Rotator cuff tendinitis

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Inflamed shoulder tendons

Overview

Symptoms

Treatment

Prevention

Rotator cuff tendinitis

Alternative Names:

Swimmer's shoulder; Pitcher's shoulder; Shoulder impingement syndrome; Tennis shoulder

Treatment:

The injured shoulder should be rested from the activities that caused the problem and from activities that cause pain. Ice packs applied to the shoulder and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs will help reduce inflammation and pain.

Physical therapy to strengthen the muscles of the rotator cuff should be started. If the pain persists or if therapy is not possible because of severe pain, a steroid injection may reduce pain and inflammation enough to allow effective therapy.

If the rotator cuff has sustained a complete tear, or if the symptoms persist despite conservative therapy, surgery may be necessary. Arthroscopic surgery can remove bone spurs and inflamed tissue around the shoulder.

Small tears can be treated with arthroscopic surgery. Newer techniques allow even large tears to be repaired arthroscopically, although some large tears require open surgery to repair the torn tendon.

Expectations (prognosis):

Most people recover full function after a combination of medications, physical therapy and steroid injections. For patients with tendinitis and a bone spur, arthroscopic surgery is usually successful in restoring them to their pre-injury level of activity.

People with tears of their rotator cuff tend to do well, although their outcome is strongly dependent upon the size and duration of the tear, as well as their age and pre-injury level of function.

Complications:

bursitis
complete rotator cuff tear
failure of treatment to improve symptoms

Calling your health care provider:

Call for an appointment with your health care provider if persistent shoulder pain occurs. Also call if symptoms do not improve with treatment.

Review Date: 8/3/2004
Reviewed By: Kevin B. Freedman, M.D., Section of Sports Medicine, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation, Loyola University Medical Center, Chicago, IL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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