Rotator Cuff Injury in Las Vegas, NV: What You Need to Know

A rotator cuff tear is a common type of shoulder injury acquired by people of all ages participating in varying levels of activity, ranging from sports to gardening. You can injure your shoulder while playing a contact sport, and you can also get injured from a fall at home. The first thing you need to do is see a specialist to confirm that you do indeed have a torn rotator cuff and that it requires medical attention—many rotator cuff tears can be treated non-surgically, while others won’t get better unless surgery is performed.

Four muscles make up your rotator cuff, and it’s these muscles that control the movement of your shoulder. A large enough rotator cuff tear can affect your shoulder’s ability to function properly. If you have a rotator cuff injury in Las Vegas, NV, here’s what you need to know:

• The most common cause is degeneration: The popular belief is that torn rotator cuffs are mainly due to sports injuries and auto accidents. While these scenarios are true, you may find it interesting to learn that the most common cause of a rotator cuff tear is actually degeneration. Degeneration is when the tissue around that particular shoulder area wears out over time, and tears of this sort have been known to grow larger over months and years.
• Physical trauma or injury can cause a tear: An example of a traumatic tear is when you fall on your side and then soon find yourself in terrible pain or unusually weak. You’re not able to move your arm correctly. This is a sign of a sizable traumatic rotator cuff tear, and you need to see your doctor as soon as possible. Most people with this injury end up treating it with surgery.
• Injured muscles may retract or pull: The muscles in your body are under constant tension, which allows you to bend your joints normally. But when you tear a tendon on one of the ends of a shoulder muscle, you will notice your rotator cuff retracting or pulling back toward the end that is not torn.
• Surgery for a tear is not always necessary: Many people with tears have no idea they have one. They are in little to no pain, and the problem is often due to minor degeneration. Therefore, some rotator cuff tears are small enough that specialists prefer to let them heal on their own, while larger tears may need surgery to fix it. If you are diagnosed with a small tear and not given an option aside from surgery, seek a second opinion—especially if you have not suffered a recent traumatic or serious injury.

The reality is that a serious rotator cuff injury in Las Vegas, NV can have a huge impact on your quality of life. Don’t let tremendous physical pain and a weakened mental state cast a dark cloud over your days. Instead of ignoring a shoulder injury, work with an exceptional shoulder surgery specialist—call the office of Dr. Bernard Ong, M.D. today!

Categorized in: Rotator Cuff Injury

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