| Suffering a rotator cuff tear is one of the most | | | | Baseball pitchers will often wreck the rotator cuff, |
| common shoulder injuries. Around 8 million Americans | | | | anyone whose work means constantly reaching up |
| will visit their doctor about shoulder pain this year and | | | | can do the same, shelf stackers working above |
| somewhere around 60% of them will have damaged | | | | shoulder height are putting strain on these muscles. |
| the rotator cuff. Some will need surgery but the vast | | | | Because we don't consciously use our rotator cuff it is |
| majority will manage to get their shoulders back to | | | | a difficult group of muscles to exercise, but because |
| fitness simply by doing specific rotator cuff exercises | | | | weakness in these muscles is a main cause of |
| to strengthen this often neglected group of muscles. | | | | shoulder injuries, exercising and strengthening them is |
| So what do these muscles do and why are they so | | | | often the route back to full fitness. |
| susceptible to injury? Okay, imagine your shoulder joint | | | | But first, you need to rest. Let the muscles repair by |
| as a soccer ball resting on a plate. Your shoulder is a | | | | resting them. Trying shoulder exercises just after an |
| ball and socket joint similar to your hip. The main | | | | injury is simply going to lead to a worse injury. You |
| difference between the two joints is that in the | | | | cannot work through a rotator cuff problem, you need |
| shoulder the socket of the joint is very shallow, so the | | | | to rest it and let it heal, doing passive non load bearing |
| analogy of a ball on a plate is fairly accurate. | | | | exercises to keep the joint moving for two or three |
| The shallow socket allows the joint to move freely but | | | | weeks. By all means take some anti-inflammatory |
| at a cost. It is relatively easy for the ball to slip out of | | | | drugs and pain killers but be careful of using your |
| the socket. So the rotator cuff muscles are there to | | | | shoulder if you are masking the pain as you can do |
| hold the ball of the upper arm in place as we move. | | | | more harm than good. |
| These are four very small muscles that attach to the | | | | Once the muscle has started to mend it is possible to |
| shoulder blade and then surround the shoulder joint | | | | start specific exercises aimed at developing and |
| before attaching to the upper arm bone. All these | | | | strengthening the rotator cuff muscles. These will |
| muscles do is stabilise the shoulder and they only really | | | | always be exercises with low weight or low |
| get used to any great extent when we lift our arms | | | | resistance. Try to avoid any pain during exercise as |
| above shoulder height. | | | | this suggests that you are damaging the muscle not |
| As we age the muscles start to weaken through lack | | | | strengthening it. |
| of use, but we tend to be unaware of this until we ask | | | | The majority of rotator cuff problems can be fixed |
| them to start working. Throwing a ball with the kids, | | | | with exercise alone but if you are in the small minority |
| playing golf, reaching up for something or lifting | | | | that need surgery you will still need to exercise these |
| something above our heads, all of these movements | | | | muscles after surgery as part of the treatment and to |
| put a sudden strain on our rotator cuff and can | | | | avoid future injuries. |
| damage them. | | | | Look after your shoulders, both of them, not just the |
| Apart from day to day wear and tear we can also | | | | one that's let you down. |
| damage the cuff through repetitive movements. | | | | |