Torn Rotator Cuff Treatment - Whats's Best - Exercise or Rest?

Both of them is the answer but not in the same order. It also depends on how badly you have torn it. Most tears will get better with just rest and exercise but any serious partial tear or full tear may need corrective before you do any therapy exercise.

The important thing with any type of torn rotator cuff treatment is to rest and let the tear start to heal. Carrying on through the pain of a rotator cuff is likely to leave you requiring surgery as you do more damage to the tendons, so rest is the first thing that you need to do.

Along with rest, you need to bring down the inflammation before you can think about beginning any kind of exercise. The rotator cuff is a group of muscles that help to stabilise the shoulder joint by pulling the head of the humerus into the socket of the shoulder. They are small but vital muscles that cover the shoulder joint forming a cuff of muscle that supports it, in doing so they run over and sometimes under the bones of the shoulder.

Any inflammation to these tendons can cause pain as the inflamed tendon can impinge or catch on one of the bones. A classic example of this is the supraspinatus muscle which runs under the collar bone and the acromion of the shoulder blade. When this muscle become inflamed it can catch on the channel of bone and start to fray. Worst case scenario is that you could end up with a snapped tendon that would leave you needing shoulder surgery.

So let the muscles rest. This means avoiding any of the movements that are painful. If your job involves a lot of overhead movement you might need to modify the way in which you work. If you sit at a desk, you might need to change the setup of your desk to avoid reaching or stretching movements with the damaged shoulder. It might even be necessary to take a few days off to rest the shoulder properly.

At the same times start to reduce the inflammation. You could do this by using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like Ibuprofen and also by using ice packs on the damaged muscle to help to reduce the swelling. If symptoms persist it may be necessary to have a steroid injection into the muscle to combat the inflammation. Your doctor should be able to do this for you.

Once the muscle has begun to settle down you can start simple exercises aimed at strengthening the rotator cuff muscles. Don't go rushing to the gym thinking that any sort of exercise will do the trick. It won't. Using weights before the muscle has healed properly is likely to cause more damage.

Rotator cuff exercises use little or no weight when recovering from an injury. They will start with gentle exercises that do not cause any pain. If you do feel pain or discomfort when exercising stop straight away as this is an indication of further damage being done. It may be that you started exercising too soon.

And finally, when your shoulder is better and back to its full pain free movement, don't just give up on the exercises. Rotator cuff injuries are common but a lot of them can be avoided by keeping the rotator cuff muscles strong so just take five or ten minutes a day to keep them happy.