Physical therapy treats pain and other rotator cuff injury symptoms

Never thought about how often you move your shoulders? Most people don’t until they start to feel pain in these joints. 

Your rotator cuff is the collection of muscles and ligaments that keep the ball of your shoulder in place in its joint socket. Rotator cuff pain develops when one of these muscles or ligaments is stretched or torn. Unfortunately, such injuries are fairly common; it’s reported that 39% of people over 60 had some form of rotator cuff injury. 

Rotator cuff injuries may occur suddenly due to trauma from falling or lifting a heavy object. They can also develop over time in those who frequently lift their arms above their head as part of their profession. This type of injury is commonly seen in athletes, like baseball players and tennis players, who must swing their arms over their head when throwing or hitting a ball.

Symptoms of rotator cuff injury

If you have not warmed up properly before activity or if you have a history of shoulder injury, your chances of developing rotator cuff pain are higher than average. The risk of rotator cuff pain also increases as you age.

Symptoms of a rotator cuff injury include:

• Prolonged aching and pain in the shoulder
• Pain when lying on your shoulder
• Difficulty raising your arm above or behind your head
• Weakness in the arm below the impacted shoulder

Whether your symptoms are short-term or chronic, you should seek medical attention. Ignoring rotator cuff pain and other symptoms may lead to further complications. These can include weakness of the arm or permanent loss of motion in the shoulder.

Advent Physical Therapy offers treatment for rotator cuff injuries

Severe rotator cuff injuries may require surgery for correction, but many cases of rotator cuff pain can be treated by physical therapists, like our team Advent Physical Therapy. The goal of rotator cuff physical therapy is to help restore range of motion, reduce pain and recover lost strength. Physical therapy should also help you feel ready to resume your daily activities again.

At Advent Physical Therapy, our physical therapists are licensed medical professionals with experience in helping people reduce acute and chronic rotator cuff pain. They also help with recovery after rotator cuff surgery for those who require it.

If you’re ready to get started on the road to recovery from your shoulder pain, then contact the experts at Advent Physical Therapy. Our team is stationed in many locations across West Michigan. Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment.