The dreaded words no one wants to hear, “you’ve got a rotator cuff tear,” but what is that and what can be done about it? You don’t have to hurt. What is the Rotator Cuff? The rotator cuff is comprised of four muscles that help the shoulder turn on various axises as well stabilize the ball and socket that is the glenohumeral joint. the four muscles are: These densely textured muscles provide the majority of…
Shoulder Pain, Part 2: The Tricksy Supraspinatus Did you know that the most commonly injured rotator cuff muscle is the small but mighty supraspinatus? It’s true. Because of how the muscle is located on the body and in relationship to the acromial clavicular joint and the humerus, it’s often caught in a scissor-like pincing and can be torn pretty easily. Also, the supraspinatus can be the source of referred pain in the shoulder and elbow,…
The Wizard of Pain – the Mighty Infraspinatus “it feels like a deep ache in my shoulder joint.” If you are an anatomy nerd like me, hearing a client say that is both empathetic and exciting. Empathy, because I’ve had that particular shoulder pain before, and exciting, because it’s very often caused by easily accessible trigger points in the back of the shoulder. Let’s begin: The infraspinatus muscle (IS) is one of the four rotator…
Subscapularis – The Deep Trickster Pitching a ball, writing your name, playing tennis, skiing, using a shovel, typing on the keyboard, anything that brings the arm in front of the body engages with the subscapularis. This deep rotator cuff muscle is often overlooked as a source of shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand pain. But getting to know this tricky muscle can be a great help dealing with and eliminating your pain! You can see the…