Rotator Cuff Tear
1. What is rotator cuff and how does it get torn?
The rotator cuff muscle is a prime muscle in stabilizing the shoulder joint & allows us to lift the arm above the head. Due to wear & tear over time it is common in patients above age of 50 years to develop a rotator cuff tear. Often this tear occurs without any fall or trauma. However, sometimes due to prevailing degeneration within the rotator cuff a trivial trauma such as fall in bathroom or at times even after a throwing injury
2. Clinical presentation
Patients complain of pain at the side of the arm and inability to actively lift the arm and difficulty to lift weight with the limb.
3. How it is diagnosed?
On clinical examination there are some specific tests which your doctor will do diagnose the tear.
Radiologically MRI or Ultrasound can be done to diagnose the tear, its size pattern and will help in the treatment planning.
4. What is the treatment?
If there is a partial tear this can be treated by our Shoulder rehab programme (Elite Klinik). But once a full thickness tear occurs it can only be treated by surgical repair. Without repairing the tear the shoulder cannot gain function. Local heat or physio does not address the cuff defect. The tear will propagate with time and the later a patient presents the poorer the outcome. Some patients have to be refused surgery as they present too late.
Traditionally rotator cuff used to be repaired with open surgery leading to adhesions and post operative stiffness & recovery generally takes a very long time .We do arthroscopic repair with the use of imported suture anchors and tapes.
5. What is the post operative protocol?
After arthroscopic repair, patients go home the next day of surgery & with hardly any scar. Also, working patients tend to join back work within a week of surgery.
Patients presenting late will tend to have a poor quality of muscle to repair.
1. What is rotator cuff and how does it get torn?
The rotator cuff muscle is a prime muscle in stabilizing the shoulder joint & allows us to lift the arm above the head. Due to wear & tear over time it is common in patients above age of 50 years to develop a rotator cuff tear. Often this tear occurs without any fall or trauma. However, sometimes due to prevailing degeneration within the rotator cuff a trivial trauma such as fall in bathroom or at times even after a throwing injury
2. Clinical presentation
Patients complain of pain at the side of the arm and inability to actively lift the arm and difficulty to lift weight with the limb.
3. How it is diagnosed?
On clinical examination there are some specific tests which your doctor will do diagnose the tear.
Radiologically MRI or Ultrasound can be done to diagnose the tear, its size pattern and will help in the treatment planning.
4. What is the treatment?
If there is a partial tear this can be treated by our Shoulder rehab programme (Elite Klinik). But once a full thickness tear occurs it can only be treated by surgical repair. Without repairing the tear the shoulder cannot gain function. Local heat or physio does not address the cuff defect. The tear will propagate with time and the later a patient presents the poorer the outcome. Some patients have to be refused surgery as they present too late.
Traditionally rotator cuff used to be repaired with open surgery leading to adhesions and post operative stiffness & recovery generally takes a very long time .We do arthroscopic repair with the use of imported suture anchors and tapes.
5. What is the post operative protocol?
After arthroscopic repair, patients go home the next day of surgery & with hardly any scar. Also, working patients tend to join back work within a week of surgery.
Patients presenting late will tend to have a poor quality of muscle to repair.
