Rotator Cuff Injuries - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Reduction of pain and a restoration of function is the goal of any Rotator Cuff treatment. There is no one perfect option for all patients. In cases where an MRI, a common imaging modality, has shown a tear of the Rotator Cuff, some type of treatment will be required beyond just ice and a short period of rest. The most common tendon of the Rotator Cuff injured is the supraspinatus. Prompt diagnosis of a Rotator Cuff tear is essential to lessen the invasive nature of any treatment option. When a tear of the Rotator Cuff occurs, the surrounding muscle often atrophy, or shrink, losing strength This finding points to the need for physical therapy to keep the range of motion as well as to rebuild the muscles without further damaging the tendons of the Rotator Cuff. There are specific exercises that a physical therapist can help you with that can strengthen the Rotator Cuff tendons. These exercises help to maintain movement and attempt to slow the atrophy or loss of muscle around your shoulder. Many physicians believe that stronger muscles can help avoid further Rotator Cuff damage. The first steps in treatment and physical therapy combined with OTC NSAIDs. The risks of surgery, namely infection, permanent stiffness, complications related to anesthesia and in many cases a lengthy recovery time as well as a recurrence of the tear, prompt many who have a Rotator Cuff injury to seek out non-surgical option.

A Rotator Cuff partial tear is often treated by an orthopedic surgeon with something called a debridement. This is where frayed edges of the tendon are trimmed and if a bone spur is causing the injury, it can be burred down. The debridement of the tendon does not make the tendon heal any faster though. If the edges of the tendon are torn but sill adjacent to one another there can be different options available. Unfortunately, if the Rotator Cuff tendons are completely torn and widely separated, usually a major surgical intervention is called for.

We at REGENERATIVE MEDICINE INSTITUTE OF NEVADA have found that our Cytokine Growth Factor Therapy enhanced with PRP can often shorten the recovery time of a Rotator Cuff injury. Brining into the joint a concentration of growth factors not normally in the joint can help the healing of the partially torn or well-opposed Rotator Cuff tendons. This can avoid surgery in many cases and involves no anesthesia. A quick in office procedure where the cytokines and growth factors are mixed with PRP and then injected directly into the injured shoulder can lead to a faster recovery with no surgery.

Rotator Cuff Tear Las Vegas Garcia

A tear of the rotator cuff in a patient leads to pain and in most cases a limitation of motion and activity. On average, there are yearly about 2 million people that seek out and evaluation by a physician for shoulder or rotator cuff pain. The shoulder is a ball-and-socket joint. The actual rotator cuff is a group of four muscles around the arm bone that allows you to lift and rotate your arm. There is a sack of fluid, called a bursa, in this area. This bursa may be inflamed or painful when an injury to the rotator cuff tendons occurs. The tendons of the rotator cuff often become partially torn with injuries or over-use. This can cause pain and limitation of motion. Unfortunately, this fraying of the tendons can result in a complete tear of the tendon when a quick motion is performed or a heavy object is lifted. At times, a rotator cuff tear can occur from a fall on an out-stretched arm. Over-use of the rotator cuff, like that seen in athletes or people that do repetitive motions at work, can result in rotator cuff injuries. Signs and symptoms patients should look for when they think they may have a rotator cuff injury are pain while resting or sleeping, in particular when laying on the shoulder, pain with moving your arm in certain directions, loss of strength in the arm during certain motions, as well as crackling sounds when using your arm in certain movements. Some patients may eventually require surgery to repair the rotator cuff but is a large percentage of patients, therapy and anti-inflammatories will help the patient function. Caution should be taken with cortisone injections into the area as while it can temporarily decrease the pain, it can allow faster degradation of the tendons and speed the partial tear converting to a full tear. In cases where surgery is required, the post-operative course can complicated by infection, permanent stiffness, anesthesia complications, a lengthy recovery period, as well as a failure of the repair and a return of the pain.

We at the Regenerative Medicine Institute of Nevada use alternative methods and have had great success in staving off the need for surgery and the use of some of the medications that can have serious side effects. We offer options to the patient that utilize adipose derived stromal vascular fraction, (SVF) components. The SVF is derived from the patients’ own fat cells and their supporting structures and contains Cytokines, Growth factors, Stem cells, as well as Mesenchymal cells. This SVF is harvested using a small liposuction procedure under local anesthesia and then the SVF is prepared and either injected directly into the joint or given through an intravenous line. These treatments, because they use the patients’ own tissue, offer no chances for rejection or allergic responses. We also offer additional options with Cytokines and Growth Factors from a tissue bank and mix it with Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP). This Cytokine Growth Factor Therapy in combination with the PRP involves no fat harvesting. This procedure, like the SVF, has no fear of rejection no allergic response. Both of these options provide choices for the patient looking to avoid prescription medications, cortisone injections, or surgery. The SVF or Cytokine Growth Factor Therapy with PRP can be repeated as the aging process allows continued damage to the tendons and burs in the rotator cuff.