As you may or may not know, the rotator cuff is a group of 4 muscles and their respective tendons that envelope your main shoulder joint. The rotator cuff is very important to your mobility as it allows you to raise your arm and rotate it, as well as to stabilize your shoulder joint during movement. As one of the top shoulder specialists in Columbus, we see a lot of rotator cuff injuries. Today we’re going to cover some common causes and risk factors for rotator cuff injuries.
- Weak Muscles: Weak rotator cuff muscles is one of the main causes of rotator cuff injuries. Why? Because if one of the muscles are weak, then your humerus may not be able to stay centered in its socket, placing surrounding soft tissues under abnormal pressure. This abnormal pressure leads to inflammation and irritation of the rotator cuff tendons.
- Age: Another common cause for rotator cuff injury is due to age-related changes in the tendons that tend to leave them less elastic, generally weaker, and overall more susceptible to injury.
- Chronic Overuse: This is another common cause for rotator cuff injuries, especially when the shoulder is overused in activities such as tennis, swimming, stacking objects on shelves, etc, which involve repetitive overhead movement. When you have minor injuries that aren’t given a chance to heal due to overuse, the tissue in your shoulder experiences chronic inflammation and degenerative changes. Early treatment for this is very important to proper healing and retaining mobility.
