| With nearly one third of us suffering a rotator cuff | | | | when you lift your arm up or out to the side. |
| injury at some point in our lives, I can't help feeling that | | | | As we get older these muscles start to weaken, |
| if we all did shoulder exercises as part of our daily | | | | usually through lack of use so we are more |
| routine, we would probably be able to significantly | | | | susceptible to this type of injury once we hit forty, |
| reduce that number. | | | | although some sportsman are at risk as is anyone |
| Eight million Americans are going to complain of a | | | | who is continually working above shoulder height, |
| rotator cuff problem this year alone. So what is it and | | | | painters and decorators for example. |
| how do we sort it out if we do get one? | | | | The good news is that the majority of rotator cuff |
| The rotator cuff is a small but important group of | | | | problems can be solved with just exercise. The typical |
| muscles that help to stabilise the shoulder joint. The | | | | rotator cuff treatment will involve rest to allow the |
| shoulder joint consists of a very shallow ball and | | | | muscle to start healing, coupled with treatment of any |
| socket joint. The ball at the top of the humerus or | | | | inflammation with non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. |
| upper arm rests on the socket of the joint that is on | | | | A lot of the pain in a rotator cuff injury is caused by |
| the outer edge of the shoulder blade. Think of it like a | | | | the inflammation where swollen tendons can get |
| golf ball sitting on a tee. The rotator cuff muscles all | | | | caught or pinched. It is important to let the muscles heal |
| run from the shoulder blade to the head of the | | | | and the inflammation reduce before starting any |
| humerus holding it in place, creating a cuff of muscle | | | | exercise. |
| which helps to stabilise the joint and stop it from getting | | | | Working through a rotator cuff injury can only make it |
| dislocated every time that we lift our arm above | | | | worse and can even lead to you needing surgery. |
| shoulder height or lift something heavy. | | | | Once the inflammation has gone and the pain has |
| Without the rotator cuff muscles it would be very | | | | settled down you need to do some shoulder specific |
| easy to knock the ball off the tee, great in golf but not | | | | exercises aimed at strengthening the rotator cuff |
| so good in a shoulder joint. | | | | muscles. Usually within around six weeks, you can get |
| This group of muscles is working the hardest | | | | a shoulder back to full pain free movement simply by |
| whenever there is a downward pressure on the | | | | following a rotator cuff treatment programme. |
| shoulder. If you are working above shoulder height, | | | | Once you have then it is essential to continue with the |
| reaching out or lifting something they kick in to hold the | | | | exercises to make sure that your shoulders stay fit, |
| shoulder together. | | | | healthy and trouble free. |
| Which is why, if you injure any of them, you feel pain | | | | |