Do you suffer from pain in your shoulder? Do you find it difficult or even impossible to raise your arm above your head?

Then your rotator cuff may be injured.

The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles and their tendons surrounding the shoulder joint, helping it control its movement. The four muscles stretch from the shoulder blade and join in the upper arm bone.

A rotator cuff tear is a partial or complete tear in one or more of the tendons assembling in the shoulder.

How common is it?

Every year millions of patients seek medical care for soft tissue conditions caused by soft tissue weakness that may be rehabilitated surgically. More than 250,000 rotator cuff surgical procedures are performed each year in the USA.

Rotator cuff tears can afflict people in all ages, although it is more common in adults, aged 40 and older.