How to Tell If You're Suffering from a Rotator Cuff Injury

You use your shoulders more than you know throughout the day. In fact, your shoulders take a lot of wear and tear, which sometimes leads to injuries and pain. One of the most important components of your shoulder is your rotator cuff. An injury to your rotator cuff leads to pain and trouble moving your shoulder.

Our specialists at the Spine and Orthopedic Center of New Mexico, located in Roswell, are experts in shoulder injuries. Leading our team is Dr. Omar Osmani, an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in diagnosing and treating rotator cuff injuries so you can regain the use of your shoulder.

What is your rotator cuff?

Your shoulder is a ball and socket joint, which allows you to move your arm in multiple directions. However, to keep the joint together and allow stabilization of your joint, you need your rotator cuff.

The rotator cuff is made up of four muscles that connect over the head of your humorous, to keep the joint intact. They come together with four tendons:

Supraspinatus
Infraspinatus
Teres minor
Subscapularis

These tendons not only help to keep your joint stable, they also attach your upper arm to your shoulder blade and give you the ability to lift your arm. But because your rotator cuff has such a big job, it’s prone to degeneration and injury.

Signs of a rotator cuff injury

The type and severity of your symptoms are highly dependent on the type of injury you’ve sustained. If you have a rotator cuff tear, your symptoms may be mild, moderate, or intense.

Here are a few common signs that may indicate a rotator cuff injury:

A dull ache in your shoulder
Difficulty with lifting your arm
Pain that makes it hard to sleep
Weakness in your arm
Cracking sensation with movement

If you’ve recently suffered an injury and have any of the above symptoms, you may have injured your rotator cuff.

When to seek help

However, shoulder injuries can cause you a lot of trouble, so it’s important that you get help sooner rather than later.

While some injuries may be able to heal on their own, many rotator cuff injuries require treatment to heal. If you find yourself with shoulder pain after an injury, it’s especially important to seek help from Spine and Orthopedic Center of New Mexico if:

The injury is severe
The pain is severe
Your pain changes
Your shoulder is stiff
Your pain continues to worsen

Any of these signs can be indicative of a rotator cuff tear or other serious shoulder injury. Spine and Orthopedic Center of New Mexico specialists help you determine if your rotator cuff is to blame for your symptoms. If so, they go over the types of treatments that can help you relieve your symptoms and regain use of your shoulder.

If you think you’ve injured your rotator cuff and need expert treatment, call our team at the Spine and Orthopedic Center of New Mexico team at 575-623-9101 or book an appointment online today.