You may experience increased pain at night due to lying on the affected shoulder. Increased pain can also be attributed to the weight of the arm exerting stress on the injured cuff as you sleep with the arm unsupported.

Heat is helpful to calm shoulder pain and stiffness for some people. Heat is utilized when the acute inflammatory response has ended.

It is perfectly okay to receive a massage for a rotator cuff injury. However, the massage alone will not heal the rotator cuff tear. The massage can assist in addressing the surrounding musculature that may be in a guarded state…

Acute rotator cuff tendonitis will have a quick onset, typically due to excessive work of the shoulder over a short period of time (a few days to a few weeks). This can be from causes as benign as doing a…

You have one rotator cuff for each shoulder joint. The rotator cuff is made up of four muscles–the infraspinatus, supraspinatus, subscapularis, teres minor.

Not all rotator cuff injuries require surgical repair. Rotator cuff issues increase along with age, and most don’t cause issues. Many middle-aged and elderly adults have asymptomatic (no pain/weakness/lack of motion) or minimally symptomatic rotator cuff injuries. A person can…

The tendons of the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis make up the rotator cuff.

Rotator cuff injuries can worsen over time if not properly cared for. Too little exercise or too much/too strenuous exercise can worsen rotator cuff injuries.

Restoring strength is accomplished by performing resistance exercises. Resistance exercises that use free weights and gym machines will likely be too demanding, especially early on. A physical therapist will help you find a good starting point for your exercise plan…

There is no one “best exercise”. The exercises that will be beneficial for a particular person depends on the extent of the injury and the associated pain, weakness, or lack of range of motion. A physical therapist will help you…