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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffMost of the time, treatment for rotator cuff injuries involves exercise therapy. Your doctor or a physical therapist will talk with you about specific exercises designed to help heal your injury, improve the flexibility of your rotator cuff and shoulder muscles, and provide balanced shoulder muscle strength. Depending on the severity of your injury, physical therapy may take from several weeks to several months to reach maximum effectiveness.
Other rotator cuff injury treatments may include:
- Steroid injections. Depending on the severity of your pain, your doctor may use a corticosteroid injection to relieve inflammation and pain.
- Surgery. If you have a large tear in your rotator cuff, you may need surgery to repair the tear. Sometimes during this kind of surgery doctors may remove a bone spur or calcium deposits. The surgery may be performed as an open repair through a 2 1/2- to 4-inch (6- to 10-centimeter) incision, as a mini-open repair through a 1 1/4- to 2-inch (3- to 5-centimeter) incision, or as an arthroscopic repair with the aid of a small camera inserted through a smaller incision.
- Arthroplasty. Some long-standing rotator cuff tears over time may contribute to the development of rotator cuff arthropathy, which can include severe arthritis. In such cases, your doctor may discuss with you more extensive surgical options, including partial shoulder replacement (hemiarthroplasty) or total shoulder replacement (prosthetic arthroplasty).
A unique treatment option now available involves the use of a reverse ball-and-socket prosthesis. This reverse shoulder prosthesis is most appropriate for people who have very difficult shoulder problems. These include having arthritis in the joint, along with extensive tears of multiple muscles and tendons (rotator cuff) that support the shoulder, or having extensive rotator cuff tears and a failed previous shoulder joint replacement.
- Maffet MW, et al. Superior labral injuries. In: DeLee JC, et al. DeLee and Drez's Orthopaedic Sports Medicine. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=bookPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-3143-7..00017-8--sc14&uniq=207793665&isbn=978-1-4160-3143-7&sid=1019675117. Accessed July 1, 2010.
- Simons SM, et al. Rotator cuff tendinopathy. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed July 1, 2010.
- Rotator cuff tears. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00064. Accessed July 1, 2010.
- Rotator cuff tears and treatment options. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00406. Accessed July 1, 2010.
- Azar FM, et al. Arthroplasty of the shoulder and elbow. In: Canale ST, et al. Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics. 11th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/207793665-7/1019679443/1584/57.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-323-03329-9..50011-8--cesec24_451. Accessed July 1, 2010.
- Choi L. Overuse injuries. In: DeLee JC, et al. DeLee and Drez's Orthopaedic Sports Medicine. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/171922449-6/918424682/2079/17.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-3143-7..10014-4--s0125_1247. Accessed July 1, 2010.
- Sports injuries. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/sports_injuries/. Accessed July 1, 2010.
- Laskowski ER (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. July 8, 2010.
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