Can Torn Rotator Cuff Be Remedied with Exercise Therapy Alone?
from, the bone to which it’s supposed to be attached. Tendons join muscles to bone. “The shoulder is a ball and socket joint,” says Edmond Cleeman, MD, Manhattan Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Group, P.C., Sports Medicine, Arthroscopic Knee & Shoulder Surgery. “There are four tendons that move the shoulder and they are called the rotator cuff tendons. Covering the entire rotator cuff is a bursa, a paper-thin fluid sac that helps gliding occur with less friction between surfaces.” Does a torn rotator cuff automatically mean surgery? “Rotator cuff tendon tears do not heal on their own and this has been verified with scientific study. The tendon is attached to bone and when it tears it is pulled away from the insertion site by the muscle, like a rubber band snapping back. The only way for the tendon to heal is to pull it back to the bone insertion site and sew it to the bone. This procedure is customarily performed arthroscopically (minimal invasive surgery), with a regional anesthetic (the
