Shoulder tendinitis

Shoulder tendinitis is an inflammation that can affect one of the shoulder tendons. It is concretely an injury, the cause of which can be a repetitive movement, muscle fatigue, a lack of warm-up or trauma.

What can be the signs of this evil?

Tendonitis often manifests as pain when the arm or elbow is raised horizontally. This is the case, for example, with patients trying to drink. These pains are very intense in case of effort, but become dull and permanent at rest. They become more painful at night, which can prevent the patient from sleeping. To relieve them, the patient must rest and use a sling to support his arm.

In principle, tendonitis is not disabling, despite the intensity of the pain that can limit shoulder movements. It also becomes difficult to place the hand behind your back. in some cases.

What can cause rotator cuff tendonitis?

There are different factors that can cause tendonitis:

• Overtraining: Repetitive arm elevation movements can wear down the tendon. The more the latter is solicited, the faster it wears out. This premature wear is often accompanied by blockage of the associated muscle when the arm is placed at the back. As a result, the supraspinatus no longer functions properly, which causes the head of the humerus to decenter and, as a result, prevents the deltoid muscle from swinging upwards or forwards. This decentring is the cause of abnormal friction of the tendon with the acromio arch. The patient then feels severe pain.
• Smoking: Smoke interferes with blood flow in the tendon of the cuff.
• Metabolic problems: diabetes, high cholesterol or dyslipidemia clog the blood vessels of the tendons.
• Prolonged poor shoulder posture: Rotator cuff tendons can be subjected to prolonged stress over time, which can create shoulder tendonitis. Work in static sustained positions is often one of the main causes of the appearance of shoulder tendonitis.

Injuries that can affect the rotator cuff tendon

Rotator cuff tendons may suffer the following injuries:

• A subacromial conflict: the tendons are totally ruptured. This results in tendinitis of the affected tendon. This type of injury mainly affects the supraspinatus or supraspinatus tendon.
• Calcifying tendinopathy: limescale forms inside the injured tendons that cause severe pain in the shoulder.
• A rotator cuff rupture: At an advanced stage, tendinopathy causes this rupture. The severity of the latter, however, depends on several factors. In addition to being painful, this injury to the rotator cuff prevents the individual from lifting the arm and promotes the appearance of osteoarthritis in the affected shoulder.

How to treat rotator cuff tendonitis?

Rotator cuff tendinitis deserves special management by health professionals. Physio+ Hamel can help you treat shoulder tendonitis with effective treatments tailored to your condition.

Physio+ Hamel offers the intervention of physiotherapists. They are qualified and renowned professionals to treat cases of rotator cuff tendonitis.