SHOULDER PAIN DOES YOUR SHOULDER HURT LOOK AT THE ROTATOR CUFF
SHOULDER PAIN: DOES YOUR SHOULDER HURT? MAYBE IT'S YOUR ROTATOR CUFF
What Do Car Mechanics, Symphony Conductors and Tennis Players Have in Common
Does It Hurt When You Reach for Your Wallet
Does it hurt to lift your arm or reach for your wallet,literally? What is a rotator cuff anyway? If an engineer were to try to improve the architecture of the human shoulder, they would probably design something more solid to support the upper shoulder.James Levine is the leader of the Metropolitan Opera. He may not play much baseball but he has a problem that is the nemesis of many a pitcher. Just ask Kerry Wood, the sometime Chicago Cubs pitcher. They both have been diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff.
As it is, the upper shoulder depends for stability largely on 4 muscles and their tendons which together form the "rotator cuff". A tendon is a length of tissue that anchors the muscle to a bony support. The rotator cuff helps to lift and rotate the arm.
In Levine's case he fell on stage in Boston tearing his rotator cuff. Most likely his arm was extended as he fell, a classic pattern for people with torn rotator cuffs. Wood also fits a pattern. Pitchers, swimmers and tennis players all have a propensity for rotator cuff injuries as do people who do repetitive lifting and who lift their arm high up in the air. What they have in common is repetitive stress on the shoulder..
Shoulder Pain: Diagnosis and Treatment of a Rotator Cuff Injury
Since it is an injury to a muscle or related tendon, x rays generally don't reveal much about the rotator cuff. More useful is an MRI or an ultrasound. Treatment depends on the nature of the injury. Sometimes exercise and physical therapy are prescribed for strengthening the shoulder and sometimes surgery is needed.Look at
