🤔Pain on outside of the shoulder /arm due to tendons and muscles around the shoulder is called rotator cuff related shoulder pain (RCRSP)
💪🏼Muscles that stabilise and move the shoulder joint and arm are called rotator cuff muscles / tendons. Comprises of Bursitis , tendonitis , tendinipathy, tears etc. symptoms.
👵Age – 35 to 75 years of age
❤️🩹Can take about 16-18 weeks or more.
🤔 Causes –
- Overuse injuries – repetitive load
- Trauma/tears
- Degenerative (age related wear )
- Overhead and reaching activities
- Inactivity related weakness
😩 Symptoms –
- Pain in overhead activities
- Pain in 70-120 degrees arm movements
- Pain lying on the affected side
- Painful weakness in the affected arm
🧐Diagnosis –
- Healthcare professionals do physical assessment to diagnose this condition
- Pain in the arm with overhead activities and on resistance
- X-ray or Ultrasound or MRI – not required unless sinister pathology is suspected
🩺Management –
- Relative rest – in acute cases reduce the painful activities , spread them out throughout the day
- Activity modification – Adapt the painful activities
- Pain relief- gel , medications alongside exercises
- Rehab – Loading the rotator cuff within limits and challenging it with improvement is the best way to improve movement and function
- Injections- Occasionally injections are suggested for pain and function
- Surgery – If the above fails then investigations and further open ion might be required
Lewis J. Rotator cuff related shoulder pain: Assessment, management and uncertainties. Man Ther. 2016 Jun;23:57-68. doi: 10.1016/j.math.2016.03.009. Epub 2016 Mar 26. PMID: 27083390.
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