What Does Rotator Cuff Pain Feel Like?

When you have pain in your shoulder, it could be related to several different muscles in the shoulder as well as the shoulder joint called the rotator cuff. Rotator cuff pain can vary depending on which muscles are affected and how severely they’re impacted. People most likely to experience rotator cuff pain play sports with overhead motion such as swimming and baseball or have a job that requires them to lift things over their head. 

Common Rotator Cuff Conditions

The rotator cuff is a group of tendons and muscles in your shoulder. These muscles and tendons allow you to lift your arm, rotate it in different directions, and support your arm. The most common rotator cuff conditions include tendonitis and impingement syndrome.

Shoulder Tendonitis 

In most cases, rotator cuff pain starts gradually. It may feel like a dull ache in your shoulder that you can manage by taking over-the-counter or prescription anti-inflammatory medications. However, rotator cuff tendonitis may worsen as time goes on, causing significant pain and making it hard to move your arm. If left untreated, it can lead to torn tendons and muscles in your shoulder. You mustn’t ignore this type of pain because it could mean bigger problems later.

Impingement Syndrome

When your shoulder blade rubs against your rotator cuff or pinches it, this is called impingement. This is usually caused by swelling inside the rotator cuff, making it possible for the bones to rub together. As this continues, it causes more pain and swelling. In some cases it can even cause painful bone spurs to develop.

Diagnosing Rotator Cuff Pain

Diagnosing rotator cuff pain can be difficult and may require an MRI to see the muscles and tendons in the shoulder. The MRI will be able to identify any tears that may be present as well as possible arthritis of the shoulder joint. Your doctor will want to know if you’ve had previous shoulder injuries, when your pain started and what activities trigger it. 

Pain Related to Rotator Cuff Conditions

More than likely you have inflammation of the tendons or of the rotator cuff joint itself. There are several things that can be done to reduce the swelling, ultimately reducing pain. But some of these solutions use medicines. Chiropractic care’s primary goal is to find the source of pain and address it so that you can use medicines only for a short time or not at all. 

If you’ve been experiencing pain for a few weeks that hasn’t gotten better or has only gotten worse, it’s time for evaluation.  Because the rotator cuff is an intricate part of the body and involves ligaments, tendons, muscles, nerves, and other tissues, you could cause long-term damage if you don’t have it addressed. If you first see a chiropractor for your shoulder pain, you’re likely to have a physical exam to better understand where the pain is specifically in the shoulder, and to see how much range of motion you have. This will tell the chiropractor where to start directing treatments. They may also need an MRI to be sure nothing is torn. They will talk with you about that as well during your appointment. 

Chiropractic Treatments for Rotator Cuff Pain

Fortunately, there are many non-surgical treatments for rotator cuff pain. Although sometimes rest and ice are a good place to start. By not using the rotator cuff that’s in pain for several days you can see if the pain starts to go away on its own. For many people, they’ve waited until the pain was intolerable. At that point it will usually take more than rest and ice to solve the problem. 

At Village Chiropractic, we can treat rotator cuff pain with cold laser therapy. This uses a low-heat laser, directed at the shoulder, to increase blood flow to the area. Increased blood flow helps with healing faster. Other treatments for rotator cuff pain include massage therapy and electrical muscle stimulation to help the muscles in the shoulder, or near the shoulder, heal faster. 

While you’re at home, try to avoid listing your arm above your head and sleep on the side that doesn’t hurt, as often as you can. You might also want to alternate applying ice and heat to the shoulder area. Topical analgesics can help between chiropractor visits to help give you some pain relief. It usually takes a few chiropractic sessions before the pain relief is long lasting. 

at our office in The Woodlands if you’re experiencing shoulder pain that’s not going away on its own.