflammation with anti-inflammatory drugs and ice packs If the problems persist for more than two or three days it is worth consulting your doctor

Treatment might involve surgery especially if you have managed to get a severe shoulder impingement or use your shoulders a lot in your work but most shoulder injuries are treated successfully with rest, ice and anti-inflammatory drugs followed by exercise once the inflammation and pain has subsided

Do not try working through a rotator cuff problem as it can only make it worse Exercise will consist of low resistance exercises with the aim of isolating and developing the rotator cuff muscles pilates and Yoga based exercises are good for shoulder rehabilitation because they work with the body's natural resistance working one muscle against another so are unlikely to cause any further injury

Whether you have surgery or not, gentle, shoulder specific exercise is the key to shoulder rehabilitation The difference is in the timing

Do not forget to keep up the exercises once your shoulder is better Keep your rotator cuff strong and have healthy shoulders for life One rotator cuff injury is enough for anyone

If you liked this article and would like more information on shoulder rehabilitation check out my blog at http://myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/13212/90/Shoulder-Rehabilitation-Exercises-For-Rotator-Cuff-Injuries.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/13199/90/Shoulder-Rehab-Exercises-That-Healed-My-Rotator-Cuff-Tear.html
Any type of exercise, even shoulder rehab exercises are the last thing you are thinking of when you have torn a rotator cuff You tend to spend your time thinking up inventive ways of moving and doing everyday jobs just to avoid movement because it is so painful Some movements can be impossible simply because they are too painful

The problem is that when you have damaged these muscles they can become inflamed and as they are all so closely connected the inflammation can cause pain If like me, you end up with an impinged shoulder, continuing to use your shoulder can actually cause more damage as the swollen tendons rub against the bone

So how do you go about sorting it out and when is the best time to start shoulder rehab exercises

Rest, and plenty of it, is the order of the day with any rotator cuff injury These are relatively small but important muscles that pull the arm into the shoulder and stop dislocation They are used the most when we raise our arms above shoulder height which is why this is often the most painful movement when they are damaged

By rest, I do mean exactly that Avoid any movement that gives you pain as this is likely to be an indication that you are doing more harm You might need to change how you work I found that I needed to move my phone on the desk at work as I was answering it using my bad arm and getting pain every time I also had to stop driving for about three weeks as I drive a vintage car with no power steering Not good for shoulders

At the same time as you are resting the arm, treat any inflammation with anti-inflammatory drugs and ice packs Carry on with this until the inflammation and pain have subsided Stop before your arm is ready and the problem will simply come back as the inflammation returns

When the inflammation has subsided and the pain has reduced significantly you can start gentle shoulder rehab exercises aimed at strengthening the rotator cuff Do not start lifting weights Use large weights and you are likely to exercise the wrong muscles and may well damage the rotator cuff again

Shoulder rehab exercises will focus on flexibility and control, gently stretching and strengthening the muscles and building up gradually over a few weeks They will often be based on Yoga or Pilates as these methods of exercise use little or no weight and usually rely on your body's natural resistance to strengthen the muscles Done properly even quite bad rotator cuff problems can be sorted out quite quickly

And once the problem is fixed, you can use the same exercises to keep your rotator cuff strong and avoid future injuries

If you found this article useful and would like to know more about shoulder rehab exercises then check out my blog at http://myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/13199/90/Shoulder-Rehab-Exercises-That-Healed-My-Rotator-Cuff-Tear.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/13107/90/Shoulder-Pain-Exercises-That-Helped-to-Fix-My-Shoulder.html
If you already have shoulder pain, then I feel for you At the end of last year I managed to tear my rotator cuff If you know what the rotator cuff is either you are a doctor, physiotherapist or you have already managed to damage yours Around one third of people will suffer a shoulder injury at some time and the vast majority are to do with teh rotator cuff

Like most of us,I did not give much thought to how my shoulders worked until one of them went wrong Now I know so much, I could write a book on the subject

Shoulder pain can be debilitating It is only when you damage a shoulder that you understand just how much you rely on your shoulders After all, your arms hang from them and you use your arms constantly without giving them a second thought and nearly every arm movement is relayed to your shoulder to some extent

So it comes as no surprise that shoulder pain can cause so many problems There are several causes of shoulder pain Here are a few

Like me, it might be a rotator cuff problem The rotator cuff is a group of muscles that all help to hold the head of the upper arm into the shoulder Tear one of them and you have constant shoulder pain whenever you try lifting your arm above shoulder height

Bursitis of the shoulder can be equally painful The bursa is a sac of fluid that helps to protect the shoulder joint as it moves It can become inflamed in which case you will experience pain with nearly every movement

Frozen shoulder on the other hand is caused by the internal membrane that surrounds the shoulder joint This can become inflamed following an injury, scar tissue can grow and the shoulder can become painful and have severely restricted movement

Alright, enough of the doom and gloom

I suffered shoulder pain for six months, I was told that I would need surgery to correct my rotator cuff problem and then I started researching shoulder injuries and pain and discovered that a lot of them can be sorted out with simpel exercise Even whenyou require surgery, exercise will feature strongly in the recovery process

So having found out that exercise is vital to recovery the next thing was to find out what exercise suited my injury best I did not want to try any weights simply because I am not a member of a gym and I could not see how lifting weights was going to do anything but harm My research has since confirmed this

I started looking into Pilates and Yoga These came across as gentle exercises that allow you to do as much as you comfortably can They focus on control and flexibility as well as strength and use the bodies own resistance to build up weakened muscles Because you are working within your own limits there was little chance of doing extra damage

Having suffered six months of pain I was reluctant to risk doing any further damage so this side of Pilates appealed to me

Over the next few weeks, I gradually built up my exercises starting off with stretching exercises to regain the flexibility after months of restricted movement, moving onto exercises to give control and stabilise the joint and finally moved on to strengthening exercises to build up the muscles and protect me from future problems I found myself back to full pain free movement in my shoulder within a couple of months

Pilates focuses on balance within the body Shoulder problems tend to be the domain of the athletes and anyone over forty As we age, some muscles start to get lazy, we change our posture, carry ourselves differently Exercising gradually wakes up the last muscles and puts our bodies back in balance

I know that makes me sound like an aging hippy but who cares as long as there is no more shoulder pain

If you would like to know more about shoulder pain exercises check out my blog at. http://myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/13107/90/Shoulder-Pain-Exercises-That-Helped-to-Fix-My-Shoulder.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/13106/90/Shoulder-Impingement-Exercises-That-Helped-Me-Fix-My-Shoulder-Without-Surgery.html
Shoulder impingement exercises are almost certainly the last thing that you are thinking about if you have a shoulder impingement Any sort ofmovement is painful so why would you subject yourself to further pain

A shoulder impingement is a very painful condition I know because I managed to tear my rotator cuff towards the end of last year and ended up with a shoulder impingement as a result of it My supraspinatus tendon had become swollen and was getting pinched or impinged each time that I lifted my left arm above shoulder height

The pain was unbelievable At the worst point I was maxed out on pain killers and carrying a TENS machine around wired up to my shoulder just so that I could function

In case you do not know what I am talking about The supraspinatus is one of the rotator cuff muscles The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles that surround the shoulder helping to move and stabilise it They all hold the head of the upper arm in place in the socket of the shoulder joint and all travel from the shoulder blade to the upper arm

They are relatively small muscles but vital to having a healthy shoulder joint Unfortunately they are also prone to injury especially for anyone who uses their shoulders a lot at work or in a sport Painters and decorators who are working above head height are prone to rotator cuff problems as is anyone who throws a ball in sport

The last group that are vulnerable are the over forties That is where I fit in!

A rotator cuff injury is a vicious circle Once the tendon gets inflamed it can get pinched within a channel of bone that it runs through Because it gets pinched it gets more inflamed, gets pinched more, gets more inflamed see where I am going?

If you do not treat it you could end up snapping the tendon completely leaving you with a very nasty shoulder injury

Anyway, after several months of pain, I was on a short list for surgery, but having already suffered several months of discomfort, I was not willing to wait any longer so started researching shoulder impingement treatment on the internet

I found out that exercise is the key to recovery Not lifting weights but simple exercises aimed at rehabilitating the rotator cuff

Start off with proper rest That meant completely avoiding any sort ofmovement that causes you pain The pain tells you that you are damaging the muscle more This meant some fairly radical changes to my daily routine including giving up driving for a few weeks

Treat the inflammation I maxed out on anti inflammatory drugs and used ice packs every day to bring down the inflammation in the tendon

As things started to improve I started some Pilates based exercises to gently stretch the muscles and stabilise the joint, gradually moving on to strengthening exercises By starting slowly and building up gradually over a few weeks I was able to avoid any further damage to my muscles

My shoulder returned to normal, pain free and fully mobile without the planned surgery!

What do I put this down to?

I believe that as we get older we are susceptible to this injury because we change shape as we age We change our posture, we carry ourselves differently, sit badly and change the way in which we use some of our joints We probably get a bit lazy Our movements are not as fluid as when we were younger All this has an impact on the body and leads to problems

Exercising properly gets things working again, sorts out our posture and gets rid of some of the bad habits that have crept in over time

This is no revelation All of us know that we need to exercise to stay fit and supple Sometimes it takes something like a shoulder injury to remind us how important it is

If you would like to know more about the shoulder impingement exercises that stopped me needing surgery check out my blog at http://myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com My name is Nick Bryant and I am an older dad to two young children aged seven and five. I am keen on staying fit and active so that I can enjoy an active life with my children as they grow. Having suffered a shoulder injury that put me out of action for several painful months, I ws keen to share my experience and let others know how I managed a full recovery without surgery despite being told that it was necessary.]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/13106/90/Shoulder-Impingement-Exercises-That-Helped-Me-Fix-My-Shoulder-Without-Surgery.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/12870/90/Rotator-Cuff-Rehabilitation-Might-Be-Simpler-Than-You-Think.html
Having torn my rotator cuff at the tail end of last year I have researched quite a bit about rotator cuff rehabilitation The thing that surprised me most was how much exercise features in rehabilitation of any rotator cuff problems

I managed to tear my cuff fairly badly, lifting some furniture that was just too heavy I rather foolishly lifted with my arm completely straight, putting all of the weight on my shoulder Pop That was me finished for a while No more golf for me!

I tried carrying on for several days hoping that it was nothing more than a strain and that it would sort itself out Now, with the benefit of hindsight and more knowledge, I understand that was the worst possible thing I could do Where I had managed to tear my rotator cuff, the inflammation had brought on a shoulder impingement and every time that I lifted my arm above shoulder height, the tendon was getting impinged or pinched against the bone and getting injured even more

In summary, after a couple of visits to the doctor and a trip or two to hospital for investigation, I was diagnosed as having torn my rotator cuff and in the process I had managed to get the shoulder impingement Because of how bad the problem was I was recommended for surgery, a sub-acromial decompression to be exact The idea was to shave away a piece of bone to give the trapped tendon room to move Being in the UK there was the usual waiting list, in my case it was three months long

So while I was waiting I started to read up about my injury and discovered that most rotator cuff injuries do not require surgery If you have managed a full thickness tear, there is no way of avoiding it but a lot of partial injuries can be sorted out without It is always worth getting yourself checked out just to see exactly what you are dealing with

I discovered that total rest of the joint is the key Not the half-hearted rest that I had tried but complete rest of the damaged shoulder This means avoiding completely any of the movements that causes pain or discomfort, simply because the pain is a sign of more damage being done Makes sense really!

At the same time as rest, treat the inflammation Use ice packs and anti inflammatory drugs like Ibuprofen even steroid injections if all else fails When the muscles have settled down you can begin gentle exercises aimed at building up the cuff

Rotator cuff rehabilitation exercises tend to avoid weights and be Pilates based focusing on flexibility and control Gentle stretching exercises to begin with and then slow controlled exercises

I had nothing to lose so I concentrated on letting my arm rest properly and then gradually began the exercises I found my shoulder started to improve so I continued using the ice packs twice a day and gradually built up the frequency of the exercises, all the time being careful to avoid anything that caused pain or discomfort After a couple of weeks I felt much better and at the end of six weeks felt fully recovered

The date for my surgery has come and gone I did not have it in the end because my shoulder felt so much better that it seemed pointless I now do my shoulder exercises for ten minutes every day, on both shoulders, just to be safe One rotator cuff injury is enough for me

If you would like to know more about rotator cuff rehabilitation check out my blog at http://myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/12870/90/Rotator-Cuff-Rehabilitation-Might-Be-Simpler-Than-You-Think.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/12868/90/Shoulder-Exercises-The-Way-to-a-Pain-Free-Shoulder.html
After damaging my rotator cuff a few months ago I have spent a great deal of my time researching shoulder problems and shoulder therapy on the world wide web and have found out that exercise alone can fix a huge proportion of shoulder problems

At the end of last year I tore my left rotator cuff It was a nasty tear and I ended up with a shoulder impingement Basically one of the tendons got inflamed after I lifted something heavy and tore one of my rotator cuff muscles As it becane inflamed it was getting impinged or pinched by my collar bone The pain was excruciating Each time that I my shoulder in certain directions my tendon was getting worn against the bone

I tried lots of things including a three month course of Ibuprofen to reduce the inflammation, a steroid injection right into the muscle and even cold compresses to reduce the swelling All of them gave some relief and reduced the symptoms but each time the pain came back and nothing was getting better In the end I was offered corrective surgery to shave away a small piece of my collar bone to allow the tendon to move freely letting it heal Being based in England, with the NHS waiting lists, the surgery was scheduled for three months away and as I had already suffered three months of pain and discomfort I was reluctant to wait that long

So I started my research on shoulder injuries and shoulder exercise and discovered that physical therapy can do a lot for rotator cuff problems

The key is to rest the arm to start off with and work on the inflammation My mistake had been to carry on using the arm as normal which could have injured my arm even further Once I rested it properly for two weeks I was able to start simple exercises designed to strengthen my rotator cuff It was bizarre because only two weeks before the thought of doing shoulder exercises seemed absurd but it worked It is vital not to experience pain when exercising as pain shows that you are damaging the muscles further so I started slowly and built up over five or six weeks until I found myself with a healthy, pain free shoulder that had its full range of movement restored

Another four weeks on and I have just played my first round of golf The shoulder exercises have not only sorted out my rotator cuff but they also seem to have improved my swing, or is that just wishful thinking?

Why did it work? I think that as we age our stance changes, we don't stand as straight as we used to, we move slightly differently to when we were younger I think the shoulder exercises have woken up some lazy muscles and changed my posture, only slightly, but enough to free up the problem muscles Would I recommend exercise as a therapy for a rotator cuff problem?

100% Yes! Not every shoulder injury will respond to just exercise Common sense would say that it must depend on what you have managed to do to yourself but ten weeks after I was told that surgery was the answer I am pain free and feel great The surgery is postponed indefinitely at the moment

If you want to know how i fixed my torn rotator cuff with justrotator cuff exercises without shoulder surgery that I was told I needed, check out my story at http://www.myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/12868/90/Shoulder-Exercises-The-Way-to-a-Pain-Free-Shoulder.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/12817/90/Rotator-Cuff-Injury-Exercise-Can-They-Fix-A-Torn-Cuff.html
I had the bad luck to get a rotator cuff tear at the end of last year which really made me think about the rotator cuff muscles and not only how to fix them but also how to go about keeping them healthy Some of what I found out surprised me quite a bit and if I had known then what I now know about rotator cuff injury exercise I would certainly have approached my problem a bit differently

So read along and learn from my mistakes

If you have managed to damage your rotator cuff the first thing you need to do is stop using it No, don't put your arm in a sling but do avoid any movement that gives you pain Easier said than done I hear you say, and you are absolutely right We use our arms all the time, we swing them when we walk or run If you drop something, you instinctively reach out to catch it We use our hands and consequently our arms to communicate Resting our arms and our shoulders goes against our nature

But, if you do not stop using your damaged shoulder, if you carry on doing the movements that cause you pain you will be damaging your arm further Trust me, I did it! You must change your behaviour for a couple of weeks to let the muscle heal properly This is because the rotator cuff can get pinched or impinged when it is inflamed That impingement can make the tendon fray and if you ignore it they will eventually snap which is extremely bad news

So, while you are taking it easy, take anti-inflammatory drugs and use ice packs to bring down the inflammation

I made the mistake of working through a rotator cuff injury and made it a lot worse I had tries anti-inflammatory drugs but half heartedly It was only when I finally decided to rest my arm completely and maxed out on anti-inflammatories for about three weeks that I actually saw any improvement

Do not pretend to treat the inflammation Look after it If you are following a doctor's advice, follow it completely, don't kid yourself

Once you have managed to get the inflammation and pain under control do not go straight back to using your shoulder in the same way as before You need to build up the shoulder and rotator cuff This does not mean pushing weights and exercising the major muscles like the trapeziums The rotator cuff is a group of relatively small muscles that help to keep the head of the humerus in the socket of the shoulder

We use them without thinking and any exercise to strengthen them will not involve using weights Rotator cuff injury exercise tends to be more Pilates based exercises concentrating on control and flexibility rather than power Get your rotator cuff up to strength and your whole shoulder will be stronger Ignore it and you are likely to have another injury pretty soon

So Like I said, learn from my mistakes Treat a rotator cuff injury seriously Rest it properly, no matter how inconvenient it is Treat the inflammation and soreness for a few weeks, don't stop as soon as it stops being painful, carry on for a bit When you are ready to start exercising begin with gentle exercises that focus on the rotator cuff And keep doing the exercises when it is better You do not want another rotator cuff injury

If you want to know what rotator cuff exercise helped to fix my shoulder without surgery check out my story at http://www.myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/12817/90/Rotator-Cuff-Injury-Exercise-Can-They-Fix-A-Torn-Cuff.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/12815/90/Exercises-For-Rotator-Cuff-Injuries-Sorted-Out-My-Shoulder-Without-Surgery.html
I wish I had known about exercises for rotator cuff injuries earlier

Towards the end of last year I managed to tear my left rotator cuff It is something that is so easy to do, that I am surprised that I have never managed to do it before Around thirty percent of us will manage to injure their rotator cuff at some point in our lives It is one of the commonest injuries Eight million Americans will suffer a shoulder injury this year alone

The way I did it was to lift something badly It was flat packed furniture for my home office and I tried lifting the desk taking all the weight in my left hand and steadying it with my right Because of the heavy weight and awkward shape my left arm was completely straight so all the weight rested on my shoulder I felt a sharp pain in my left shoulder, put the furniture down, gave my shoulder a rub where it hurt and didn't think about it again until the next day

I had managed to tear, which is one of the rotator cuff muscles This had resulted in a shoulder impingement that was causing pain every time that I tried lifting my arm above shoulder height, or reaching for anything, or reaching behind me, or lying on it, or Get the picture?

The pain got worse over the next two weeks as I tried to carry on I now know that this is the worst thing that you can possibly do Working through a rotator cuff problem will simply lead to a worse injury which is precisely what I did

By the time that I decided to go to the doctor two weeks later I had managed to damage my rotator cuff badly enough to need surgery It wasn't quite that simple, the doctor had tried anti-inflammatory drugs, steroid injections and a few other things to try to bring down the swelling and free up the impinged tendon, all without success It was then that it was decided that surgery was the best option

By this time I was around three months in and getting quite bored with being in pain whenever I tried moving my arm, so rather than wait another three months for surgery (UK waiting time on the NHS) I began to look into the subject on line and found out that the majority rotator cuff injuries are fixed without resorting to surgery

The key is to rest the shoulder properly, which in all honesty I probably hadn't done It is hard to completely rest a shoulder simply because you use them without thinking about it What you do need to do is avoid any movement that causes pain or discomfort as this shows that you are doing more harm

Deal with the swelling at the same time and hopefully the shoulder will begin to free up and become less painful

Once it has you can begin exercising the shoulder to build up and strengthen the rotator cuff These will not be weight bearing exercises but tend to be more Pilates style exercises that work on control and flexibility As the muscle gets stronger you can then start more resistance based exercises, but even then they will be low resistance because the rotator cuff muscles are small and not load bearing muscles

I wish I had done more research right at the beginning and saved myself a lot of time and trouble, not to mention pain

As it is, my surgery date has passed I cancelled simply because my shoulder is better without going under the knife, and I now do about ten minutes of exercises for rotator cuff injuries every day

If you want to know what exercises for rotator cuff injuries helped me to fix my shoulder without surgery check out my story at http://www.myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/12815/90/Exercises-For-Rotator-Cuff-Injuries-Sorted-Out-My-Shoulder-Without-Surgery.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/12808/90/Rotator-Cuff-Tear-How-Did-It-Happen-and-What-Next.html
The rotator cuff is the name for a group of four muscles that hold the top of the arm in place in the shoulder joint If we didn't have them you would find your shoulder joint dislocating each time that you tried lifting anything All four of these muscles are connected to the shoulder blade or scapula at one end and the upper arm or humerus at the other and surround the shoulder forming a cuff of muscle around the shoulder joint, which is how they got their name

If one or more of these muscles gets torn you have a rotator cuff tear either through wear and tear or a knock or fall One analogy I have heard is that of comparing the tendons of the cuff to a car tow rope If you try pulling something that is too heavy the rope will tear or snap and if you have been using the same old tow rope for several years it can become frayed through use

Cuff Tears sometimes come about through a sudden trauma If, for example, you were to fall and put your arm out to catch yourself the sudden impact can tear the muscle Lifting something that is too heavy could have the same effect but would cause a different type of damage as the load is likely to be added more slowly The muscles and tendons can also just wear out through repeated use either through age or because a work or leisure activity over uses the muscle Anyone who throws a baseball repeatedly is putting strain on these muscles Any repetitive overhead action like painting can have teh same effect

If you tear your rotator cuff you will experience specific symptom such as weakness in the arm, pain when doing certain movements, especially reaching up or behind you The test for a rotator cuff tear will usually involve getting someone to gently push against the doctor's hand whilst mimicking these movements; this will usually result in pain confirming the diagnosis

The therapy can vary depending on the age of the person and the severity of the tear Short or small tears are easier to repair and will probably only need anti-inflammatory drugs and physiotherapy, whilst larger tears may involve corrective surgery to mend the tear or free up space for the inflamed muscle to move more easily reducing or eliminating pain altogether

If you are younger when you have surgery the greater the success rate As you get older the success rate of the procedure can drop to around 60% It is sometimes worth considering what you see as a successful outcome Obviously, if you are a serious sportsperson the ideal outcome would be a return to total fitness On the other hand, if you lead a fairly sedentary lifestyle the aim may be to be able to carry out certain everyday tasks and movements pain free

Rotator cuff tears come in a variety of shapes and sizes and consequently can vary quite considerably in treatment and prognosis Physical Therapy will always be a part of any treatment but it needs to be rotator cuff specific exercises aimed at strengthening and exercising the group of muscles without making things worse

If you want to know how rotator cuff surgery can be avoidedthrough exercise check out my story at my blog http://www.myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/12808/90/Rotator-Cuff-Tear-How-Did-It-Happen-and-What-Next.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/12731/90/Rotator-Cuff-Injury-Exercises-When-Is-The-Best-Time-To-Start.html
Rotator cuff injuries are more common than any other shoulder injury Nearly eight million Americans are going to suffer from a shoulder problem this year alone and around Sixty percent of them will be a rotator cuff injury So when should you be doing rotator cuff injury exercises

The obvious answer is when you have damaged your rotator cuff but if more of us thought about this before we damaged them, there would be fewer people waiting at the doctor

If you do any type of sports that involve overhead movement you are at greater risk of injury Baseball players, javelin throwers and tennis players are all at risk simply because these muscles are put under most strain when your arms are above shoulder height Add in a sporting activity to that and you have a potential recipe for problems especially if you never exercise the rotator cuff

Does your work or even a hobby involve working above shoulder height? Rotator cuff injury is a classic injury for plasters and painters and decorators

Have you passed forty? If so then you are more at risk As we age this group of muscles weaken through lack of use and then suddenly we'll put a load on them by doing something daft Through a ball with the grand kids, start playing sport again as we have a mid life crisis The muscles just are not ready for it and the shock usually causes injury Five minuets of feeling young again can leave you in agony for weeks

So if you are in any of these groups then you are already at risk and need to start exercising your rotator cuff on a regular basis The good news is that it will not take long on a daily basis and you will hardly work up a sweat These are fairly small muscles that you will exercise with eother no weight or very small weights Most of rotator cuff exercises for both healthy and damaged muscles are Pilates basedand involve slow gentle exercises that are more about control than intensity

The main difference if you have already torn or damaged your rotator cuff is that you need to let it heal before you start any sort of exercise If you experience pain when you lift your arm, or reach for something then you probably have a rotator cuff injury If reaching behind you or lying down causes pain in yoru shoulder then it is probably too late to start preventative exercise and too soon to start therapeutic exercise

Rotator cuff injuries are painful when you move because the muscles get pinched when they are inflamed and any movement is simply causing more damage Rest the injury, treat the inflammation and manage the pain before you start any sort of exercise

The exercises to return your rotator cuff to full health are the same exercises that you would have done to prevent an injury so if you haven't yet injured your shoulder, there is no better time to start After all, you have a one in three chance of a rotator cuff injury and just five or ten minutes a day is all it will take to keep your shoulders healthy and pain free

If I could turn back the clock to pre-injury, I would be exercising these muscles on a daily basis

If you want to know what rotator cuff injury exercises helped me to fix my shoulder without surgery check out my story at http://www.myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/12731/90/Rotator-Cuff-Injury-Exercises-When-Is-The-Best-Time-To-Start.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/12638/90/Exercises-For-Rotator-Cuff-Injury-Can-They-Help.html
It does not sound possible, exercises for rotator cuff injury, especially if you have a shoulder problem because any sort of movement is probably the last thing that you are thinking about doing

However, if you have torn your your rotator cuff muscles, it may be that exercise is the speediest way to get back to full pain free movement But, before you rush off to the gym you do need to be certain that it is the right type of exercise and is done at the right time Pushing weights will only mess up your shoulder further

Rotator cuff injuries come about in a number of different ways and the severity of injuries can vary dramatically A severe partial tear or a full thickness or complete tear will definitely need surgery to fix it The good news is that this type of surgery is now starightforward and the success rate is good

Nearly all partial tears and shoulder impingements will respond well to exercise as long as it is the right type and providing that you start it at the right time in the recovery process Pain in a rotator cuff is usually a sign that you are damaging the muscles further so it is vital that you listen to your body and avoid any type of movement that causes pain or discomfort This is essential if you want the tendons and muscles to start healing properly

It may be inconvenient but you need to change the way that you do things for a while It might mean modifying how you work or even taking time off to rest the injury properly At the same time you need to be taking anti-inflammatory drugs such as Ibuprofen to bring down the swelling in the muscle and make it easier to move

Any type of exercise at this stage should be passive exercises aimed at maintaining the movement of the shoulder joint without using the damaged muscles and tendons One example of this might be to use something like a walking stick to raise the injured arm by pushing with the healthy arm Keeping the shoulder moving is important to stop frozen shoulder which can often come about with any shoulder injury

When you have got the pain under control you can start to exercise the shoulder using shoulder specific exercises tostrengthen the rotator cuff muscles You will be surprised how quickly the right kind of exercises can get your shoulder moving again It is important that you do not feel any pain or discomfort when you are doing these exercises If you do, then stop

These will be exercises aimed at isolating and exercising the muscles that make up the rotator cuff These are small muscles that will require little or no weight to be used when working on them You will probably find that just the natural weight of your arm is enough to start with

Because these exercises tend to be quite basic, simple exercises without using weights, nearly all of them can be carried out at home which helps a lot with the recovery as it is possible to do them whenever you have a spare ten minutes without planning trips to the gym

Remember, rest and treat the inflammation, manage the pain before trying any exercises

If you want to know what rExercises for rotator cuff injury helped me to fix my shoulder check out my story at http://www.myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/12638/90/Exercises-For-Rotator-Cuff-Injury-Can-They-Help.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/12588/90/Rotator-Cuff-Tear-Treatment-Does-not-Guarantee-Surgical-Treatment.html
Simply because you have torn your rotator cuff, it does not mean that you are going to need corrective surgery People injure their rotator cuffs in a variety of ways and every injury can be different depending on how it occurred in the first place

If you think of the muscles of the rotator cuff as resembling an old tow rope, I say old simply because that's how my rotator cuff felt when I tore it If you tow too many cars with the rope or allow it to rub against something sharp, it might start to get frayed, get worn a bit and weaken

On the other hand if you try towing something that is too heavy, you will stretch the rope, pulling the strands of rope apart Pull away too quickly when you are towing and put a sudden strain on a tow rope and it might simply snap or become detached from the car

The same can happen to the tendons of the rotator cuff You can just wear them out by doing the same action over and over, you can put too much load on them and pull the fibres apart or if you are really unfortunate you can end up snapping them completely

Virtually all full thickness tears will require corrective surgery If you have succeeded in detaching the tendon from the bone you will certainly be looking at corrective surgery to reconnect it

I am happy to say , however, nearly all or most partial rotator cuff tears can be cured without recourse to surgery, providing you look after them properly right from the start and don't try working through them

Even a small rotator cuff tear will cause inflammation of the tendons This swelling will cause impingement which basically means that your tendons are getting pinched or caught by bone every time that you move your shoulder in a certain way Raising your arm above your shoulder may be painful, reaching behind you might be painful, you will find that getting to sleep is difficult because you will not be able to put your weight on your injured arm

You need to listen to the message that your body is sending because each pain is a sign of further damage being done You need to rest the shoulder, avoiding any of the movements that cause pain or discomfort

Rotator cuff tear treatment will start with rest to let the muscle to start getting better, combined with reducing any inflammation Use anti-inflammatory drugs like Ibuprofen, if that does not work, try a steroid injection You also need to treat the inflammation with ice packs to reduce inflammation

Once the swelling has subsided movement will become easier It will not be perfect immediately and that is where exercise helps to strengthen the rotator cuff muscles and get the shoulder joint moving again This will be exercises using low weights or resistance aimed at isolating the muscles of the rotator cuff Using large weights will simply get the major muscles working and either ignore or at worst further damage the cuff muscles

The good news is that, because of that, most of these exercises are suitable to be done at home

Treat your rotator cuff injury correctly and you can have a pain free shoulder back quickly and easily, ignore it and you might as well book surgery straight away

If you want to know whatrotator cuff tear treatment fixed my shoulder without the surgery that I was told I needed, check out my story at http://www.myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com ]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/12588/90/Rotator-Cuff-Tear-Treatment-Does-not-Guarantee-Surgical-Treatment.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/12208/90/Rotator-Cuff-Rehab-Like-Paint-by-Numbers.html
Okay, I know that if you are suffering from rotator cuff pain at the moment the last thing you need is some cheery soul being glib about how to put it right, but the reality is that for almost all of us rotator cuff rehab is really very simple The only exceptions to that rule are if you have either managed to acquire a bad tear or what is known as a full thickness tear If you have then you'll be looking at surgery before you start using that shoulder again

But, like I said, for most of us rotator cuff rehab is relatively simple

The first thing that you need to understand is what kind of injury you have, because when you do, then you begin to understand just how you are going to fix it

A rotator cuff injury is damage to the rotator cuff muscles The rotator cuff is made up of four muscles that all connect to the scapula or shoulder blade at one end and the top of humerus or upper arm at the other What they do, in the great scheme of things, is to help hold the arm in place as you move Depending on how you move, different muscles within the four work harder Once you get your arm above shoulder height your rotator cuff is working at its hardest to stop the ball of the arm coming away from the shoulder joint socket

Which is why when you hurt your rotator cuff it always hurts worst when you raise your arm above your shoulder or reach for something

the muscles are all grouped tightly together forming a cuff of muscle around the joint to help stabilise it They run over the surface of the shoulder blade One of them, called the supraspinatus even runs through a channel of bone at the top of the shoulder blade before attaching to the humerus

This is the tendon that causes the most trouble with a cuff injury because when it gets inflamed and starts to swell it has nowhere to go so it starts to get trapped or impinged by the bone which leads to further pain and injury Think of it like an old being rubbed against a hard surface Sooner or later it will start to fray and eventually it will snap

So if you want a rotator cuff to heal completely there really are three steps

Step one, rest the muscles to let it heal That means avoiding any movement that causes pain Which may involve changing the way in which you work for a week or two or even taking some time off

Step two, work on the the inflammation Try anti-inflammatory drugs like Ibuprofen and start using ice packs whenever you can If that doesn't worksee if your doctor will give you a steroid injection

Step three, when the cuff has settled down start a simple course of shoulder specific physical therapy exercises aimed at strengthening and rebuilding the rotator cuff muscles These will involve small movements with light weights or low resistance that isolate and exercise this small but important group of muscles

It's quite simple really Muscles won't get better unless you rest them Working through a rotator cuff injury will cause more damage Let the swelling go down before you start exercising and do exercises that strengthen the damaged muscles

Told you it was simple! I know because that's exactly how I fixed my shoulder

If you want to know how i fixed my torn rotator cuff with just rotator cuff rehab without shoulder surgery that I was told I needed, check out my story at http://www.myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com ]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/12208/90/Rotator-Cuff-Rehab-Like-Paint-by-Numbers.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/12168/90/Rotator-Cuff-Symptoms-Recognise-Them-Early-And-You-Can-Avoid-Suffering-a-Great-Deal-Of-Discomfort.html
Only too often we ignore pain and carry on as normal Everyone have niggling aches and pains every now and again and nearly all of us just get on with life regardless If we stopped working each time we ached the world would grind to a halt

But don't try to work through shoulder pain, especially if it is ongoing A Rotator Cuff Problem will|Rotator Cuff problems} often give us plenty of warning signs before they get bad and bring us to a stop If you notice stiffness, weakness, pain or swelling in your shoulder it may be time to ease up and take remedial action

Although some shoulder problems begin as the result of a fall or knock, most begin simply as a result of |wear and tear on the joint, either as we age or caused by a repetitive stressful movement Alright, we can't do anything to stop the unexpected shoulder injury but we can take early measures to cut down the damage from wear and tear As we age our rotator cuff gets weaker through lack of exercise We hold ourselves differently to how we did as youngsters, our {posture|shape gradually changes over the years I only need to look at my waist line to know that that is true

As the rotator cuff gradually looses strength we become prone to shoulder injuries The right sort of exercise done when things first start getting weaker to strengthen these muscles can go a long way towards preventing shoulder injuries Despite these being asmall group of muscles {they are fundamental to having a healthy and strong shoulder joint and once we get past fifty we ignore them at our peril

So prevention is definitely better than cure, but just in case you've left it too late, what are the rotator cuff symptoms? First off, weakness and pain in the injured shoulder This may only happen when you use the shoulder The commonest causes of discomfort are reaching for an object or reaching up Whenever you reach up or out the rotator cuff starts to work at its hardest If you are having trouble getting to sleep because of shoulder pain, this is yet another classic sign Lying on the damaged shoulder can be uncomfortable, but lying on the other side so that your painful arm drops in front of you can be equally painful

If the pain is continuous, it might well be telling you that you have a badly torn rotator cuff

Most rotator cuff problems can be treated with rest followed by physical therapy but don't rush out and start lifting weights These are a small group of muscles that need very definite exercise to build them up using either no weights or very small weights and physical therapy that are designed specifically for muscle group

So whether it's simply shoulder pain or a rotator cuff tear, you will almost definitely end up exercising the rotator cuff as part of your recovery programme That might be before or after surgery but really depends on whether or not you heed teh warning signs and rest or carry on regardless

If you found this article useful check out my full story at www..myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com My name is Nick Bryant and I tore my rotator cuff lifting something that was too heavy. Despite being told that I needed surgery I have fully recovered with just phyical therapy. Check out one of my other articles on rotator cuff injury ]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/12168/90/Rotator-Cuff-Symptoms-Recognise-Them-Early-And-You-Can-Avoid-Suffering-a-Great-Deal-Of-Discomfort.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/12149/90/My-Torn-Rotator-Cuff-Nearly-Had-to-Give-Up-Golf.html
Being an older dad with young kids I try fairly hard to try to stay fit, active and in shape so that I canstill play with the kids as they get older I also enjoy a game of golf occasionally, a good walk ruined as they say I'm not a great player as I never get to play as often as I would like but I do enjoy it, so was really hacked off when I developed a shoulder problem that made me stop playing

It wasn't actually as simple as that My shoulder problem turned out to be a torn rotator cuff which really stopped me from doing any form of activity It was very painfull when I ran or walked, even though I am right handed, any movement caused serious pain in my left shoulder If I forgot and made a sudden movement I could end up crying with pain I know exactly how I did it I was being impatient and trying to lift some flat packed furniture on my own rather than waiting for someone to come and help, felt something go in my shoulder and that was that Shoulder messed up| The next day I woke up with shoulder pain and it just got worse with each passing day

I couldn't reach much above shoulder height, reaching for anything was impossible I couldn't reach behind me I couldn't sleep because I couldn't get comfortable and doing anything with the kids was impossible Golf was just not going to happen for the forseeable future So I took myself off to the doctors who sent me to see a specialist He diagnosed a torn rotator cuffand confirmed it with an MRI scan Your shoulder is a basic ball and socket joint It is different to the hip joint in that the socket is made up predominantly of cartilage rather than bone and doesn't grip the bone of the arm in the same way that the hip holds the leg in place Instead, a group of four muscles help to hold the arm in place and stabilise the shoulder joint These make up the rotator cuff I had managed to tear one of these muscles which had caused Because all the muscles are so close together any inflammation can cause pressure and pain

I had torn the supraspinatus I had torn a tendon that runs under my collar bone or clavicle and the end of my shoulder blade or scapula Because it was inflammed, every time that I moved in a certain wayit got impinged or pinchedpinched and was aggravated I was recommended for surgery to cut away part of my collar bone to free up the impinged tendon and let it to heal without any more damage It all sounded very simple but I was still a bit nervous

Being in the UK we are used to waiting for surgery so I took the time to do some research on the subject while I waited for my surgery date Having studied my injury extensively I finally discovered that most rotator cuff problems are solved with simple physical therapy Even a torn rotator cuff can be solved in this way, as long as it is only a partial tear You need to rest the joint at first to let the inflammation to calm down, treating it with anti-inflammatory drugs and using ice packs Once the inflammation and pain have calmed down you can start gentle exercises aimed at strengthening the rotator cuff

In just six weeks I was pain free and the movement had returned to near normal A few more weeks saw me return to what feels like one hundred percent fitness I have put off the surgery and will probably be cancelling it altogether if I remain pain free

In the meantime I am playing golf again, still losing but hey, I do have a bad shoulder!

If you want to know how i fixed myshoulder impingement without shoulder surgery that I was told I needed, check out my story at http://www.myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/12149/90/My-Torn-Rotator-Cuff-Nearly-Had-to-Give-Up-Golf.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/12139/90/Rotator-Cuff-Treatment-Prevention-andCure.html
About one third of us will have a rotator cuff injury at some time in our lives, I can't help feeling that if shoulder exercises were part of our daily routine, that number could be greatly reduced

Eight million Americans will suffer from a rotator cuff problem this year alone So what is it and how do we sort it out if we do get one?

The rotator cuff is a reasonably small but important group of muscles that help to stabilise the shoulder joint The shoulder joint is made up of a very shallow ball and socket joint The ball which is at the top of the humerus or upper arm rests on the socket of the shoulder joint that is on the outer edge of the scapula Think of it like a golf ball sitting on a tee The muscles of the rotator cuff all run from the scapula to the head of the humerus pulling it into place, creating a cuff of muscle which helps to keep the joint stable and stop it from dislocating every time that we lift something heavy or lift our arm above shoulder height

Without the rotator cuff muscles it would be very easy to knock the ball off the tee, great in golf but not really what we want with a shoulder joint

This group of muscles work hardest whenever there is a downward pressure on our shoulder joint If we are working above shoulder height, lifting or reaching for something they kick in to hold the shoulder together

Which is why, when you hurt any of them, you get pain when you lift your arm up or out to the side

As we age these muscles begin to weaken, usually through lack of use so we are more susceptible to this kind of injury once we hit forty, although sportsmen are at risk as is anyone who is continually working above shoulder height, painters and decorators for example

Fortunately the majority of rotator cuff problems can be solved with exercise Most rotator cuff treatment will involve rest to allow the tendons to begin repairing, coupled with treatment of any swelling or inflammation with non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs A lot of the discomfort in a rotator cuff injury is caused by the inflammation where swollen tendons can get impinged or trapped It is vital to let the muscles heal and the inflammation to reduce before beginning any physical therapy

Trying to work through a rotator cuff injury will only cause more damage and can even lead to you needing surgery

Once the inflammation has gone and the pain has settled down you need to do some physical therapy aimed at building up the rotator cuff muscles You will usually find that within about six weeks, you can get a shoulder back to full pain free movement simply by following a rotator cuff treatment programme

Once you have, then it is essential to continue with the exercises to make sure that your shoulders stay fit, healthy and trouble free

If you want to know how rotator cuff treatment stopped me needing shoulder surgery check out my story at my blog http://www.myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/12139/90/Rotator-Cuff-Treatment-Prevention-andCure.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/12074/90/Torn-Rotator-Cuff-Treatment-Whats-s-Best-Exercise-or-Rest.html
Yes is the answer but not in the same order A lot depends on how badly you have torn it Most cuff tears will respond to rest and exercise but any serious partial tear or full thickness tear may require surgery before you do any therapy exercise

What is important with any type of torn rotator cuff treatment is to rest and let the tear begin to heal Carrying on through the pain of a rotator cuff is only going to leave you booking corrective surgery as you will do more damage to the muscles, so rest is the first order of the day

At the same time as rest, you need to reduce the inflammation before you can think about starting any kind of exercise The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles that help to keep the shoulder stable by pulling the head of the upper arm bone into the socket of the shoulder joint They are small but important muscles that surround the shoulder joint forming a cuff of muscle that supports it, in doing so they run over and sometimes under the shoulder bones

Any inflammation to these muscles causes pain as the inflamed tendon can catch or impinge on one of the bones A classic example of this is the supraspinatus muscle which runs under the collar bone and the acromion of the shoulder blade When this muscle become inflamed it catches on the channel of bone and start to wear or fray Worst case scenario is that you could end up with a snapped tendon that would leave you needing corrective surgery

So let the muscles rest This means avoiding any movement that is causes pain If your work involves a lot of overhead movement you might need to modify how you work If you spend the day sitting at a desk, you might need to change the setup of your desk to avoid stretching or reaching movements with the damaged shoulder You might even need to take a few days off to rest the shoulder properly

At the same times start to reduce the inflammation This could be by using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as Ibuprofen and also by using ice packs on the damaged tendons to help to bring down the swelling If symptoms persist you may need to have a cortisone injection into the muscle to reduce the inflammation Your doctor should be able to do this for you

When the muscle has begun to settle down you can start simple exercises aimed at strengthening the rotator cuff muscles Don't go rushing to the gym thinking that any sort of exercise will do the trick It won't Pushing weights before the muscle has healed properly is likely to cause more damage

Rotator cuff exercises use little or no weight when recovering from an injury They will start with gentle exercises that should not cause any pain If you feel pain when exercising stop immediately as this is a sign of further damage being done It may be that you started exercising too soon

And don't forget, when your shoulder is better and back to its full pain free movement, don't stop the exercises Rotator cuff injuries are very common but a lot of them can be avoided by keeping the rotator cuff muscles strong so just take five or ten minutes a day to keep them happy

If you want to know how torn rotator cuff treatment stopped me needing surgery check out my story at my blog http://myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/12074/90/Torn-Rotator-Cuff-Treatment-Whats-s-Best-Exercise-or-Rest.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/11992/90/Can-You-Fix-Rotator-Cuff-Pain-With-Exercise.html
The quick answer is yes, most of the time I include most of the time at the end of that because there are a few rotator cuff problems that will need corrective surgery or may benefit from surgery because of amount of damage done However nearley all rotator cuff pain comes from fairly easy to solve shoulder problems most of which can be treated successfully with physical therapy (that's exercise to most of us) If you have torn a rotator cuff tendon badly or actually managed a full thickness tear then surgery is going to be likely

The rotator cuff is a small but very important group of muscles all of which run from the shoulder blade at one end and fix to the humerus or upper arm bone at the other They cover the shoulder in a cuff of muscle, hence the name They are very tightly connected and weave under and over the bones of the shoulder so any inflammation caused by injury will result in pain The pain is usually caused by certain movements such as reaching or lifting the arm above shoulder height The rotator cuff is susceptible to injury as we age and if we do a job or sports activity that includes a lot of overhead activity

If you damage these muscles it is vital to rest them at first as continuing to use these muscles when they are already inflamed can cause much bigger injuries Any inflammation needs to be treated with non-steroidal drugs such as Ibuprofen Ice packs will also help to reduce|in reducing} pain and inflammation Once the injured muscle has settled down, you can start gentle shoulder specific exercises to strengthen the rotator cuff muscles

This type of exercise will involve small movements with little or no resistance initially The rotator cuff is made up of small muscles Using large weights will tend to defeat the whole object by exercising the major muscles of the shoulder and ignore the ones you are trying to fix Rotator cuff specific exercises will focus on strengthening these muscles which are fundamental to having a healthy shoulder joint

It is essential not to try working through this type of injury The pain is caused by tendons catching on the bone of the joint If you ignore the pain and carry on using the shoulder you will mess up the muscle even further Think of it like an old tow rope rubbing against a sharp edge Carry on for long enough and eventually it will wear through an dsanp completely If this happens you will be looking at major surgery and a long recovery period and you will still end up doing the therapy that could have fixed your shoulder out in the first place

So don't self diagnose when it comes to rotator cuff pain Make sure you get examined and diagnosed by a professional and then get the right kind of exercise programme to do when the problem has settled down Once your shoulder is better, keep up the therapy exercises to make sure that your shoulders stay healthy and you avoid any further problems

If you want to know how I solved my rotator cuff pain with just exercise check out my story at my blog http://myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/11992/90/Can-You-Fix-Rotator-Cuff-Pain-With-Exercise.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/11985/90/Can-You-Sort-Out-Rotator-Cuff-Tendonitis-Simply-With-Shoulder-Exercise.html
The last thing on your mind when you have rotator cuff tendonitis is any form of exercise but that is precisely what you need to do to sort ot out But, before you reach for the gym bag and rush off to lift some weights, stop and read the rest of this article

The right sort of exercise can repair shoulder tendonitis Doing the wrong type of exercise will almost certainly make it worse, probably much worse In fact if you exercise an inflamed shoulder incorrectly you will end up making it worse or even snapping the tendon completely which would definitely put you on a list waiting for corrective surgery

Rotator cuff tendonitis or shoulder tendonitis is simply the irritation or swelling of the tendons of the rotator cuff Its severity can vary depending on what caused the problem in the first place but is usually as a result of either wear and tear caused by getting older or a repetitive overhead action such as painting or throwing It is an injury that is common to certain sports people and is sometimes known as swimmer's shoulder or pitcher's shoulder

So how do you fix rotator cuff tendonitis Firstly, don't worry It is a fairly common injury with roughly thirty percent of the population experiencing it at some point in their lives It is also fairly easy to repair with the right therapy

To begin with the therapy will involve resting the muscles and avoiding any of the movements that caused pain These are bound to be any kind of overhead movement or reaching action You may need to change the way that you work for a while in order to allow the muscles to rest but it is essential if you want to avoid making things worse

The irritation needs to be treated with ice packs and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as Ibuprofen If the pain continues it might be worthwhile having a steroid injection into the muscle to reduce swelling Your doctor can do this for you

As soon as the muscle has settled down you need to start some shoulder specific exercises aimed at strengthening the rotator cuff muscles These are low resistance exercises that isolate this group of muscles and can easily be done at home Rushing off to the gym and lifting weights will do nothing for the rotator cuff muscles These are small but extremely important muscles that effectively hold the humerus in place in the socket of the shoulder joint and they are extremely important to the general health of the joint Weak rotator cuff muscles equal a weak shoulder no matter how strong the other muscles of the shoulder are

Rotator cuff therapy exercises are absolutely necessary if you want to regain a healthy pain free shoulder and should really be compulsory for anyone over forty just to keep their shoulders healthy Unfortunately most of us don't even know of the existence of the rotator cuff until we get injured and find out to our cost that we have been neglecting them

I personally now do five or ten minutes of rotator cuff exercises every day simply to make sure that I never suffer from shoulder pain in the future

Shoulder Exercise is the simplest way to sort out rotator cuff tendonitis. I know because that's what stopped me needing surgery. Read my story here www..myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/11985/90/Can-You-Sort-Out-Rotator-Cuff-Tendonitis-Simply-With-Shoulder-Exercise.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/11924/90/Torn-Rotator-Cuff-Treatment-Doen-t-Have-To-Include-Surgery.html
A torn rotator cuff can come about for a variety of reasons For a lot of us it will probably be as a result of wear and tear as we age Although this is an injury that is most common in the older population, it can also come about as the result of a fall or knock or even simply through a repetitive action such as throwing a ball This is why it is sometimes referred to as pitcher's shoulder

Corrective surgery is usually restricted to the unlucky few who have either managed to get a full thickness tear or whose injury does not respond to conventional treatment

So what is the best type of torn rotator cuff treatment?

Firstly rest! You have to let the muscle heal properly and if you carry on using it, you will slow down the recovery process and may even end up causing a serious injury Depending on which of the rotator cuff tendons you have damaged some of your shoulder movements will be painful The classic symptoms for a Supraspinatus tear for example are pain when lifting your arm above shoulder height or reaching for anything, difficulty reaching behing you and trouble sleeping because the shoulder is so tender If you carry on doing the same movements that are painful you are going to further damage the muscle which could result in a full thickness rotator cuff tear that will certainly need an operation

Next, you need to look after the pain and inflammation This can be done with anti-inflammatory drugs such as Ibuprofen or may even be treated with steroid injections Treating the inflammation will sometimes help with any pain or discomfort simply because a lot of the pain in shoulder injuries is caused by inflamed tendons getting impinged or pinched Ultra sound is another option that can help with the inflammation and help to improve healing

Once the injury has started to settle down and movement has become easier it is time to start exercising the rotator cuff muscles to strengthen them These exercises will be small exercises with little or no resistance The rotator cuff muscles are small muscles that often suffer injury as a result of neglect Most of us don't understand the importance of these muscles until we manage to injure them, but they are fundamental to having a strong and healthy shoulder, as they hold the arm into the socket as we move and lift A small increase in strength of the rotator cuff can have a dramatic affect on the overall strength of the shoulder

Rotator cuff specific exercises are what is called for Don't start working out with weights as this is likely to simply work the major muscles of the shoulder and do nothing for the injured muscles Rotator cuff exercises will isolate these muscles and get them working again You'll be surprised how quickly your shoulder will get better once you get these muscles working again

But remember, rest and treat the inflammation before you start any rotator cuff exercises If you need to modify how you work in order to rest your shoulder then do it Working through a rotator cuff injury can only lead to further injury

And finally It is worth mentioning that self diagnosis of shoulder problems is not a good idea Different injuries need different treatments and it's worth getting it right just to avoid further problems

Rotator Cuff Specific Exercises are the quickest way back to a healthy shoulder. I know because it worked for me. Check out the torn rotator cuff treatment that stopped me needing surgery. Read my story here www..myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/11924/90/Torn-Rotator-Cuff-Treatment-Doen-t-Have-To-Include-Surgery.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/11864/90/Rotator-Cuff-Exercise-Stopped-Me-From-Needing-Shoulder-Surgery-Do-You-Need-To-Be-Doing-Them-Too.html
At the beginning of this year I injured my shoulder by tearing one of the four muscles in my rotator cuff Rotator cuff tears come in all shapes and sizes and the causes can vary just as much so I was fairly fortunate in that mine was only a partial tear not, a full thickness tear

I had a piece of furnitire awkwardly and put a strain on my shoulder joint I felt a shooting pain at the top of my shoulder and fortunately had the common sense to put it down I rubbed my shoulder and carried on but the next time I lifted I lifted properly My shoulder seemed okay, until the day after

I woke up to a sharp pain in my shoulder Lifting my arm up in front of me, reaching for anything or even trying to tuck in the back of my shirt all resulted in a sharp pain at the top of my shoulder Over the next three or four days my shoulder gradually became stiff up and the same movements became increasingly painful Not only was my shoulder giving me pain during the day but I was turning into an insomniac When I lay on my bad shoulder the discomfort of my shoulder kept me awake If I lay on my good shoulder, I had lie my arm carefully along my body so that it disn't drop down and cause me pain Life was getting very difficult

I ended up sleeping on my back which really annoyed my wife as I immediately started to snore like a trooper

In the end, after investigation and an MRI scan it turned out that I had torn one of my rotator cuff muscles I had managed to tear my Supraspinatus tendon which runs through a channel of bone just under my collarbone before it attaches to the top of my arm Because it was torn it became inflamed Because of the inflammation it was getting snagged on the bone every time that I used that particular muscle resulting in the muscle gradually fraying It was decided that I needed surgery The idea was to shave away a piece of bone to allow the damaged muscle extra room to move so that it could heal easily As I was in the UK the date was booked for three months away and I started a painful wait

I began researching shoulder injuries and their therapy and found out that most rotator cuff tears can be treated without resorting to surgery The method is rest to allow the muscle to heal Treatment of the inflammation with anti-inflammatory drugs and ice packs and then, once the pain has reduced start simple low weight exercises to build up and strengthen the rotator cuff muscles

The most important element of this is the rest If I had carried on using my shoulder normally, I would have been damaging it further every time that I used that muscle Had I succeeded in ignoring the pain or even managed to work through the pain I could have eventually snapped the tendon completely That would have definitely needed surgery!

As it was by avoiding any movement that caused pain and by carefully treating the inflammation I gradually improved until I could do very basic easy exercises without any pain As the exercises strengthened my muscles I gradually regained the strength and movement in my shoulder and now ten weeks on I have full pain free movement again

I'm lucky in that I have an office job With a few simple changes to my desk layout I could avoid putting strain on the damaged muscle If you have a more physical job you might have to think more carefully to avoid using the injured shoulder, but it is essential that you do so as carrying on using it will make it worse and all the therapy in the world wont help if you manage to tear it completely Rotator cuff exercise features in nearly all shoulder injury therapy programmes simply because the strength of the rotator cuff is fundamental to the wellbeing of your shoulders Even if you have healthy shoulders it is worth spending a few minutes a day keeping these four muscles in good shape

Nick Bryant is an older dad to a young family who suffered a shoulder impingement which he was told would require corrective surgery. After reading up on the condition he successfully managed a full recovery with just rest and rotator cuff exercise Read his full story at his blog www..myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/11864/90/Rotator-Cuff-Exercise-Stopped-Me-From-Needing-Shoulder-Surgery-Do-You-Need-To-Be-Doing-Them-Too.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/11821/90/Shoulder-Rehabilitation-Exercises-Should-Be-Compulsory.html
Never mind waiting until you hurt your shoulder joint, you need to start exercising your shoulders before you injure one of them I'm not talking about lifting weights and exercising the major muscles, I'm talking about waking up the rotator cuff muscles before something goes wrong

I recently damaged one of the muscles in my rotator cuff, ended up with an impinged shoulder and was told that I needed surgery to correct it It was then that I started to take an interest and research the subject and discovered that most of us ignore this group of muscles until it is too late, I include myself in that group It was shoulder rehabilitation exercises that helped me to get over my rotator cuff injury without surgery

A large number of shoulder rehabilitation exercises are aimed at strengthening the rotator cuff, an important but often forgotten group of muscles simply because they are so vital to shoulder health

The shoulder joint is a shallow ball and socket joint held together by tendons, ligaments, cartiladge and seventeen different muscles Its complex make up gives us the wide range of movement that we have but can also leave us prone to injury The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles which pull the arm into the shoulder and help to prevent dislocation

This group of muscles can become weak, through injury, wear and tear and neglect and when it does, it leaves us at greater risk of several different shoulder injuries A Few quick and easy exercises aimed at this group of muscles will improve your shoulder health and help to prevent injury in as little as ten minutes a day

Even if the rotator cuff is healthy, building it up will improve the overall performance of your shoulders If you do lift weights you'll discover that if you strengthen the rotator cuff, you will be able to lift higher weights

Around thirty percent of us will get a rotator cuff injury at some stage As you get older the risk becomes higher so it is well worth exercising these muscles to prevent a shoulder injury

Now there is a reasonable chance that if you are reading this, it is because my advice has come too late I didn't even know that these muscles existed until I damaged my shoulder and started looking into the injury Nearly all of us take our bodies for granted until something goes wrong I am no exception to that rule

Okay, if you have managed to injure one of yoru shoulders then shoulder rehabilitation exercises are going to feature somewhere in the treatment

If you have already had surgery then the advice you get will almost certainly be to get your shoulder moving again just as soon as possible to avoid frozen shoulder or loss of movement Obviously, you need to take your doctor's advice on this, before starting exercsie

Shoulder exercises don't use great weights or resistance If anything thet tend to use either no weights or very small weights and will involve gentle exercise to start with that gradually increase in terms of frequency and difficulty until the shoulder is back to normal If you feel any disconfort at any time then you need to stop as this is usually an indication of damage being inflicted

But before you start to exercise a damaged shoulder let it rest, treat any pain and inflammation but most important of all is to allow it to heal properly If you ignore shoulder pain you are likely to make the situation worse A pulled or slightly damaged muscle that is ignored can result in a major injury needing surgery and months of rehab

Better still, look after your shoulders before they let you down and whatever you do keep up the exercises after your shoulder is fixed

Nick Bryant is an older dad to a young family who suffered a shoulder injury which he was told would require corrective surgery. After researching the condition he successfully managed a full recovery with just rest and shoulder rehabilitation exercises Read his full story at his blog www..myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/11821/90/Shoulder-Rehabilitation-Exercises-Should-Be-Compulsory.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/11794/90/How-do-the-symptoms-of-rotator-cuff-injury-differ-from-a-frozen-shoulder.html
Alright, You've injured your shoulder but how will you know what you have done to it? Firstly the shoulder joint consists of muscles, bones, ligaments, tendons and cartilage If someone had invented the shoulder they would be winning awards for the flexibility and complexity of it There are three seperate bones involved, The humerus, the collar bone and the scapula all feature Seventeen different muscles plus the cartilage, tendons and ligaments Two of the most common injuries to shoulders are a frozen shoulder or a rotator cuff tear and it is best not to confuse the two because the treatnments are radically different
If you have a frozen shoulder the capsule surrounding the joint becomes damaged, resulting in scar tissue forming The capsule contracts and any movement of the joint causes pain However, if you have damaged your rotator cuff then you will only get pain with certain movements The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles that keep the shoulder stable and help to move the shoulder especially any movement above shoulder height Your shoulder joint is a very shallow ball and socket joint Without the rotator cuff to keep the ball in place, we would put our shoulder out of joint everytime that we lifted anything or threw anything These muscles are easily damaged whenever we are working at height, lifting or throwing The most common injuries to this group of muscles are caused by repetitive movements, knocks or just plain wear and tear as we age
I managed to tear the supraspinatus which is one of the four muscles in this group Sadly it is the muscle that runs through a channel of bone on the acromion (at the top end of teh scapula), so when it got injured and started to get enflammed I ended up with a shoulder impingement The result was pain whener I tried lifting my arm or reaching behind me with loss of strength in my arm Tucking in my shirt, lifting a cup of tea, lifting anything off of a shelf became difficult and as time went by it just deteriorated
What was happening was that the swollen, damaged tendon was now contracting whenever I used it and getting pinched against the bone The gap that it normally moved through was now too small, so everytime I moved my arm with certain movements it was catching on the bone and getting more worn So I had to rest it and wait for the swelling to subside It is onlywhen you are forced to rest it that you realise just how much you use your shoulder You can't carry on because the pain is an indication that more damage is being done, eventually,if you manage to overcome the pain, you could end up wearing completely through the tendon all together and that is a whole new problem
Depending on the severity of the injury you may be advised to have surgery to release the trapped tendon to allow it to heal But Rest, treatment of the inflammed tendon followed by exercises to build up the rotator cuff muscles may be enough

If you found this article interesting check out my full story at www..myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com My name is Nick Bryant and I tore my rotator cuff lifting something that was too heavy. Despite being told that I would need surgery I have managed a full recovery with just exercise. Check out one of my other articles on the rotator cuff]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/11794/90/How-do-the-symptoms-of-rotator-cuff-injury-differ-from-a-frozen-shoulder.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/11793/90/A-Rotator-Cuff-Tear-is-more-common-than-you-might-think.html
This year in the USA around eight million people will visit their doctor complaining of shoulder problems Just over half of them will be diagnosed as having a torn rotator cuff It doesn't help to find that you are only one of many but at least it means that shoulder complaints are taken seriously

It also means that there is lots of research going on and a wealth of information to help However tempting, don't try to work through a rotator cuff injury Unlike a lot of other muscular injuries, nearly all shoulder injuries will only get worse if you try to work through them

There are actually only two or three major causes of shoulder injury Wear and tear either through the aging process or repetitive movements, a direct injury such as a knock to the shoulderor a fall or as in my case, trying to lift something that was too big and heavy

Symptoms again fall into common areas which are pain, weakness and loss of movement A classic symptom of shoulder injuries is being unable to raise your arm above shoulder height or to the side or in front of you The amount of movement restriction is a good indicator to the amount of damage that you have suffered

Most injuries in the shoulder involve the muscles, ligaments, tendons and cartilage of the joint rather than the bones themselves The shoulder contains seventeen different muscles any one of which can lead to a shoulder injury Because the majority of shoulder injuries involve soft tissue damage physical therapy features strongly in a lot of the treatments but it is important that you do exercises that are designed for your particular injury as the wrong exercises can cause more damage and cause serious problems

The rotator cuff is a classic example of this The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles that help keep your shoulder joint safe They all connect the shoulder blade to the upper arm bone They are small muscles but extremely important for a healthy shoulder joint These muscles run under and over other muscles and one of them, the supraspinatus muscle, even runs under the collar bone If you damage this muscle it can get inflamed and get pinched under the collar bone Continuing to use this muscle can cause a partial or complete tear of the musclethat will need surgery to correct

Most shoulder injury thearapies will focus on RICE Rest, ice, compression and elevation but will also often focus on strengthening the muscles of the rotator cuff to improve stability in the joint Any exercise that works on this group of muscles will involve small weights and specific movements that do not stress the muscles If you experience pain then you are doing it wrong

The blood supply to the shoulder muscles is not very good and anything you do to improve the blood supply will help with recovery Heat and massage will both help to increase the blood supply and speed up recovery It is important to keep you shoulder as mobile as much as you can without causing yourself pain Exercises where you do not use the muscles of the injured arm will help Lifting the injured arm with the good arm for example or simply swinging the arm gently can help but stop straight away if you experience any discomfort

See a doctor, get a diagnosis but also research your shoulder injury and the best way to fix it Remember knowledge is power!

If you found this article interesting check out my full story at www..myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com My name is Nick Bryant and I tore my rotator cuff lifting something that was too heavy. Despite being told that I would need surgery I have managed a full recovery with just exercise. Check out one of my other articles on shoulder pain]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/11793/90/A-Rotator-Cuff-Tear-is-more-common-than-you-might-think.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/11702/90/If-you-want-to-understand-a-rotator-cuff-impingement-it-is-probably-best-to-find-out-more-about-how-the-shoulder-joint-is-made-up-and-problems-that-can-beset-it.html
The shoulder joint consists of three seperate bones, the upper arm bone or humerus, collar bone or clavicle and the shoulder blade or scapula All of these bones make up the shoulder Until I managed to get a shoulder injury, I thought of my shoulder blade as a simple triangle of bone that sat on my back and stuck out if I pushed my elbows forward I had not really given any thought to its design or purpose

Actually, it is quite a complex design At the top outer corner it has a cup of bone called the glenoid which forms the ball of the shoulder ball and socket joint The shoulder blade also attaches to the clavicle at the top This part of the shoulder blade is a piece of bone that curves over at the top called the Acromion

In addition to the the bones of the shoulder there are seventeen different muscles which work the shoulder as well as ligaments and cartilage that all make up and hold together this complex joint

The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles that all run from the scapula to the head of the humerus, surrounding the joint in a cuff of muscle hence the name They all pull the ball at the head of the humerus into the socket of the glenoid Because the socket of this joint is very shallow these muscles are important to hold the arm in place and stabilize the joint Without them it would be very easy to dislocate the shoulder joint

One of these muscles, the supraspinatus runs through the hook of the acromion before attaching to the humerus Imagine a thin tendon running through a channel of bone If the channel narrows or the tendon gets inflamed the tendon can start to rub on the bone which will start to damage the tendon leaving it vulnerable to tearing or fraying Think of it like an old rope being rubbed against a sharp edge, after time the rope would begin to fray and if left long enough could actually break in two

The causes of rotator cuff impingement are similar to other injuries Any injury or trauma to this particular tendon, that causes swelling, can trigger a rotator cuff impingement Arthritis can cause the tunnel of bone to narrow and as we get older some of us actually grow bony spurs on the acromion that narrow the channel and cause problems

The symptoms of an impingement are pain in the shoulder especially when raising the arm above shoulder height or reaching up or out for something coupled with trouble getting to sleep at night A simple test that your doctor may do for a rotator cuff impingement is to get you to straighten your arm with the palm facing away from your body and then to raise it up If this is painful then you probably have a rotator cuff impingement

Do not ignore a rotator cuff impingement as this can cause more serious problems Therapy is rest and anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce the swelling Make sure that you avoid any overhead movements If you work at something like painting or plastering you will need to change how you work to avoid these movements When the muscles have rested and have started to recover you can begin physical therapy to strengthen the rotator cuff to help avoid further problems

If symptoms persist or if the bone has changed shape then you are probably looking at surgery to correct things This will involve keyhole surgery called a sub-acromial decompression where the surgeon shaves away a small piece of bone to free up the tendon

The vast majority of rotator cuff impingements are solved without surgery but it is vital to take this injury seriously and let it rest, avoiding {any|| overhead movements The pain you feel is telling you that more damage is being done so listen to your body and let it heal

Nick Bryant is an older dad to a young family who suffered a rotator cuff injury which he was told would require corrective surgery. After reading up on the condition he managed a full recovery with just rest and the right sort of exercise. Read his full story at his blog www..myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/11702/90/If-you-want-to-understand-a-rotator-cuff-impingement-it-is-probably-best-to-find-out-more-about-how-the-shoulder-joint-is-made-up-and-problems-that-can-beset-it.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/11622/90/If-You-ve-Got-A-Rotator-Cuff-Injury-Don-t-Be-Concerned-The-Cure-Is-Often-Easier-Than-You-Might-Think.html
Shoulder problems come in a variety of shapes and sizes It is probably the most involved joint that we have and is one of the easiest to start having problems with and one of the most common shoulder problems is a rotator cuff injury Nearly a third of us will suffer from a problem with small but vital group of muscles at some point in our lives
The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles that help to hold the joint in place by pulling the rounded head of the arm into the socket of the shoulder formed by the end of the shoulder blade These muscles run over and around the shoulder forming a cuff of muscle, hence the name If you didn't have these muscles it would be extremely easy to dislocate your shoulder as the ball and socket joint is a very shallow joint to allow the wide range of movement that we enjoy
If you injure the rotator cuff you can start to Experience a wide range of symptoms These include difficulty sleeping caused by pain when you lie down, discomfort we change our posture and these changes in posture can result in problems with one or both of our shoulder joints One of the muscles of the cuff runs through a channel of bone at the top of the shoulder This muscle can start to rub against the bone either because it has been injured and become inflamed or simply because we hold ourselves a bit differently as time goes by The swelling can cause a shoulder impingement where the muscle is literally getting pinched by the bone Ignore this at your peril because a shoulder impingement can become a partial or complete tear of the muscleif ignored The latter will certainly require surgery
Happily, the vast majority of rotator cuff injuries can be fixed with rest and exercise Rest first!
Sounds easy but you quickly|soon begin to} realise just how frequently you use your shoulder, so the simplest advice is to avoid any movement that causes pain or discomfort The pain in a rotator cuff injury is an indication that damage is being done Try anti-inflammatory drugs like Ibuprofen to reduce the swelling Avoid working through this type of injury as you can end up turning a fairly simple problem into a major injury that will need corrective surgery
Once the inflammation and pain have subsided you can start exercising gently aimed at building up muscle, gradually increasing the amount and frequency of exercise until the shoulder is back to full, pain free, movement Exercises for this type of injury do not involve large weights or strong resistance as that will tend to make you use the major muscles of the shoulder
Finally, don't stop the exercises once you feel better If you have suffered a shoulder injury once there is a pretty good chance of it happening again so, seeing that prevention is better than cure, keep your shoulders in shape as you gracefully age and keep up the exercises

If you found this article interesting check out my full story at www..myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com My name is Nick Bryant and I tore my rotator cuff lifting something that was too heavy. Despite being told that I needed surgery I have managed a full recovery with just phyical therapy. Check out my story at www..myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/11622/90/If-You-ve-Got-A-Rotator-Cuff-Injury-Don-t-Be-Concerned-The-Cure-Is-Often-Easier-Than-You-Might-Think.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/11613/90/If-You-ve-Acquired-A-Rotator-Cuff-Injury-Don-t-Panic-The-Cure-Is-Often-Quick-And-Easy.html
Shoulder injuries come in a variety of shapes and sizes It is probably the most complicated joint that we have and consequently is one of the easiest to develop a problem with and one of the commonest shoulder injuries is a rotator cuff injury Nearly a third of us will have a problem with these small but important muscles at some point in our lives
The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles that help to stabilize the shoulder joint by pulling the rounded head of the arm into the socket of the shoulder formed by the end of the shoulder blade These muscles run over and around the shoulder forming a cuff of muscle, which gives it the name Without these muscles it would be very easy to dislocate your shoulder as the ball and socket joint is shallow to allow the movement that we enjoy
If you injure the rotator cuff you can start to suffer from a wide range of symptoms These include difficulty sleeping caused by pain when you lie down, pain when you lift your arm above shoulder height or to the side You can also experience pain whenever you reach behind you, tucking in a shirt or blouse can be almost impossible and if you ignore them the symptoms simply get worse until your injured arm becomes almost too painful to use
So what causes the problems in the first place? It might be a knock or fall that causes damage to these muscles Lifting something that is too heavy can damage the muscle or a repetitive movement can gradually cause wear to the muscle This condition is known as pitcher's shoulder because baseball pitchers often have rotator cuff injuries from the constant overhead throwing action If you are in your fifties you have a higher than average chance of being in the group of people who suffer with shoulder pain simply from wear and tear
As we (age we change our posture and these changes in posture can cause problems with one or both of our shoulders One of the muscles of the cuff runs through a channel of bone at the top of the shoulder This muscle can start to rub against the bone either because it has been injured and become inflamed or simply because we hold ourselves a bit differently as time goes by The swelling can lead to a shoulder impingement where the muscle is literally getting pinched by the bone Ignore this at your peril because a shoulder impingement can become a partial or complete tear of the muscle The latter will certainly require surgery
The good news is that the vast majority of rotator cuff injuries can be solved with rest and exercise Rest first!
Sounds easy but you quickly|soon begin to} realise just how much you use your shoulder, so the simplest advice is to avoid any movement that causes discomfort The pain in a rotator cuff injury is an indication that damage is being done Try anti-inflammatory drugs like Ibuprofen to reduce the swelling Avoid working through this type of injury as you can end up turning a simple problem into a major injury that will need corrective surgery
Once the pain and inflammation has subsided you can start gentle exercise aimed at strengthening the muscle, gradually increasing the frequency and amount of exercise until the shoulder is back to full, pain free, movement Exercise for this sort of injury does not involve large weights or high resistance as that will tend to make you use the major muscles of the shoulder rather than the rotator cuff
Finally, don't stop the exercises when you are better If you have suffered a shoulder injury once there is a fair chance that you can do it again so, seeing that prevention is better than cure, keep your shoulders in shape as you get older and keep up the exercises

If you found this article useful check out my full story at www..myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com My name is Nick Bryant and I tore my rotator cuff lifting something that was too heavy. Despite being told that I needed surgery I have managed a full recovery with just phyical therapy. Check out my story at www..myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/11613/90/If-You-ve-Acquired-A-Rotator-Cuff-Injury-Don-t-Panic-The-Cure-Is-Often-Quick-And-Easy.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/11360/90/Rotator-Cuff-Strengthening-Exercises-you-ll-be-surprised-how-effective-they-are.html
It might surprise you to find out that nearly all shoulder problems can be fixed by just physicall therapy and rotator cuff problems are no exception But, before you rush out and start lifting weights read on becausedoing the wrong exercises can seriously damage a torn rotator cuff The treatment depends on how severe the injury is and how you tore it Now don't get upset about this at this but just for a moment lets think of your shoulder tendons as bits of old car tow rope Imagine that this particular rope has simply become worn through too many breakdowns It may be getting a bit frayed in the middle Another tow rope may have been used to pull something that was just too heavy and may have been stretched or even snapped

Get the picture? Depending on how you damaged the tendons in the first place the injury may be different and may need different treatments If you have managed to Tear a tendon right through|snap a tendon} you are almost definitely looking at a surgical procedure before you can recover If it has simply become worn through overuse you may well get away without surgery The majority of rotator cuff problems can be fixed with phyical therapy (exercise) but before you start any physical therapy you need to allow the muscles heal which means rest and treating the swelling This could involve ice and compression treatment, Ibuprofen or Steroid injections to reduce inflammation Once the muscles have mended you can then get started on rotator cuff strengthening exercises to restore the strength and movement in your joint

Your rotator cuff muscles are quite small but very necessary muscles Because they are small the exercises to strengthen them will be using either no weights or very small ones and even as the muscles get stronger you won't be using any great force with these muscles They are designed to hold the top of the humerus (arm bone) into the cupor socket of the shoulder joint Because the shoulder joint is a very shallow ball and socket joint it would be quite easy to dislocate so these muscles pull the shoulder together and form a cuff around the shoulder to protect it and keep it stable They are put under pressure when you reach above your head, behind you or reach for something, throwing something and so it is when you do these same movements that you get pain if you have damaged them If you've managed to tear your rotator cuff I bet you find it hard to tuck your pants in or scratch the top of your head

Rotator cuff strengthening exercises don't involve these movements and concentrate on easy movements that gently build up the muscles again These are some of the least looked after|most neglected} muscles on the body We take them for granted all the time until something goes wrong with them The good news is that with the right physicall therapy you can recover from a shoulder injury in around six weeks and be completely pain free Start doing the wrong exercises and you can damage them more and be looking at expensive surgery and a long recovery time

If you found this article useful check out my full story at www..myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com My name is Nick Bryant and I tore my rotator cuff lifting something that was too heavy. Despite being told that I would need surgery I have managed a full recovery with just exercise. Check out one of my other articles on my torn rotator cuff]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/11360/90/Rotator-Cuff-Strengthening-Exercises-you-ll-be-surprised-how-effective-they-are.html http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/10814/90/Most-Shoulder-Injuries-Respond-Well-To-An-Exercise-Regime-But-Make-Sure-That-It-s-The-Right-Type-of-Exercise.html
Shoulder bursities, shoulder dislocation, shoulder impingement, frozen shoulder or torn rotator cuff Whichever of these shoulder injuries you are suffering from, a physical therapy regime will almost certainly be somewhere in the course of treatment but you must make sure that it is the appropriate sort of shoulder exercise and that you are doing it at the correct time in the healing process or you could be doing more harm than good

With a rotator cuff injury, for example, it is important to let the muscles heal and any inflammation to reduce before you start exercising The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles which help to stabilize and move the shoulder They all run from the scapula(shoulder blade) to the humerus(upper arm bone) and help keep the ball at the top of the arm into the socket of the shoulder They surround the joint forming a cuff of muscle, which gives the group their name Without them the shoulder would be extremely easy to dislocate One of these muscles, the supraspinatus, runs through a tunnel of bone at the top of the shoulder blade

When it gets injured you can end up with a shoulder impingement where the inflammed tendon is getting caught on the bone every time that you move it This can lead to the muscle fraying and even snapping if you ignore it and try exercising Trust me, you do not want that happening

With a frozen shoulder, frustrating as it is, it is important to wait until the end of the freezing stage before trying any exercise as again you can cause additional damage Exercises for frozen shoulder are based around regaining movement, often working through the pain If you did the same exercises for a cuff injury, you would end up injuring yourself even more and spend even more time recovering Worst case scenario is that you could turn a simple injury, requiring rest and therapy, into a major injury needing corrective surgery followed by several months of rest and therapy

So whatever you have done to your shoulder, it is important to get the treatment right Pain is usually a good indicator that rest is required and with any type of shoulder injury that is definitely the case Rest the joint and muscles, try anti-inflammatory drugs like Ibuprofen or even steroid injections and once the inflammation is reduced you can start exercising again, but always start with low resistance exercises

If you have damaged one of the rotator cuff muscles, these are very small muscles that should only be exercised using low resistance exercises or small weights To start with you would probably use no weight at all just using the natural weight of your arm to make the muscles work

Never work through a shoulder injury of any sort Rest first, let the healing start and then start to work the muscles and joint with the right shoulder exercises

If you found this article interesting check out my full story at www..myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com My name is Nick Bryant and I tore my rotator cuff lifting something that was too heavy. Despite being told that I would need surgery I have fully recovered with just phyical therapy. Check out one of my other articles on shoulder exercises]]> http://www.morefreeinformation.com/Art/10814/90/Most-Shoulder-Injuries-Respond-Well-To-An-Exercise-Regime-But-Make-Sure-That-It-s-The-Right-Type-of-Exercise.html