| Unfortunately as one gets older, normal wear and tear | | | | add a poor posture, the resulting pain and discomfort is |
| also takes place and thinning and/or fraying of the | | | | an obvious result. |
| tendons occurs along with a reduced blood supply but | | | | Then just doing every day tasks above the shoulder |
| also our posture gets worse! Our head goes forwards | | | | then is just asking for the muscles to get injured. |
| and our shoulders more and more rounded. Doing | | | | Sleeping at night, unable to sleep on their favorite side |
| every day tasks above the shoulder level while in this | | | | and especially for ladies, doing up their bra at the back |
| poor posture is just asking for the rotator cuff muscles | | | | and putting washing on the line are some of the most |
| to get pinched. | | | | painful tasks. |
| I have seen more and more older patients seeking help | | | | However, I have seen that once they have been |
| for their rotator cuff injuries. The rotator cuff tendons | | | | taught to correct their posture, such as pulling their |
| are close to the boney portions of the shoulder and | | | | shoulders backwards and correcting their head |
| therefore are very prone to pinching as the head goes | | | | position, a lot of the strain goes off their rotator cuff |
| forwards and the shoulders get rounded. In this position | | | | and less pain and discomfort results. |
| the tendons get pinched, inflamed and swollen and so | | | | Another simple exercise the elderly should do is to |
| make movements to the shoulder extremely painful. | | | | bend forwards and allow the arm to hang loosely and |
| We encourage the elderly to be more active, but with | | | | gentle swing it backwards and forwards. This gaps the |
| normal wear and tear, thinning and fraying of the | | | | glenohumeral joint increasing the space between the |
| tendons, along with a reduced blood supply and then | | | | bones so the rotator tendons can move freely. |