Even though they are much more common in middle-aged people, torn rotator cuff symptoms can affect people of any age. Whether through repetitive strain injuries, accidents or other causes, this is a serious problem. When caused by an accident, the nature of the injury is generally immediately obvious; but when due to repetitive stress, the damage to the rotator cuff happens gradually and may not be noticed for some time.

The initial sign that something is wrong in your shoulder is a light pain which throbs at intervals. Most people make the mistake of ignoring this pain and just take a pain killer. The pain killer does nothing except block the receptors that detect the sensation of pain or even prevent the signals of pain from travelling to the brain. As a result, the absence of pain makes people use their shoulder more and cause further trauma to the muscles. So, when the effect of the pain killer wears off, the pain returns with a vengeance and even the mobility of the shoulder joint is affected. Many times, other early symptoms of this problem include swelling in the shoulder which may or may not be accompanied by swelling, weakness and stiffness in the joint. These symptoms usually are experienced before the actual tearing of the joint. This is because slow and steady wear and tear are actually the cause of the problem.

When people ignore the torn rotator cuff symptoms, they can also develop what is known as adhesive capsulitis or in common parlance called the frozen shoulder. In such a state, the patient cannot even perform common tasks like putting on their clothes or driving a car.

Most people start taking heed of the torn rotator cuff symptoms when they start becoming unbearable. These symptoms build up over time and are a result of the inflammation of the rotator cuff. Once these symptoms manifest themselves completely, then it can take years to heal the problem. Therefore, it’s better to nip this problem in the bud by paying attention to the early symptoms and then enrolling yourself in a rotator cuff exercise program. The pain killers do not heal the cause of the problem; they just take care of the symptoms which worsen when the effects wear off.

Anyone whose work is physically demanding or is active in athletics needs to be particularly vigilant in watching for torn rotator cuff symptoms. As the inflammation worsens, symptoms such as frozen shoulder can be nearly disabling.

You’ll be able to prevent serious injury and keep torn rotator cuff symptoms from impairing your ability to live your life normally by having the problem diagnosed and treated as early as possible. A torn rotator cuff can be diagnosed using ultrasound, MRI, x-rays, physical examination and arthograms. The treatment may be as simple as ice packs or heat therapy with stretching and other exercises; or in more advanced injuries, physical therapy or even steroids may be indicated.

Tom Nicholson has spent years helping carpal tunnel sufferers. You can follow this link to learn more about having asore wrist.