Repairing a Rotator Cuff Tear in Central California

If you’ve continually used a hammer in a construction profession or swung a golf club for most of your life, you may start experiencing increasingly more pain as the result of a rotator cuff tear. Continual, repeated motions, especially overhead movements, can cause the muscles and tendons in your shoulder to tear.

Your shoulder’s tendons and muscles, known as a rotator cuff, can gradually tear as you age. Sudden rotator cuff tears are typically the result of trauma, such as a fall or jerking to lift a heavy item. This painful shoulder condition can limit your arm movement and cause you pain.

Dignity Health Central California provides compassionate care and exceptional treatment options for all types of shoulder injuries. To diagnose your rotator cuff tear symptoms in Central California, Find a Doctor today.

Pinpointing Rotator Cuff Tear Symptoms

Continual and increasing shoulder pain is the most common symptom for gradual tears. You arm also may feel weak or feel like it crackles or creaks when you move it. For tears that happen suddenly, you will feel severe and immediate pain.

Talk to your doctor right away if your shoulder pain does not go away. Dignity Health Central California’s orthopedic doctors can recognize the common signs of rotator cuff tears to help you recover and start healing.

Rotator Cuff Tear Treatment at Dignity Health Central California

Your trusted doctor’s first goal is protecting your rotator cuff. Continuing to use your shoulder can make the tear worse. Immediate rest helps begin your healing so that you can get back to your active lifestyle sooner.

Your doctor may also recommend nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen, to ease your pain and reduce inflammation. Physical therapy focused on rotator cuff tear exercises helps strengthen your muscles to better support your shoulder and improve arm movement.

You also may receive corticosteroid injections as part of your personalized treatment plan. If rest, medications, and physical therapy do not ease your discomfort, surgery is sometimes necessary to repair your tendon.

If you are experiencing shoulder pain, talk with an orthopedic expert at Dignity Health Central California.

Dignity Health Central California orthopedic doctors can help relieve your pain from a rotator cuff tear in Bakersfield, Merced, San Andreas, and Stockton, CA.