Treatment of rotator cuff, discover how to repair the shoulder injury

The rotator cuff injury is an inflammatory process, or partial or total damage of the shoulder tendons.

What is the Rotator Cuff?

The rotator cuff is a group of four tendons that come together and surround ahead, behind and above the head of the humerus. These tendons are connected individually with major muscles attached to the shoulder blade or scapula. By contracting these muscles, they stimulate the rotator cuff tendons, causing the lifting movements, separation and internal and external rotation. This injury the Traumatology the commonly called "rotator cuff".

What is entrapment syndrome or subacromial friction?

The uppermost portion of the rotator cuff consists of the supraspinatus tendon, runs below the shoulder bone roof called Acromion. In some cases, the subacromial space, space between the ceiling and the humeral head can be decreased. The rotator cuff and subacromial bursa can be "tweaked" through the roof when the arm is raised forwards or from the body. In making such gestures repeatedly, the tendons and bursa, can become inflamed and cause pain, known as "impingement syndrome friction" situation.

What are the main causes?

The causes of rotator cuff injury can be grouped into:

- Traumatic type, after suffering a fall or blow to the shoulder.

- For overuse, with repeated actions for a long time, such as lifting, painting, cleaning windows or launch, or sports that employ over his shoulder.

- In degenerative type, natural wear and aging tendon.

What types of injuries are rotator cuff?

The most common disease is tendinitis, which involves inflammation of any of the tendons forming the rotator cuff. Everyday activities such as holding or handle heavy objects or perform repetitive movements or just managing computer mouse or sleep in a poor posture can cause this common pathology.

In turn, due to age or injury, one or more of the tendons forming the sleeve may be injured.

We can classify cuff tears by size:

a) Partial Breaks: those that do not affect the full thickness of the tendon, and may be higher (bursal) intratendionosas or below (joint).

b) Complete Breaks: those that affect the entire thickness of tendon, where there is intra-articular space communication with the subacromial space.

What is the impact on daily life rotator cuff injury?

A rotator cuff injury does not compromise the patient's general condition, but may affect the loss of quality of life by causing limitation of movement (grooming, dressing or manipulation of objects) and cause mechanical pain (with movement) and even pain Night influencing the sleep cycle.

Rotator cuff treatment. Do you use one or the other in what cases?

There are two types of treatments for rotator cuff injuries:

• (non-surgical) Conservative Treatment. They include postural hygiene measures like avoiding repetitive gestures that may have caused the injury, avoid handling weights associated with treatment with antiinflamatoriosanalgésicos followed by rehabilitation sessions funcionalfisioterapia. It is generally the first treatment to follow before considering a surgical procedure.

• Surgical Treatments. The surgical decision will depend on the degree of functional limitation, impact on quality of life or after failure of conservative treatment.

How is rotator cuff cure?

Today and after the technological development in regard to surgical instruments and implants, cuff repair can do it in a minimally invasive arthroscopic technique using. The repair involves applying a series of stitches high strength for bonding together the injured tendon edges and reinsert or fix or tendons in the humeral head for proper tension and coverage of the humerus to finally get after rehabilitation protocol, functional mobility of the shoulder.