Rotator Cuff Tear
Wear and tear are the most common culprit of rotator cuff injuries. Getting older increases your chances of developing a rotator cuff injury. It's pretty common for people over 40 to have shoulder pain to due rotator cuff damage. But a tear to your rotator cuff can happen at any age.
Symptoms of a rotator cuff tear can include pain from one or more of the tendons in the joint. These tears are painful and prone to cause an array of medical symptoms that include loss of function and strength. Seek treatment from our sports medicine doctor as soon as you suspect the injury.
Rotator Cuff Tear NYC — SPIN Sports Pain Specialists
Ready to find relief from a rotator cuff tear?
Same-day rotator cuff appointments available.
A Closer Look at Your Shoulder
Your shoulder is a complicated joint that has a full range of motion. For this to happen, your shoulder must be able to move in multiple ways, the result of the many parts and pieces working together so you can move without problems or pain. Some of these pieces and parts are intricate and complex.
Your rotator cuff is made up of a group of tendons and muscles that hold your upper arm safely inside your shoulder socket. These muscles and tendons form a cuff. They're the same parts that give you all the strength and mobility you need to play a multitude of sports, work out with weights, perform a wide range of jobs and just lift and rotate your arms.
What Are the Types of Rotator Cuff Tears?
A rotator cuff tear can occur suddenly after a fall or from trying to lift something that was entirely too heavy. But it doesn't necessarily have to be the result of traumatic injury. Repetitive motions are another leading contributor to rotator cuff injuries. They can also come from normal wear and tear —one of the many challenges of the natural aging process. In some cases, you may not even feel the symptoms of a rotator cuff tear.
There are two types of rotator cuff tears:
Partial Tear
A partial tear means one of the tendons that shields the top of your shoulder is slightly damaged or frayed.
Complete Tear
A complete tear, which is all the way through your tendon or it may pull the tendon away from your bone.
“I had a great experience here, Dr Melepura was super friendly and professional and even offered to see me pretty late on a Friday night with almost no notice when I was having serious pain and needed a procedure done.”
Orion Schelz '17
Symptoms of Rotator Cuff Tear
Symptoms of a rotator cuff tear can be subtle and difficult to notice, or they can be excruciating to the point of keeping you out of work and away from the activities you love. Symptoms include:
Ready to find relief from a rotator cuff tear?
Dr. Melepura's Midtown Manhattan clinic offers same-day appointments for evaluation and treatment.
Rotator Cuff Tear Treatment in Midtown Manhattan, NY
Traditional rotator cuff tear treatment typically depends on how bad your tear is. Typically, your doctor wants to begin treatment with a combination of physical therapy to strengthen your shoulder muscles and medications to ease your pain and reduce swelling.
Treatment for rotator cuff tears when you only have a partial tear may simply consist of lots of rest for your injured shoulder. In minor and less severe cases of this nature, anti-inflammatory medications and physical therapy play vital roles. But treatment for rotator cuff tears that are more severe or complete normally involves a minor surgical procedure to either:
- Stitch the tear together
- Reattach the tendon to your bone
Your pain management physician may have to remove small pieces of tendon or bone to encourage a better range of motion. Unfortunately, there's a pretty big risk of re-tearing your cuff after surgery because the area tends to be weaker. More common surgical procedures for rotator cuff tear treatment include:
- Performed by making a small cut in your shoulder and using a tube with a camera and tiny instruments attached to fix your tear. A speedy recovery usually is associated with this procedure.
- Used when your doctor needs to use larger instruments to fix a tear in the muscles of your shoulder.
- Mini-Open. This is a combination of both other procedures. Your doctor starts with arthroscopic techniques and finishes with the larger instruments used in the open surgical method.
Rotator Cuff Tear Recovery
Recovery from treatment for rotator cuff tears isn't nearly as bad as you may expect. If surgery is necessary, you'll need to wear a sling for a couple of weeks. And our pain management team provides you with a list of activities to avoid and recommendations for exercise to do that speed your recovery along.
Your recovery is significantly affected by the severity of the tear. But your quality of life depends on the knowledge of your medical team and your own level of commitment to your recovery and treatment plan.
Real Stories from our Patients
Dr. Febin Melepura, MD
Double Board-Certified Pain Specialist
Meet Dr. Febin Melepura — Your Rotator Cuff Tear Specialist in NYC
Dr. Febin Melepura, MD is a double board-certified interventional pain management specialist and the founder of the Sports Pain Institute of New York. He completed his residency and fellowship training at New York Presbyterian Hospital / Columbia University Medical Center, one of the nation's leading academic medical centers.
He holds dual board certifications from the American Board of Anesthesiology and the American Board of Pain Medicine, and has treated more than 7,500 patients and performed over 5,250 procedures throughout his career. He has been named a Top Pain Management Doctor in New York and one of America's Top Doctors™ by Castle Connolly.
Dr. Melepura's approach to rotator cuff tears is rooted in precision: identify the exact source, treat it with a targeted injection, and get you back to your daily life as quickly as possible.
Ready to Book an Appointment?
Same-day appointments available. Call (212) 621-7746 or book online.
What Our Rotator Cuff Tear Patients Say
"Able to make an appointment to see Dr. Melepura on short notice… attentive to my concerns… Jazmin was also very kind and helpful."
"Excellent hospitality, listener and explainer… highly recommend the doctor and the place."
"Dr. Melepura is the best! He worked with me to find the optimal solution to my shoulder pain while I was preparing for a fight!"
"Lovely, bright and modern… doctor and staff were kind… felt my concerns were heard."
"Helpful and friendly staff who gladly follows up with you if and when needed. Dr Melepura was very helpful and professional as well as provided me with excellent information and feedback."
"Dr Febin is fantastic! Highly recommend him and his practice the Spin clinic. The doctor is a good listener, kind, attentive and gave me great advice. "
"Dr.Melepura was very efficient and interpersonal, felt like he was understanding the problems I was having and explained the processes to take to rehabilitate. I would recommend."
"I felt listened to and truly understood by Dr. Melepura. Started PT the very next day. They were very friendly and I didn't feel rushed at all. Already recommended them to my friends who have or continue to play through pain."