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Rotator cuff tear
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A rotator cuff tear is a tear of a tendon in the shoulder. The rotator cuff is four muscles, the subscapularis, the infraspinatus, the teres minor and the supraspinatus. Their tendons, the cords that tie a muscle to bone, together form a musculotendinous cuff that stabilizes the glenohumeral joint, the shoulder joint.
The injury is not a yes or a no: it is a spectrum. It starts as tendinopathy, the tendon diseased but still whole. Then comes the partial tear, and finally the complete tear. The most common factor is age, and a macrotrauma, one hard blow in a single moment, produces the acute tear. It is a rope that frays over the years, and another that snaps in one pull.
Of those four muscles, the supraspinatus is the one that starts shoulder abduction, that is, the movement of raising the arm out to the side, and it is especially important in the first few degrees.
In brief
The rotator cuff is four shoulder muscles, the subscapularis, infraspinatus, teres minor and supraspinatus, whose tendons form a musculotendinous cuff that stabilizes the glenohumeral joint.
Tendon injury spans a spectrum: first tendinopathy, then a partial tear, and finally a complete tear; age is the most common factor, and a macrotrauma produces the acute tear.
It is a rope that frays over the years, and another that snaps in one pull.
The supraspinatus starts shoulder abduction and is especially important in the first few degrees of the movement.
Sources (2)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingAnatomy, Rotator Cuff, StatPearlsPublished
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingRotator Cuff Injury, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated