<p>I am going for an MRI tomorrow to see if this is my problem. I had a really bad fall six weeks ago, and the doctor thinks I tore my rotator cuff. Anyone have any experience/words of advice? Thanks.</p>
<p>DH had rotator cuff surgery about 13 years ago. He’s been great ever since and plays tennis or squash with that arm probably six times a week. Good luck.</p>
<p>My 82 year old mother had surgery a couple years ago and has also had a full recovery. (I had a lesser injury (bad strain) and was able to take care of it with PT, though it took months.)</p>
<p>My DHhas a shoulder injury, but refuses to seek more med attention. What are your symptoms?</p>
<p>If you’re a professional pitcher, your career is in jeopardy. For most everyone else, recovery can be pretty complete, but slow, whether surgery is needed or just phys therapy.
Perhaps your doctor can give good advice?</p>
<p>As far as advice goes on a doctor- when I had knee trouble I sought a dr that specialized in sports med, not just bones. I’d recommend that for you too.</p>
<p>If you are claustrophobic, keep your eyes closed. It takes awhile. I have tendonitus which has similar symptoms, and physical therapy was only limited help. Now I am just suffering with the frozen shoulder and exercising as I can in the hopes that it will eventually go away.</p>
<p>The rotator cuff is a very complex joint and there are a variety of injuries possible. If you have a detachment, then it’s important to get it taken care of as soon as possible as it might not be reparable if you weight. A friend had a fall (slipped on ice) two years ago and didn’t do anything about it. A tendon or ligament detached from a bone - if he had taken care of it soon after the injury they could have reattached it but he waited for about nine months and it shrank to the point where reattaching it would be very, very painful. So he lives with less ability. He can still hit a pretty decent tennis serve though.</p>
<p>Other injuries may be of the scarring type which respond well to massage to break up the scars. My wife has tried electrostimulation therapy many years ago when she had a rotator cuff problem and she responded well to that. Unfortunately she reinjured it several years later. I gave her a set of exercises and stretches to do to maintain rotator cuff health but she didn’t do them.</p>
<p>I’m in PT right now for rotator cuff issues–slight tearing, tendonitis, impingement. I’d like to hear about what is the norm for PT as I picked the place i’m going to blindly from a list the ortho’s office gave me. My main issue is weakness, but what they’ve done so far is ultra sound, heat, and some stretching and massage. I assume we’ll get to the strengthening, but the place feels sketchy, and I’d like to know i’m on the right track.</p>
<p>What sort of PT is the norm, in anyone else’s experience? thanks!</p>
<p>I learned about injuries, treatment and prevention in “The 7-minute Rotator Cuff Solution book”</p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> 7 Minute Rotator Cuff Solution (9780944831250): Jerry Robinson, Joseph Horrigan: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/7-Minute-Rotator-Cuff-Solution/dp/0944831257/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302192510&sr=8-1]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/7-Minute-Rotator-Cuff-Solution/dp/0944831257/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302192510&sr=8-1)</p>
<p>I can’t believe how expensive it is today. I think it was around $10 back in the 1990s. At any rate, there’s probably more known about it today compared to 15 years ago. The book has stretches and exercises. The basic stretch is to put your hand up high on a wall corner and then lean your body past your arm gently. It effectively stretches your shoulder back.</p>
<p>Certain types of rotator cuff injuries can be prevented with rows too - doing too much weight work on the front muscles results in an imbalance that can damage the rotator cuff.</p>
<p>garland - I went about 10 times. They would have me do a series of exercises, either for 2 minutes each, or sometimes for 10-15 repetitions. That would take up about 45 minutes or so. Then 15 minutes on a table with an ice pack. After that sometimes the ultrasound thingy, then usually the main PT would come in and twist and pull my arm and shoulder into painful configurations, all the while soothlingly muttering that we had to “break up these adhesions”.</p>
<p>I haven’t had that much luck with PTs, they mostly showed me exercises, but when you have alot of pain, that is hard to stay motivated through.
I have better luck with massage therapists that do deep tissue, because that improves circulation and movement enough so that you can * do * the exercises.</p>
<p>But I have been having pain in my shoulder- and I wonder if it is a rotator cuff injury since I have limited movement & pain when I extend or raise my arm.</p>
<p>A friend is a chiropractor, haven’t had much luck with chiropractors either, but hopefully I will get some ideas.</p>
<p>PT can be tricky because you don’t want to worsen the injury but at the same time, one of the reasons injuries occur is the surrounding muscles are weak and the only way to relieve the pain long-term is to strengthen those muscles. It’s not uncommon for them to use a variety of techniques. I was recently having leg pain and they (PT) were able to isolate it to my back (without an x-ray!). They had me doing stretching, icing, some massage and taught me a lot of exercises. It took about 4 weeks but the pain disappeared. Then, of course, I slacked off my exercises and woke up in agony a few weeks ago, so I pulled out my PT sheets and started doing my strengthening exercises and stretching and without 5 days, all better. It does work but it takes some discipline and hard work. I’ve gone to PT for neck problems, a major issue with my hip and most recently back. I’ve had great success with it. Unfortunately, a rotator cuff injury frequently requires surgery. They, will, however, have you in PT within a day or so after surgery, so your shoulder doesn’t freeze up.</p>
<p>Update: today when I went, I mentioned that I hoped I’d be working on the strengthening part of the program soon, as my range of motion was fine. Well, they took me at my word, and boy do my arms hurt–but in a good way; I feel like the work on the machines really is what I needed, and am now looking forward to going back. All that sitting under heat pads, ultrasound, electric therapy, etc, is probably good, and the stretching definitely is, but i’m happy to be working the muscles.</p>
<p>Garland, If you are not inclined to go to a gym, you might want to ask your PT what kind of work you can do at home with free weights once you finish the therapy. My shoulder problem was tenacious but I think keeping up with yoga and strength training has helped prevent re-injury.</p>
<p>I think I will do so, 1more. I don’t have money in the budget for a gym. I do have free weights, and I think I could use some good instruction for what would work best for me. (I’ve been following one particular program for a book for years now, but I think it should be modified.)</p>