Rotator Cuff Tear

Pain that occurs in your shoulder and while moving your arm often indicates a rotator cuff tear. At Austin Sports Medicine, serving the community in and around Central and South Austin, as well as Bee Cave, Cedar Park, and Pflugerville, Texas, the experienced orthopedic surgeons specialize in treating rotator cuff tears. The providers customize each person's treatment to restore optimal function. To schedule an appointment, call the office or reach out online today. 

What causes a rotator cuff tear?

The rotator cuff consists of four muscles and their tendons. These tissues hold your upper arm bone in the shoulder joint, stabilizing the joint and supporting arm movements such as lifting and rotating.

When a rotator cuff tears, the injury occurs in one or more tendons. You may tear a tendon due to an acute (sudden) injury. However, you're more likely to experience a chronic rotator cuff tear.

Chronic tears develop gradually. A small tear may slowly enlarge as you repeatedly make the same movements, or age-related tissue degeneration may lead to fraying and tearing.

Engaging in activities that require overhead movement increases your risk of developing a rotator cuff tear. Examples include sports like baseball, tennis, rowing, weightlifting, and jobs such as painting and carpentry.

What symptoms develop due to a rotator cuff tear?

A torn rotator cuff causes:

• Shoulder and arm pain
• Pain when lifting and lowering the arm
• Pain while lying on the side with the injury
• Difficulty using the arm
• Shoulder and arm weakness
• Crackling or popping when using the shoulder

A sudden (acute) injury causes immediate pain that you easily associate with the incident. If you have a chronic tear, your symptoms gradually get worse.

How are rotator cuff tears diagnosed and treated?

After reviewing your symptoms and examining your shoulder, your Austin Sports Medicine specialist obtains an MRI to see details such as the tear thickness, how far the tendon has pulled away from the arm bone, and muscle changes.

You may experience a partial-thickness (incomplete) tear or a full-thickness (complete) tear. A full-thickness tear occurs when the tendon ruptures and tears away from the bone.

Your provider explains the extent of your injury and, whenever possible, begins your treatment with non-surgical options such as:

• Rest or immobilization
• Limiting arm activity
• Oral anti-inflammatory medicines
• Steroid injections
• Physical therapy

Your provider may recommend surgery if your symptoms don't improve with conservative care or if you need optimal strength to return to sports and work activities. Surgical repair is the only way to restore maximum strength.

What happens during rotator cuff surgery?

Your specialist repairs the injury with a minimally invasive arthroscopic tendon transfer. They take a small piece of tendon from another part of your body and use it to reattach the muscle to the arm bone. They may apply a collagen augmentation patch during your surgery to promote healing.

If you have arm or shoulder pain, call Austin Sports Medicine or book an appointment online today.