The rotator cuff injury is the set of muscles and tendons that provide the shoulder with stability and full range of motion. This vital structure can get ripped or frayed either as a result of a single injury or progressive degeneration.
Common symptoms of a rotator cuff injury include cracking or grating sounds when moving the arm, difficulty moving the arm, muscle weakness, and pain, which can come and go and prevent a person from sleeping on the affected side. If you have these symptoms, it’s imperative that you get your shoulder properly evaluated by an orthopedic doctor. Left untreated, a rotator cuff injury may result in permanent weakness and loss of motion or deterioration of the entire shoulder joint.
In this blog post, we’ll go over some of the treatment options available for a rotator cuff injury.
Nonsurgical Treatments for Rotator Cuff Injury
Your shoulder doctor will first carry out a physical exam and order imaging tests (e.g., X-rays, ultrasound, and/or magnetic resonance imaging/MRI) to confirm a diagnosis. From there, your doctor will craft a treatment plan, which will likely first consist of nonoperative treatments, such as the following:
- Rest, Ice, and Sling – Unless you have a moderate or severe rotator cuff injury, these conservative treatments are often all you need to recover from the injury.
- Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Therapy – This involves your shoulder doctor drawing a small sample of your blood from a vein in your arm, processing it in a centrifuge, then reinjecting it into your shoulder. PRP injections have been shown to boost healing for rotator cuff tears and many other types of musculoskeletal injuries.
- Steroid Injections – Your doctor may recommend cortisone shots to provide you with temporary symptom relief.
- Physical Therapy – Physical therapy for rotator cuff injury will likely include specific exercises and therapeutic modalities to help gradually restore the shoulder’s strength and flexibility.
Surgical Treatments for Rotator Cuff Injury
If you sustained a complete rotator cuff tear or if your injury is not improving despite a lengthy course of nonsurgical interventions, your shoulder doctor may recommend surgery to address the problem altogether and fully restore the function of your shoulder.
The type of surgery your doctor will recommend will depend on the extent of injury and the affected structure. Your procedure could be any of the following:
- Open Tendon Repair – Appropriate for complex or large rotator cuff tears, this type of surgery involves your shoulder doctor working through a large incision to place back the broken tendon onto your arm bone.
- Tendon Transfer – If your tendon is too damaged to get reattached to your arm bone, your shoulder doctor may relocate a nearby tendon to replace the damaged one instead.
- Shoulder Replacement – If you have a massive rotator cuff injury, your shoulder doctor may recommend shoulder replacement (arthroplasty), in which they will replace the damaged parts of your shoulder with prosthetic components to restore the normal function of the joint.
Shoulder Doctor Near Me in Plantation, FL
If you’re in search of a trusted shoulder doctor in the Plantation area in Florida, look no further than ours here at Baylis & Brown Orthopedics. Our board-certified orthopedic doctors offer a vast array of solutions – both nonsurgical and surgical – and are dedicated to delivering unparalleled patient outcomes for the full range of musculoskeletal problems, rotator cuff injuries.
Arrange your visit with one of our orthopedic experts today. Call our friendly staff at (954) 476-8800. You may also use our online portal to submit an appointment request. We look forward to getting you back to doing the things you love!
