Is It Possible Fix Rotator Cuff Tendonitis Simply With Exercise?

By: Nick Bryant Click author's name for more of his/her articles

When you have rotator cuff tendonitis, the last thing on yoru mind is any kind ofany type of exercise but surprisingly that is exactly what you need to be doing to repair it. But, before you reach for the gym bag and rush off to lift some weights, stop and read the rest of this article.

Doing the right sort of exercise can fix shoulder tendonitis. Doing the wrong type of exercise will definitely make it worse, much worse. In fact if you over-exercise a badly inflamed shoulder tendon you will almost certainly end up making it worse or even snapping the tendon completely which would put you on a list waiting for corrective surgery.

Rotator cuff tendonitis or shoulder tendonitis is simply the irritation or swelling of the tendons of the rotator cuff. How severe it is will depend on what caused the problem in the first place but is usually as a result of either simple wear caused by getting older or a regular overhead action such as painting. It is common to certain sports people and is sometimes known as pitcher's shoulder or swimmer's shoulder.

So how do you fix rotator cuff tendonitis. Firstly, don't worry. It is a common problem with roughly a third of people experiencing it at some time in their lives. It is also reasonably easy to fix with the right therapy.

To start with the therapy is bound to involve resting the muscles and steering clear of any of the movements that caused pain. These are bound to be any kind of overhead movement or reaching action. You may need to change the way that you work for a while in order to allow the muscles to rest but it is essential if you want to avoid making things worse.

The inflammation needs to be treated with ice packs and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as Ibuprofen. If the pain persists it may well be worthwhile having a cortisone injection into the muscle to reduce swelling. Your doctor can do this for you.

Once the muscle has settled down it is important to start some shoulder specific exercises aimed at strengthening the rotator cuff muscles. These are low resistance exercises that isolate this group of muscles and can easily be done at home. Rushing off to the gym and pushing weights will do nothing for the rotator cuff muscles. These are small but extremely important muscles that help to hold the humerus in place in the socket of the shoulder and they are vital to the general health of the joint. Weak rotator cuff muscles equal a weak shoulder no matter how strong the other muscles of the shoulder are.

Rotator cuff therapy exercises are absolutely necessary if you want to regain a healthy pain free shoulder and should really be mandatory for anyone over forty just to keep their shoulders healthy. Unfortunately most of us don't even know of the existence of the rotator cuff until we get injured and find out to our cost that we have been neglecting them.

I personally now do five or ten minutes of rotator cuff exercises every day simply to make sure that I never suffer from shoulder problems in the future.

Article Source: ABC Article Directory

About The Author: Exercise is the quickest way to solve rotator cuff tendonitis. I know because that's what stopped me needing surgery. Read my story here www..myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com