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Summit Health Group is dedicated to offering patients a natural, regenerative

solution to shoulder pain.  Most shoulder problems result from tendon inflammation,

dislocation, arthritis or bone fractures. More often, the shoulders are left vulnerable

to the risk of injury or tears, particularly involving the rotator cuff. The rotator cuff is a

group of four muscles and their tendons that surround the shoulder joint and cover

the head of your upper arm bone to keep it in the shallow socket of your shoulder.

The four muscles help to provide the shoulder with smooth motion and stability,

damage to your rotator cuff can impair your ability to move your arm and cause

long-term discomfort.

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Rotator cuff tears can occur instantaneously or over time. One substantial injury or

several injuries to the shoulder such as falling while skiing or biking can immediately

cause debilitating tears in your rotator cuff. However, repetitive overhead activity,

heavy lifting and progressive degeneration of the shoulder muscles over time can

also cause tears to form in the tendon tissue. The risk of a rotator cuff tear increases

with age, but can also proportionally materialize in people who take up painting,

carpentry, baseball or tennis regularly.

Symptoms of a rotator cuff tear can include:

• Dull aches deep in the shoulder

• Shoulder pain during daily activities such as reaching or combing hair

• Weakness in the arm and shoulder

• Night pain from lying down or rolling over on the affected shoulder

In most instances, recovery from rotator cuff injuries will depend on rest, ice and physical therapy. If the injury is severe or if simple methods of treatment haven’t reduced your shoulder pain, your doctor may recommend intensive options to correct rotator cuff tears. Surgical procedures that aim to reattach torn tendons to the bone through small or large incisions can help repair the rotator cuff, albeit with an uncomfortable recovery process. If a rotator cuff injury is beyond repair, then you may require a shoulder replacement that removes and replaces damaged parts of your shoulder with artificial components.

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At Summit Health Group, rotator cuff tears can be resolved through minimally-invasive Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy. PRP treatment isolates platelets from the patient’s blood plasma and injects it back into the rotator cuff, allowing for the platelets and growth factors found in the plasma to rebuild cellular structures that can revitalize tissue. Corticosteroid injections might be recommended by other physicians, but they are only temporarily helpful as they can weaken the tendon muscle if they aren’t used judiciously. On the other hand, the higher concentration of regenerative cells used in PRP therapy can aid in repairing torn muscle and ligaments, relieving shoulder pain and rejuvenating the rotator cuff.