Rotator Cuff

Rotator Cuff is a group of muscles and tendons around the shoulder joint which keeps the head of the shoulder bone into the socket. If you have weak shoulder muscles and are in a job where you have to raise your shoulder repeatedly like a painter then the chances of damage to the rotator cuff are more. The rotator cuff can get damaged over a period of time and can also get injured suddenly. The symptoms of rotator cuff injury would be a dull ache deep inside the shoulder joint. The pain is felt more when you raise the shoulder above your head. Weightlifters also have a tendency to injure their rotator cuff.

If timely treatment of the rotator cuff injury is not given then the tear can become extensive and you would be left with no other option but to go for shoulder replacement. It is therefore important to consult an orthopaedic surgeon who is a shoulder specialist immediately after such a pain is felt in the shoulder. The orthopaedic surgeon would do a thorough examination and may order an MRI Scan or a Musculo Skeletal Ultrasound to confirm the extent of damage to the rotator cuff.

Treatment Options

If you consult the right doctor immediately after the pain is felt then the chances are that you can escape surgery. At the early stage all you require is ice, rest and physical therapy to repair the damage to the rotator cuff. If the pain is ignored or if the injury is extensive then you may require arthroscopic surgery. In this surgery a camera is inserted through a small incision in the shoulder and the tendon which has got detached from the bone is fixed again to the bone by the surgeon. If the damage to the tendon is severe then tendon is taken from a nearby location and tendon transfer surgery is done. For some cases the patient might have to undergo Shoulder Replacement Surgery.

Rotator Cuff injuries can be prevented if the shoulder muscles are strengthened regularly. Most of the people who are regular gym goers work on the chest muscles and the front shoulder muscles much more than the back shoulder muscles. If equal effort is spent on the front, back and top shoulder muscles then the chances of rotator cuff injury can be greatly reduced.

Best Doctors and Cost

Dr Angad Kumar Choudhary is one of the most qualified and extensively trained Orthopedic Surgeon for the treatment of Rotator Cuff Injury at Aarav Hospital. The cost of consultation with Dr. Choudhary would be Rs. 500. If MRI is required then the cost of the test would be Rs. 5,000. The cost of physiotherapy would be Rs. 3000 - 4000 for 7 days of treatment. If surgery is required then the cost for Arthroscopic Tendon Repair or Tendon Transfer would be in the range of Rs. 1,25,000 - 1,75,000. The hospital stay for both the surgeries would be just one day. The patient would feel relief immediately after the surgery. Physical Therapy is the mainstay either as the first line of treatment for any rotator cuff injury or post surgery in cases of Arthroscopic Surgery. If you have an individual health insurance policy then this surgery is covered after a period of 4 years from the date of inception of the policy. However if you are a beneficiary of company given policy then the surgery is covered from day one. Always go through the terms of your health insurance policy like room rent capping and co-payment to avoid any kind of financial shocks later on.