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Jul 01
2019

Your shoulders play a major role in most things you do throughout the day. So it’s important to know the proper ways of preventing rotator cuff tendinopathy, and how you can treat them properly if that ever does occur.

What Is Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy?

The rotator cuff is made up of small tendons that sit around your shoulder joint. They provide support for the shoulder, that allow it to move in different directions when you move your arm.

A rotator cuff tendinopathy happens when the tendons of your shoulder swell up. This can happen for many reasons — like during a sports injury or while performing an activity that puts stress on your shoulder. This problem should be taken care of immediately or it can lead to more serious problems, if left untreated. 

How To Prevent Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy

1. Performing Light Strength Training For your Shoulders

Doing workouts that target your shoulder muscles is a great way to help strengthen them and prevent an injury.

2. Avoid Putting So Much Stress On Your Shoulders

Also adding too much stress from workouts or activities can affect your shoulder as well. So perform lighter workouts for your shoulders when working out. Also try not to put so much pressure all in one shoulder, or it will end badly.

3. Stretch Your Shoulder Muscles Once In A While

If you’re going to perform an activity that is going to put a lot of pressure to your shoulders, try stretching first. Simply stretching once in a while, will help prevent your shoulder from suffering an injury.

[Related article: Two Common Reasons You May Have Shoulder Pain]

How You Can Treat Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy

1. Applying ice packs to your shoulder regularly will help with the swelling and healing of your shoulder pain.
2. Resting your shoulder and avoiding unnecessary things that will put stress on your shoulder.
3. Elevating your shoulder is great for reducing swelling, and also to help circulate more blood to the injured area.

In many cases, physical therapy may be able to help your shoulder pain and is a safer alternative to pain killers and other medications. 

While it is not easy to completely prevent an injury from ever happening to your shoulder, it’s not impossible either. So it’s best to always be cautious and aware of situations that can harm yours shoulders, and possibly cause something much worse. If you have shoulder pain that doesn’t go away for a long time and it gets in the way of your day to day life, it’s a good idea to see your doctor or physical therapist. 

To learn more about preventing rotator cuff tendinopathy, contact a physical therapist at Above & Beyond Physical Therapy in Queen Creek or Phoenix. A physical therapist is an important member of your healthcare team who can help you find relief from common causes of shoulder pain. 

Contact us today.