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Rotator Cuff Tear: Symptoms and Treatment

2022-08-17  

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PARKWAY 百汇医疗

A rotator cuff tear can worsen over time if left untreated. It is important to get it properly diagnosed and seek the right treatment. Learn to identify the signs of a rotator cuff tear and understand your treatment options.


Your rotator cuff comprises a group of 4 muscles and tendons around your shoulder joint. Its purpose is to stabilize the joint and enable you to lift and rotate your arm.

What is a rotator cuff tear?


A rotator cuff tear is a tear in the muscles or tendons that form the rotator cuff. This can happen slowly over time through repetitive wear and tear (degenerative tear), or suddenly from a fall or from lifting something heavy (acute traumatic tear).


When you are diagnosed with a rotator cuff tear, your doctor will want to know the degree of the damage– partial or full tear – before advising on the appropriate treatment. A partial thickness tear, commonly referred to as a partial tear, refers to how deep the tear is in the tendon. A full thickness tear is when the tear goes through the tendon. Such tears are typically diagnosed via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).


What are signs you may have a rotator cuff tear?


A rotator cuff tear that is not treated will get worse over time, which will make treatment and recovery more challenging. If you are unsure if your shoulder pain is just a strain or something more serious, look out for any of the following symptoms, and get your shoulder checked by a doctor without further delay.


  • Pain when you move your arm in a certain way or when you lie on it


  • General weakness in your shoulder


  • Inability to lift the weights you can normally lift


  • Difficulty raising your arm


  • Feeling or hearing popping noises when you move your arm


Will you require surgery?


If you have a partial tear of less than 5mm in size, it is likely the injury will heal without surgery as long as you follow the correct rehabilitative exercises. Your doctor will prescribe pain killers and anti-inflammatory medication to help in the healing process. You will be referred to a physiotherapist to go through exercises you can do at home. 


These exercises are designed to gradually allow your shoulder to heal, and help it return to normal function. Your physiotherapist will also advise you on what you can and cannot do so that you don’t damage your rotator cuff further during the healing process.


If physiotherapy is ineffective or you have a full tear, surgery will be your best option to stitch the torn tendon or reattach it to the bone.


What surgery options are there?


Depending on your injury, your surgeon will recommend one of the 4 types of surgical procedures available:


  • Arthroscopic tendon repair. Your surgeon will make tiny incisions in your shoulder and insert a tiny camera (arthroscope) and tools through the incisions to fix the tear or reattach the torn tendon to the bone. Recovery time will be quicker with this minimally invasive technique.


  • Open tendon repair. If your surgeon needs more room to work due to the extent of the injury, they will make a larger incision and operate in this open environment to reattach the damaged tendon to the bone. If the torn tendon is too damaged to be reattached, your surgeon may decide to use a nearby tendon as a replacement.


  • Mini-open tendon repair. This is a combination of the above 2 methods, where the operation starts with an arthroscope and ends with a larger incision so that larger instruments can be used.


  • Reverse shoulder replacement. If you have a massive rotator cuff injury, your surgeon may recommend shoulder replacement surgery, where an artificial joint is inserted. The ball part of the joint goes onto the shoulder blade and the socket part onto the arm bone.


How long will it take to recover?


How fast you recover and can get back to normal activities depends on:


  • Thesize of the tear


  • How long the injury was left untreated


  • The type of surgery you have


The smaller the tear and the sooner it is treated with a minimally invasive procedure, the faster you will heal. But do be warned: Recovery from this type of injury is a slow process and can take as long as a year before you have full range of motion around the shoulder.




Dr. Samson Cho
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Head of Orthopedic Sports Medicine

Dr. Samson Cho has 20 years of clinical experience, specialized in sports injuries and arthroscopic surgeries. He emphasizes the importance of tailor-made treatment plan according to the individual's sports, working, daily activities and time schedule, starting from conservative approach until the real necessity to surgery. He is experienced in conservative treatment such as prolotherapy, rehab strategy and arthroscopic surgeries for shoulder, elbow, knee and ankle joints. He is leading a team of multi-specialties including surgeons, physiotherapists, chiropractors, etc. to provide comprehensive customized medical service to all individuals’ needs.

Dr. David Jiang
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Administrative Deputy Director of Orthopedics Sports Medicine

Dr. David Jiang has an MD degree from the Shanghai Jiao Tong University school of Medicine in China, long term served in Orthopedic department of Ruijin Hospital as resident, attending doctor and associated professor. He completed further training at the Fuji Toranomon Orthopedic Hospital in Japan, and has been a visiting scholar at upstate medical university of New York. Dr. Jiang has over 25 years of clinical experience in the diagnosis and treatment of bone, joint, and muscular problems, sports injury etc., including arthroscopic surgery of the knee, shoulder, ankle injury such as cross ligament reconstruction, meniscectomy & repairing, rotator cuff repairing and cartilage injury of joints; four limb’s fracture with open reduction & implant fixation. Meanwhile he also has extensive experience with ankle and hand disorders, such as ankle ligament reconstruction, Hallux valgus deformity correction, Achilles tendonopathy, carpal tunnel syndrome treatment with operation etc. In addition, Dr. Jiang specializes in joint and spine pain management, using lumbar epidural injection, spinal facet joint injection. He serves as a lecturer for national continuing education classes of Orthopedic and Rehabilitation Medicine.  

Dr. Hongyun Li
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Chief Physician

Dr. Hongyun Li is specialized in diagnosis and minimally invasive treatment of knee, shoulder, hip, ankle and other major joint diseases, sports injuries, muscle, tendon, ligament injuries, These include shoulder rotator cuff injury, frozen shoulder, shoulder instability, glenolabial injury, acromioclavicular dislocation, elbow adhesion, hip glenolabial injury, femorhip impingement, anterior and posterior cruciate ligament injury of knee, meniscus injury, recurrent dislocation of patella, medial collateral ligament injury, Achilles tendon injury, lateral collateral ligament injury of ankle, inferior tibiofibular tendon injury, posterior tibial tendon injury, peroneus muscle injury Arthroscopic and minimally invasive surgical treatment of tendon subluxation, accessory scaphoid injury, tarsal sinus syndrome and other diseases.

Dr. Sunny Sun
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Orthopedist

Dr. Sun Qing is an accomplished orthopedic specialist with over ten years of clinical experience, specializing in the treatment of joint diseases (knee, shoulder, hip, elbow) and rheumatic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, gout, and osteoporosis. He is adept at diagnosing and managing common joint and sports injuries through both conservative and surgical treatments, as well as treating conditions like cervical spondylosis, lumbar disc herniation, lumbar spinal stenosis, scoliosis, bursitis, tenosvnovitis, and tendinitis. Dr. Sun is also focused on the application of new orthopedic technoloqies, such as regenerative medicine, Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) injections, and ultrasound-guided minimally invasive pain management techniques. 

Dr. David Shen
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Chief Physician of Plastic and Hand Surgery, Chief Physician at Gleneagles Medical and Surgical Center, Chief of Aesthetic Medicine Center

Dr. David Shen is Chief Physician of Plastic and Hand Surgery, Chief Physician at Gleneagles Medical and Surgical Center, Chief of Aesthetic Medicine Center with over 30 years working experience. He specializes in excision of both benign and malignant skin lumps in all body parts and subsequent reconstruction and repair, aesthetic and reconstructive procedures in face including eye and nose and lip, breast, abdominal wall and perineum, liposuction for body contouring, facial rejuvenation with a variety of injection, laser, radiofrequency, ultrasound devices and techniques, and Ear piercing, treatment of ear hole infection and deformity.

Diagnosis and treatment of hand pain and numbness, tendon and nerve injuries as well as hand and wrist fractures after traumatic injuries, Diagnosis and treatment of nerve compression syndromes such as carpal tunnel syndrome, cubital tunnel syndrome, microsurgical repair of peripheral nerve injury, treatment of difficult wounds, scar treatment with laser, injection and revision.

Treatment of ingrown toenail, axillary or palmar hyperhidrosis or axillary apocrine bromhidrosis, hand and finger contractures (Dupuytren’s disease)

Dr. Shen graduated from Fudan University Shanghai Medical College (China) and from Medizinische Hochschule Hannover (Germany). He completed his residency at the Department of Plastic, Hand and Reconstructive Surgery, Burn Center in Hannover (Germany). Dr. David Shen served as Professor and Director at the Department of Plastic, Hand and Aesthetic Surgery, in Shanghai First People's Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China).

Dr. Anqia Wang
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Orthopedist

Dr. Anqia Wang is a senior orthopedist with nearly 20 years of clinical experience,who is a strong advocate of patient-centered treatment. He specializes in repair surgeries for trauma, arthroscope surgeries for sports injury and nerve decompression surgeries. Dr. Wang is also excellent at pain management for arthritis and spine problems.

Dr. Wang graduated from medical college of Fudan University. He studied at Tullen Hospital of Austria as a visiting scholar. He was head of Medical Affair Officer and chief doctor of Operation Center of two large general hospitals. He is the editor-in-chief of “Key Points and Skill of Orthopedic Surgery”. In addition, he was health care doctor for Shanghai Marathon, Shanghai Slalom Open and The 9th Global Conference on Health Promotion.

Dr. Hailong Zhang
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Chief Physician

Dr. Zhang Hailong is specialized in minimally invasive surgical treatment and conservative treatment of various common and difficult spinal diseases, especially the minimally invasive treatment of cervical spondylosis, lumbar disc herniation, lumbar spinal stenosis, lumbar spondylolisthesis, degenerative scoliosis. He has extensive experience in interventional treatment of lumbar discborne low back pain and minimally invasive treatment of osteoporosis and compression fractures.