My Torn Rotator Cuff - Almost Made Me Give Up Golf

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

As I am a slightly older dad with young kids I try hard to keep myself active and in shape so that I canstill play with the kids as they grow uo. I also enjoy a game of golf, a good walk ruined as they say. I'm not a great player as I am never able to play as frequently as I would like but I do enjoy it, so was really hacked off when I developed a shoulder injury that stopped me playing.

It was more complicated than that. My shoulder problem turned out to be nothing less than a torn rotator cuff which prevented me from doing any sort of activity. It was painful when I walked or ran, even though I am right handed, any movement caused serious pain in my left shoulder. If I forgot for a moment and made a sudden movement I could end up crying with in agony. I know exactly when I did it. I was being impatient and trying to lift some furniture on my own rather than waiting for help, felt a pop in my shoulder and that was that. Shoulder messed up| The next morning I woke up with a painful shoulder and it just got worse with each passing day.

I couldn't reach much above shoulder height, reaching for anything was impossible. I couldn't reach behind me. I couldn't sleep because I couldn't get comfortable and doing anything with the kids was impossible. Golf was out of the question. So it was off to the doctor who sent me to see a specialist. He diagnosed a torn rotator cuff, which was confirmed by an MRI scan. The shoulder joint is a basic ball and socket joint. Unlike the hip, the socket is made up of cartilage and not bone like in the hip, and doesn't grip the bone of the arm. Instead, a group of four muscles help to hold the arm in place and stabilise the shoulder joint. These make up the rotator cuff. I had managed to tear one of these muscles which had caused. Because all the muscles are so close together any inflammation causes pressure and pain.

The muscle that I had torn is called the supraspinatus. I had torn a tendon that runs under my collar bone or clavicle and the end of my scapula or shoulder blade. Because it became inflammed, each time that I moved in a certain wayit got pinched or impingedpinched and was aggravated. Surgery was recommended to shave off part of my collar bone to free up the impinged tendon and let it to heal without any more damage. It all sounded very easy but I was a bit nervous.

As I live in the UK we often have to wait for surgery so I used the time to find out about rotator cuff problems while waiting for my surgery date. Having read up on my injury extensively I finally discovered that most rotator cuff problems are fixed with physical therapy .Even a torn rotator cuff can be solved in this way, as long as it is only a partial tear. You start off by resting the joint to let the inflammation to calm down, treating it with anti-inflammatory drugs and using ice packs. Once the inflammation and pain have calmed down you can start gentle exercises aimed at building up and strengthening the rotator cuff muscles

In just six weeks my shoulder was pain free and the movement had returned to near normal. A few more weeks saw me return to full fitness. I have put off the surgery and will probably be cancelling it altogether if I remain pain free.

In the meantime I am playing golf again, still losing but hey, I do have a bad shoulder!

Article Source: ABC Article Directory

About The Author: If you want to know how i fixed myshoulder impingement without shoulder surgery that I was told I needed, check out my story at www.myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com