Cuff Tendonitis Preventative Tactics and How to Find Them

Cuff tendonitis is painful inflammation of the shoulder joint tendons. Pain, swelling and irritation occur in these tendons with excessive overuse. Ruptured tendons and tiny tears of the tendons caused by injuries can cause tendonitis.

Minor cases of tendonitis can be treated by taking pain relievers like ibuprofen that also reduce swelling. The application of ice packs can also be helpful for cuff tendonitis caused by sudden injury. The ice will relieve or reduce pain, bruising, and swelling.

For the first seventy-two hours following an injury, you can use cold packs or ice from time to time. You can re-apply cold applications for fifteen minutes at a time every few hours or whenever activity causes a reappearance of the symptoms. Since heat can cause a worsening of inflammation, you should only apply it to aid with your physical therapy exercises while there is no swelling.

When repetitive movement causes cuff tendonitis, you must cease the activity long enough to heal the tendons. However, during this period you should be doing physical therapy exercises. Stretching and strengthening the rotator cuff muscles is the goal of physical therapy.

If pain from cuff tendonitis is severe, or if range of motion is restricted, cortisone shots may be administered directly into the shoulder joint in order to reduce pain and inflammation.

Surgeries to remove bone spurs, or repair the tendon or to repair the rotator cuff are necessary, when cuff tendonitis interferes with daily activities if the condition is not healed by other means of treatments.

Impingement surgery may be necessary when there is not enough room to rotate the rotator cuff freely. The removal of bone spurs, and swollen bursa or even the shaving of a portion of the bones may be necessary with this type of procedure. The torn tendons may be sewn to the bone in the upper arm to help repair a rotator cuff.

The tendons of the shoulder area generally has a poor supply of blood, therefore, recovery from cuff tendonitis surgery is most often a long slow process. In order to keep the muscle from wasting away, physical therapy is vital. During this time, the arm may rest in a sling rather than hanging freely as is normal.

Small tendon tears can be repaired using arthroscopic surgery. This type of surgery only requires a very small incision so it has a lower risk of complications and recovery time is faster. This involves using a tiny camera on the end of a surgical instrument that is inserted into the shoulder. The surgeon is able to repair the tendon while watching the camera feedback on a video screen.

Generally, rotator cuff surgery is uncomplicated and done while under general anesthesia. However, it may also be done while using sedatives and local anesthetics. Although, complications are not common, they can occur with any type of surgery. These complications may include infection, bleeding and a negative reaction to the anesthesia.

You may be able to successfully treat cuff tendonitis at home with the help of a physical therapist. Before resorting to surgery, many individuals take this option, since surgery is generally reserved for cases that do not respond will to any other types of non-invasive treatments as well as cases that may result from sudden traumatic injuries.

Tom Nicholson spends his time helping carpal tunnel sufferers. Please follow this link to learn more aboutcuff tendonitis.