When you tear your rotator cuff, it’s a serious injury that may require surgery. Any time you hurt your shoulder, have it examined by a top pain management doctor. If it’s not a rotator cuff tear, you can get effective treatments to stop your pain and heal your shoulder. If it is a tear, you need to catch it early before it gets worse. Protect your shoulder and your health with a visit to pain management in NY.
The group of muscles and tendons that holds your upper arm inside of your shoulder socket is called the rotator cuff. This complicated muscle group is what enables you to move, lift and rotate your arms. It’s a complex joint because it offers the most flexibility of any joint in your body.
A rotator cuff tear can happen to one or more of the muscles or tendons that comprise your rotator cuff muscles. These tears are exceptionally painful. And they can result in a variety of medical problems affecting your strength, functionality and range of motion.
Anatomy of a Breakdown
The full range of motion that your shoulder provides requires that all of its many constituent parts function together as one. Many of the individual components of your rotator cuff are complex on their own. An injury to your shoulder takes time to heal. Thankfully, you have the top-rated pain management doctors in New York at your disposal. And they’re conveniently located right in Midtown Manhattan.
Symptoms of a Rotator Cuff Tear
A rotator cuff tear can be an exceedingly painful experience. But it’s also possible to have a tear in your rotator cuff that you don’t even feel. There are two major categories of rotator cuff tears:
- If one of the tendons that protects the top of your shoulder is only slightly frayed or damaged, it’s considered a partial tear.
- If the damage is all the way through your tendon or worse, if it’s managed to pull your tendon away from your bone or socket, then it’s a complete tear.
The sooner you seek medical treatment at an injury clinic like NYC center for pain management, the better. The longer your injury is left untreated, the worse it can become. A rotator cuff tear doesn’t get better on its own. Minor injury to your rotator cuff can turn serious in an instant. Since your symptoms can range from excruciating pain to a barely noticeable ache, take note of signs to watch out for, such as:
- Pain when moving your shoulder
- Discomfort in your shoulder from lying on your side
- Difficulty raising your arm over your head
- Noticeable weakness in your shoulder
- Clicking and popping sounds when you move your shoulder
- Difficulty lifting objects that you could lift before
The symptoms of a rotator cuff injury are different from other shoulder ailments, such as a frozen shoulder, arthritis, bursitis or tendonitis. You may think initially that you’ve only sprained your shoulder or that you just have an impingement, but a rotator cuff tear is a much more serious injury that requires medical attention.
Rotator Cuff Tear Treatment
Treatment for a rotator cuff tear begins with an accurate diagnosis. The top pain relief doctors in NYC begin with your medical history and a physical examination. To be certain that they properly assess the severity of your condition, they may also employ the use of imaging tests, such as:
- X-rays
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
- Ultrasound scans
Almost all treatments are going to involve physical therapy and varying degrees of down time. You may need to make certain lifestyle changes to prevent reinjuring your shoulder in the future. The type of treatment your injury doctor advises depends on just how bad your rotator cuff is damaged. Some partial rotator cuff tears can be treated with rest and pain management.
Surgical Options
If you have a complete tear, it may be necessary for your doctor to actually stitch your muscle back together or reattach the tendon to the bone. In some cases, your physician may also need to remove small pieces of bone or tendon from your shoulder to restore your range of motion. The three different options for rotator cuff tear treatment include:
- Arthroscopic surgery. This minimally invasive procedure is performed with cameras and tiny instruments inserted through a small incision. Your recovery time is shortened because the incision is so small.
- Open surgery. When your NYC pain specialist needs to use a larger incision and tools to repair your injury, he may have no choice but to perform this major surgery.
- Mini-open surgery. This is a combination of both other types to fix your shoulder that may involve multiple small incisions.
The best pain management doctor in New York can help you prevent surgery if your tear isn’t complete and you seek medical attention right away. Contact Pain Management NYC for a consultation today.
Leon Reyfman, MD, is a top-rated, best-in-class interventional pain management doctor. He is a nationally recognized pain relief specialist and is among the top pain care doctors in New York City and the country. He is an award-winning expert and contributor to prominent media outlets.
Dr. Leon Reyfman has been recognized for his thoughtful, thorough, modern approach to treating chronic pain. He has been named a “top pain management doctor in New York” and one of “America’s Top Doctors™” for advanced sports injury treatments. Among other accolades, he was voted by peers as a “Castle Connolly Top Doctors™” and “New York Super Doctors™”. Dr. Leon Reyfman was a part of the medical team at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.