Rotator Cuff Injury Treatment Singapore

Your doctor will chat with you and ask you more about the. A careful examination of the shoulder is then carried out. He (I will use “he” to refer to the doctor to simplify the discussion although clearly, there are many female doctors out there!) will need to visually inspect your shoulders, looking out for any asymmetry or wasting of the muscles.

He then feels around the shoulder looking for any tender spots which may give a clue as to the source of the problem. This may be particularly hard in large or muscular patients.

He then tests your shoulder movements. Rotator cuff tears often do not cause any restriction of range of movement unless the tear has been there for a certain amount of time, and the patient’s reluctance to move the shoulder fully due to pain has resulted in a stiffness of the joint (secondary frozen shoulder).

Your doctor will then test the strength in each of the rotator cuff muscles. The most commonly torn tendon is the supraspinatus tendon and many patients with rotator cuff tears will have decreased power in the supraspinatus.

However the patient may also have tears of the other rotator cuff muscles and weakness will then correspond to the whichever tendon is torn.

A rotator cuff tear generally does not heal on its own without proper treatment. If left untreated, a rotator cuff tear can worsen, resulting in significant loss of mobility and arm function.

You should visit a doctor if you experience extreme pain that does not improve with home remedies such as rest, warm compression or over-the-counter inflammatory medications, or if your symptoms interfere with your daily functioning.

• Warm up and stretch your body before exercising or engaging in strenuous activities
• Avoid overuse of shoulders
• Exercise to strengthen the shoulder

I often do these surgeries under general anaesthesia. An anaesthetist will be present throughout the surgery to not only anaesthetize the patient, but also to monitor the patient throughout the duration of the surgery to ensure safety of the patient. Please read the section on anaesthesia for more information.

The surgery usually takes slightly over an hour. But complicated cases can take up to 2 hours.

Yes, certainly you can return home on the same day. Many patients, however, find it more convenient to stay overnight. This is because you may be feeling rather drowsy and tired after you wake up from the anaesthesia.

Full recovery can take anything from 6 months to a year. Physiotherapy is very important after the surgery because patients will always develop temporary stiffness of the shoulder after the surgery. But with physiotherapy, most patients can expect to recover full functionality of the shoulder. For more details about physiotherapy, please refer to the section on Physiotherapy.‍‍‍

If you have managed to get to this part of this long article, your shoulder must be bothering you significantly! Consult your family doctor or see an orthopaedic specialist and he/she should be able to advise you accordingly.