Let’s talk about rotator cuff tears and shoulder injuries… First of all, they are extremely common, and in fact, way more common than they should be. And once you have a shoulder injury, chances are that you will experience pain for a very long time and it may never go away. So, let’s get into the how and why, so you can learn how to protect yourself and also, how to rehab your shoulder to get out of pain.
First of all, you have more range of motion in your shoulder than any other joint in your body. That’s good and bad… because you have so much range of motion, it makes the shoulders vitally important to almost any movement in your upper body. But, because you are so dependent on your shoulders, they can wear down easily.
Now, factor in the fact that most of us sit all day and round our shoulders for hours at a time, which eventually shortens and tightens them. As the years go by, our shoulders get weaker and tighter and pulled in all the wrong directions until eventually, when we go to do something that may seem ordinary, the shoulder can’t quite get there and the rotator cuff tears or the shoulder gets injured.
HOW TO REHAB A ROTATOR CUFF TEAR OR SHOULDER INJURY
If you have a shoulder injury or chronic pain that won’t go away, don’t completely freak out. The answer is usually to start an excellent rehab program, which is the process of creating more space in the shoulder joint and healing ligaments, tissue / muscle tears and finally, rebuilding strength and healthy range of motion for a full and complete recovery.
The first thing you have to do is remove the junk and waste from the shoulder injury. That requires specific rehab techniques that are safe and effective at removing swelling or any residual waste that got trapped in the shoulder joint or rotator cuff. It’s safe and easy to do, but one of the most important places to start, since the waste or scar tissue could inhibit your recovery and keep you in chronic pain.
Once, you’ve started that process, then the mobility portion is critical. Since, your shoulders and chest are probably extremely tight, we have to create more space in there. That means breaking down old knots, adhesions, and tightness at the source, while slowly and gently improving overall flexibility. It actually feels pretty great to start getting healthy mobility back into your shoulder. You will start to notice that you can move your shoulders without pain in directions that seemed impossible only a few short days or weeks ago.
Once, you have less pain and more mobility, now it’s time to start improving strength in the rotator cuff and shoulder. But, we do not want another injury, so the exercises have to be very targeted, specific and safe. Slowly building up mobility and strength in the shoulder will get them back to full health while also protecting them from future injury.
The whole point is to get your body functioning naturally again, without pain. Knowing that you use your shoulders so much should inspire you to rehab them properly. It heals rotator cuff tears and shoulder injuries safely and quickly. If you would like to learn more about our at home program to heal the shoulders and eliminate chronic pain, please check out our Shoulder Program.
DO I NEED SURGERY?
Most rotator cuff tears and shoulder injuries will heal with rehab instead of surgery. But, we always recommend getting checked out by a doctor first to make sure that rehab is a good option for you. In some cases, surgery may be the right choice. Talk to your doctor and see which option will work best for your specific injury. Keep in mind that most patients who opt for surgery have symptoms for six months to a year following the surgery.
And that means even if you need surgery or already had it, rehab becomes even more important afterward. You have to rebuild shoulder strength and mobility to fully recover. If you don’t, your shoulder will remain weak, unstable and tight, which could lead to more pain or another injury!
So, whether rehab or surgery is the right choice for you, take the time to address your shoulder pain or rotator cuff tear and please, do not ignore it. Take a little time to get the right treatment and your shoulder will once again be pain free and strong.
