Comment on Ice or Heat for Torn Rotator Cuff Injury by crystal martin

When it comes to any type of injury, especially one that involves muscles, the first thing that comes to mind is heat – no – ice – yes, heat – yes – ice -no.  Should you apply heat or ice for a rotator cuff injury?  Which is it?

Some people say will tell you to put ice on an injured muscle and others will say completely opposite and tell you to apply heat first then ice.  Everyone claims to be an expert on this subject so I decided to write a blog post and give my thoughts on exactly what to do specifically for a rotator cuff injury.

If you’ve just suffered a rotator cuff injury, say within the last 48 hours, I recommend you apply ice to your shoulder.  With your new rotator cuff injury, there will be undoubtedly some swelling, pain and inflammation.  The first thing you need to do is to control keep the swelling to a minimum.  By simply applying ice you will immediately reduce the pain and muscle spasms and reduce any further bleeding of the damaged tissues and muscles.

As you apply the ice to your rotator cuff injury you will help prevent your shoulder from seizing up on you and allow you to have normal range of motion and functionality.  As with any repetitive stress injury such as a rotator cuff injury, part of your recovery will include a specific set of shoulder strengthening and rotator cuff exercises.  I recommend that after you perform these exercises, you apply ice immediately to your shoulder for at least 10 minutes.  This will help decrease any pain and help improve your shoulder’s range of motion.

If you don’t have an ice pack, you can use a bag of frozen peas or vegetables.  You should never apply ice directly to your skin as this can cause permanent skin damage.

After the first 48 hours of your rotator cuff injury, you can move onto using heat to help improve blood circulation for your muscles to recover and repair.  Heat helps blood vessels to open up which sends more blood to your injury.  Be careful when you apply heat as too much heat can burn your skin and cause as much damage as applying ice directly to the skin.  The easiest way to apply heat is with a hot water bottle or hot cloth.  Keep an eye on the color of your skin as to make sure you are not burning the skin.

Within the time it takes for you to recover from your rotator cuff injury, you will discover that ice will provide better pain relief than applying heat.  Icing provides a deeper penetration into your damaged muscles and tendons plus the relief you will feel will last longer.

So now that you know that ice is your best option for a rotator cuff injury, what you really need is a proven system that accelerates your healing process so you can get back to all your favorite sports and activities again – in the shortest possible time.

All it really takes are 4 simple, step-by-step techniques that you can do from the comfort and convenience of your own home without any special exercise equipment.  Simply click the ‘Learn More’ button below to learn just how easy it is to cure your rotator cuff injury and eliminate shoulder pain!

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Comment on Anti Inflammatory Creams for Rotator Cuff Injury and Shoulder Pain by crystal martin

I have to get something off my chest today!  I have a problem with rotator cuff  and shoulder pain sufferers who try to repair and cure their injured rotator cuff by simply applying topical anti-inflammatory creams to their shoulder.

Here’s Why…

When you take the risk of applying topical anti-inflammatory creams to your rotator cuff and skin, it can basically be the same as drinking the cream in liquid form or taking it internally as a pill or capsule.  This is not your best option for treating rotator cuff injuries.

You see the skin is a permeable membrane which means what you put on your skin gets absorbed into your muscles and tissues.

Pain relief creams are very popular today and are easily accessible without a prescription as you can access them over the counter or purchase them online via the internet but…

The danger is that people tend to apply these anti-inflammatory creams in excess which can be LETHAL in some cases!

Two recent deaths were reported as a direct result of using too much anti-inflammatory cream. One reported case was a high school track star in New York who applied the topical cream before a race. The second death reported was a woman who applied an anti-inflammatory cream to her skin before laser hair removal and skin treatments.

The active ingredients in the majority of these creams are lidocaine, tetracaine, benzocaine or prilocaine.  These ingredients are responsible for the numbing effect that you get when you apply it directly to your skin.  Most people choose to apply these creams in the comfort and convienence of their own home and this is when things can go all wrong!

These creams are only meant to be applied by a medical professional and for very short term use. In the case of a rotator cuff tear, I recommend you don’t apply the topical creams at all.

All you are doing is masking the pain with an anti-inflammatory cream and not getting to the root cause of your rotator cuff and shoulder pain. How is a topical cream supposed to treat, heel and cure a torn tendon and muscle tissue?

There are numerous of these dangerous products on the market and in my opinion you are wasting your money if you think this is how you can eliminate your rotator cuff injury and repair your torn rotator cuff for good.

I know how frustrating it is to try and get a good nights sleep every night when you are suffering from a rotator cuff injury.  Sometimes you want a quick fix to stop shoulder pain at night, so your desperation gets the best of you and you reach for some messy anti-inflammatory cream – even if the pain relief is only 2 minutes.

The decision to use these creams is entirely up to you, the sufferer but…

I thought it was important to share with you the potential dangers and risks of using these topical anti-inflammatory creams because at the end of the day, your health and well being is priority number one!

But if you are completely fed up with your nagging and stubborn rotator cuff and shoulder pain and want to learn 4 simple, step-by-step techniques that uses an instructional approach (with Videos & DVD Tutorials) from the comfort of your own home…

View the original article here

Comment on Rotator Cuff Tear by crystal

It’s not uncommon for people with shoulder problems to simply ignore the pain and attribute it to ‘getting old’ or ‘I must have slept on my shoulder the wrong way’.  The sad truth is that you may have something a little more serious going on such as a rotator cuff tear, the most common type of shoulder injury.

A tear in your rotator cuff usually doesn’t happen overnight.  They mostly occur from performing repetitive actions and tasks over and over again.  These repetitive actions are mostly performed in the workplace or some type of sporting activity.

Performing activities that require constant overhead lifting, heavy lifting, pitching/throwing a ball, painting walls and ceilings, swimming, volleyball and all of the raquet sports are all considered high risk activities that can lead to and develop into a rotator cuff tear.  It’s not as common but you can also suffer from a rotator cuff tear as a result of a fall onto your shoulder or blunt force trauma to the shoulder.

It’s not uncommon to experience pain in your shoulder if you are driving for a long period of time, if you reach out above your head to catch a ball or simply reaching behind your back into your pants pocket to retrieve your wallet.

Some of the common symptoms that rotator cuff tears sufferers report are:

a decrease in your shoulder and arms normal range of motion and flexibilityweakness and tenderness in your shoulderconstant dull pain and aching when performing activities that require your arms to be overhead for extended periods of timecracking or grating sound when you raise your arm out to the side or in front of youshoulder pain that gets worse as the day goes on, trouble sleeping on your injured shoulder sidelack of mobility in your injured shouldermuscle weakness when you attempt to lift your arm out to your side or in front of you

One of the many misconceptions about a rotator cuff tears is that the rotator cuff is just one muscle.  When in fact the rotator cuff is actually comprised of four muscles.

Subscapularis muscle

The subscapularis muscle helps primarily in the internal rotation of the shoulder. When we throw a ball, it’s this muscle that is responsible with the follow through part of throwing. It also enables us to lower our arm downwards, towards the side of our body.

Supraspinatus muscle

As the name indicates, “supra”, it’s the largest muscle of the rotator cuff.  It helps stabilize the head of the humerus bone. Its primary function is to aid the deltoid muscles lift the shoulder away from the body.

The majority of tears to the rotator cuff occurs in this muscle and can often take the longest time to heal. The reason why this happens is simply because of the size of the muscle and the strain and pressure it takes in the majority of movements with the shoulder day in and day out.  I should also point out that this muscle does not get any supply of blood.

Infraspinatus muscle

The infraspinatus muscle helps with overhead reaching and catching of items, aids in shoulder stabilization and works as an external rotator.  I should also add that the teres minor muscle is also involved with these shoulder activities. This smaller muscle aids in the resistance and slowing of your arm after you throw a ball or any other item that involves a throwing action or movement.

Teres Minor muscle

The lonely teres minor muscle as the name indicates, “minor”, simply is a “partner-in-crime” to the infraspinatus muscle that aids in shoulder stability and external shoulder rotation.

It’s important to note that the long head of your bicep muscle helps stabilize and flex your shoulder but it’s not part of the rotator cuff set of muscles.

The primary role of the rotator cuff is to provide stability to the glenohumeral joint, the most important joint in the shoulder!

So now you’ve hopefully learned a little more about your rotator cuff tear but what is the ultimate rotator cuff training and best option for treatment for strengthening your shoulder?

All it really takes to completely recover from a rotator cuff tear using 4 simple, step-by-step techniques that you can do from the comfort and convenience of your own living room without any special exercise equipment or gadgets!

View the original article here