Rotator Cuff Surgery: How It Works & Why You Need It?
The rotator cuff is a bunch of tendons and muscles that help keep your arm attached to your shoulder. If you are looking for surgery on the rotator cuff, it generally means you have had an injury or accident which caused damage to that particular part of your body. Rotator cuff surgery is one of the most common surgical options for treatment in case of a rotator cuff injury. So, let’s take a closer look at rotator cuff surgery, how it works, and why you need it.
What’s The Rotator Cuff Surgery?
The rotator cuff surgery attempts to fix the problems with your rotator cuff muscles to help you feel normal again. Any injury to your rotator cuff can make your arm or shoulder feel weak, have a dull pain in your shoulder, or have pain when you move your arm. In most cases, an injury to your rotator cuff means that you will have restricted movement in your arm. This can be due to partial rotator cuff tears. If the condition worsens, you can have a complete rotator cuff tear, which can remove your ability to move your arms.
The rotator cuff surgery tries to either repair/reattach the torn muscles and tendons or reconstruct the rotator cuff muscles and tendons to help eliminate the pain and complete mobility of your arms back.
Surgeries are among a course of treatment for a rotator cuff injury. Other courses of treatment are often led by medicine. However, surgery is explicitly required in the following scenarios.
Your symptoms don’t get better even after three to six months of treatment
You were a part of a severe accident or injury
However, even in these situations, doctors only prescribe/suggest it to patients that are fit for surgery, which is decided purely based on the doctor’s diagnosis of your health. There are other situations where rotator cuff surgery is prescribed more precisely, so let’s explore them.
Why Do You Need Rotator Cuff Surgery?
Rotator cuff injuries are common among three types of people; people who suffer from such injuries must get corrective surgery. So, let’s review the three most susceptible groups of rotator cuff injuries.
Poor Posture Leading To Rotator Cuff Injuries
If you have poor physical posture, it can become a rotator cuff injury over time. Poor physical posture refers to slouching or pushing your head forward too much. These habits can lead to rotator cuff injuries.
Arthritis
Arthritis is one of the leading causes of rotator cuff injuries in people who suffer from it. Arthritis can cause bone spurs in your shoulder, which can then cause damage or tear of your rotator cuff muscles.
Repetitive Stress
Repetitive stress refers to repetitive activities that pressure your rotator cuff muscles. Professions like carpenters and painters are also at risk of injuring these muscles. Sportspeople involved in sports such as swimming, cricket, and tennis are at risk of getting these injuries in their sport.
These are some of the common categories of people most likely to have the injury and then be recommended for surgery. So, next, let’s take a look at how rotator cuff surgery is performed.
How Is Rotator Cuff Surgery Performed?
There are several approaches to this surgery, and the procedure differs accordingly. This surgery is performed under either general or regional anesthesia. The two approaches to this surgery are arthroscopy and open surgery. Let’s review the procedure of each.
Arthroscopy
If you are going through Arthroscopic surgery, the surgeon will insert a camera through a tube inside the surgery site through a small incision. Once the camera is inside, some other incisions are made to insert the surgical tools into the area. The torn or damaged rotator cuff muscles or tendons are reattached and repaired using the tools. Sutures and special anchors are used to reattach the tendons to the bones from where it was torn. Once the procedure is completed, sutures or special tape is used to close up the incisions.
Open Surgery
In some instances, when the damage is considerable, open surgery might be recommended for patients. Open surgery starts with a 2-4 inch incision in your shoulder region, and doctors reattach the torn tendons. This procedure is also used to remove calcium deposits from your shoulder region and remove bone spurs if there are any during the process. Once the process is complete, doctors use sutures to close the incision.
Conclusion
So, that’s a quick overview of rotator cuff surgeries, how they’re done, and when you need one. If you have a rotator cuff injury, feel free to visit MediPulse hospital for the best care from experienced and qualified doctors. You can get minimally invasive surgeries at MediPulse to treat rotator cuff injuries. For more information about rotator cuff surgeries at Medipulse, check out the hospital website.