Home Remedies and Herbs for Rotator Cuff

The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons in the shoulder area. The rotator cuff helps support the upper arm bone to remain firmly in place in the shoulder socket. Because the rotator cuff is used in many physical capacities like heavy lifting, painting and playing sports, it can suffer chronic or acute injuries.¹ Common rotator cuff injuries include muscle or tendon tears, tendonitis or bursitis. Rotator cuff injuries can happen suddenly as with a sports injury. Or they can happen over time due to frequent and consistent use.^{1 2} One of the most well-known rotator cuff injuries is a torn rotator cuff that happens often to professional baseball pitchers. This happens due to the amount of force used to throw baseballs at high speeds when pitching.

What Causes Rotator Cuff (Injury)?

There are several possible rotator cuff injury causes. A torn rotator cuff is usually caused by some form of injury. These injuries can range from being very substantial to being progressively degenerating or to small tears.Some of the possible rotator cuff injury causes include:

• Repetitive overhead motions from working as a painter or carpenter can cause tendonitis or bursitis
• Lifting heavy objects overhead can pull muscles or tendons
• Developing bone spurs in the shoulder can damage and tear at the shoulder tendons
• Sudden pulling at the rotator cuff muscles from physical impact such as when playing sports

Rotator cuff injuries are more common in people over the age of 40 due to long-term use. People who play sports or work in construction jobs are also at greater risk of developing torn rotator cuff symptoms. In some cases, rotator cuff injuries are linked to a family history, whereby it’s an injury that occurs more commonly in certain families.

Rotator Cuff (Injury) Symptoms

Torn rotator cuff symptoms can range from mild to severe depending on the cause of the injury. Some rotator cuff injuries can cause dull, nagging pain. While other injuries can cause sharp, painful symptoms. Possible torn rotator cuff symptoms can include:

• A dull ache in the shoulder
• Poor sleep quality when sleeping on the side with the affected shoulder
• Inability to reach overhead or behind your back
• Sense of weakness in the arm or shoulder

References

1. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/rotator-cuff-injury/home/ovc-20126921
2. https://medlineplus.gov/rotatorcuffinjuries.html