The shoulder rotator cuff consist of four muscles and their tendons that control the function of the shoulder and connects the upper arm bone (humerus) with the shoulder blade (scapula). It consists of a group of four muscles, namely infraspinatus, supraspinatus, subscapularis and teres minor. These tendons fuse all together surrounding the back, front and top of the shoulder joint like a cuff.
Rotator cuff is a name referred to the tendons present surrounding the shoulder joint. The shoulder joint is made up of the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper-arm bone). The shoulder joint, or glenohumeral joint, is a ball-and-socket joint that helps the shoulder move forward and backward and makes it possible for the arm to move in a circular motion and lift away from the body. The rotator cuff is in charge for holding the ball of the humerus securely into the shoulder socket and, along with the deltoid muscle, helps to raise the arm.
Rotator cuff tear can be caused from a variety of different reasons such as a shoulder injury or aging. A torn rotator cuff is one of the most common factors causing the pain in the shoulder. To improve your shoulder health and performance, it’s needed to counter balance these effects with strengthening exercises for the muscles that externally rotate the arms at the shoulder socket and retract the shoulder blades. In some people’s opinion, the shoulders are the easiest muscle set to train due to its ease of training.
Patients with shoulder pain are most often diagnosed with bursitis or tendonitis of the rotator cuff. Shoulder pain is exceptionally common and can have many causes including, Bursitis/Rotator Cuff Tendonitis. The most collective symptom of a shoulder rotator cuff is pain in the shoulder muscles when lifting the arm overhead or lowering it after lifting. Symptoms include, pain around the lower part of the back of the arm, pain when you try to full straighten the arm or full bend the arm, bruising around the back of the arm near the elbow and swelling around the back of the elbow. Often times you don’t even know you have it or how you got it until the pain becomes unbearable. Applying ice directly to the point of the shoulder is helpful to inhibit swelling and relieve pain.
Rotator cuff exercises keep the ball and socket joints intact and healthy. Exercises designed to reduce stiffness and increase the flexibility of the joints. There are many exercises that can easily be performed at home; dynamic exercises requiring balance should be used, such as press-ups with one hand on a medicine ball, or walking forwards/sideways in the press-up position. All the exercises possible with a pulley can be performed at home with the use of exercise/stretch bands. When you use the dumbbells make sure you are doing some pulling style exercises like rows and add in some YLTW’s as a warm up.