FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Every year, an estimated 18 million Americans report shoulder pain.
Many of those cases are the result of a rotator cuff tear, which can happen without any major injury.
It happened to Jerry Wexler about ten years ago when he noticed a pain in his left shoulder which, over time, got progressively worse.
“And that’s when I had an MRI done and discovered it was a tear,” Wexler said.
Sports medicine specialist Dr. Jorge Gonzalez said rotator cuff tears are very common especially with age, starting at around 40.
“After we turn the age of 60 over 20 percent of the general population are just walking around with some form of rotator cuff tears,” he said.
The rotator cuff is actually a group of 4 tendons that are part of the connection of muscles to the bone.
“These are the group of muscles that allow us to move our shoulders, reach overhead and are the main muscle complex that allow us to do most of our function with our shoulders,” Gonzalez said.
While many never experience pain, for those who do, Gonzalez takes a conservative treatment approach to ease the discomfort without invasive surgery.
“Now a lot of that is going to require medication, activity modification and physical therapy, working on the area that’s not torn, will allow our patients to get back to functionality,” he said.
After that first MRI on his left shoulder, Wexler learned he also had a tear in his right shoulder.
So far, he’s been able to avoid surgery by doing physical therapy a few times a year and occasionally taking anti-inflammatories.
“I’ve managed it, but it hasn’t affected my lifestyle i still ride my bike, i still do my walks and live a normal life with tears in both shoulders,” he said.
Cortisone injections and stem cell therapy can also reduce the pain of a degenerative rotator cuff tear.
Acute tears that are the result of a sudden injury or trauma do require immediate surgery.