If you’ve recently injured your shoulder, it’s important that you seek out an accurate diagnosis before moving forward with treatment. The shoulder is a large and complex joint with many moving parts, and damage can have long-lasting effects.
As a sports medicine doctor, San Francisco-based Dr. Jeffrey Halbrecht will be able to perform the necessary examinations and imaging tests to diagnose a rotator cuff tear. The Institute for Arthroscopy & Sports Medicine (IASM) in San Francisco, California is uniquely set up to treat rotator cuff tear patients.
Your shoulder consists of three bones: the humerus, scapula, and clavicle. Your upper arm fits into the socket of your shoulder blade, and your rotator cuff holds it in place.
The rotator cuff is a set of four muscles and tendons that wrap around the joint, helping you lift and move your arm. If any of these suffer a tear, you can find yourself battling arm weakness, pain, and restricted movement.
Rotator cuff pain is intractable and difficult to treat yourself. The symptoms of a rotator cuff tear are recognizable if you know what you’re looking for.
A rotator cuff tear is heralded by a dull aching pain deep in the shoulder that’s bad enough it disturbs your sleep. It typically won’t subside with most over-the-counter pain relief medications, and it doesn’t respond favorably to either cold or heat.
A rotator cuff tear is often accompanied by weakness in the arm, often starting immediately after the injury is sustained. However, in cases of repetitive motion causing rotator cuff damage, the arm weakness may appear after some time and be intermittent at first, worsening over time.
A rotator cuff tear can cause significant restriction of mobility, making it difficult to do everyday tasks like comb your hair or reach behind your back to put your arm into the sleeve of a shirt. Raising or twisting your shoulder may also intensify the pain and weakness.
You don’t have to keep suffering with the effects of a rotator cuff tear. San Francisco-based residents have excellent care waiting for them at IASM. Surgical intervention is the usual course of treatment for tears of any significance, as most major tears can’t heal on their own.
In some cases, a qualified shoulder doctor in San Francisco can repair a partial rotator cuff tear arthroscopically. For severe or full-thickness tears, Dr. Halbrecht has developed the Versalok rotator cuff repair device to deliver faster repair times and better strength and tension after surgery.
Are you ready to stop experiencing shoulder pain, weakness, and restricted mobility? Have your rotator cuff injury evaluated at IASM. Call our office at 415-233-7996, or book an appointment online today.
