What Activities Can Cause a Rotor Cuff Tear?
A rotor cuff tear can typically be owed to any repetitive action in one’s activities that almost exclusively employs the usage of the shoulder joint and collarbone muscles. The rotator cuff is composed of a series of muscles that are specifically designed to externally and internally abduct and rotate the arms.
The repetitive engagement in actions that require overhead movement or rotation of the arms, which tax the muscles utilizing them, are almost always to blame when a rotator cuff injury has been diagnosed when no significant trauma to the shoulders or collarbones has been involuntarily experienced.
Rotator cuff injuries
Rotator cuff injuries are very often attributed to the tasks required of athletes who constantly need to have their shoulders in motion and their arms rotating to complete the sporting event, and so the list of actual activities that can be attributed to the injury is quite lengthy. Genesis Orthopedics provides a list of the activities that can potentially lead to a rotor cuff injury, and most have to do with athletic competition.
Baseball and softball pitchers who constantly need to toss pitches at high velocity are subject to rotor cuff injuries. Cheerleaders are susceptible to rotor cuff injuries due to the great volume of active gesticulations that they are required to make throughout a sporting event.
American football players
American football players, primarily quarterbacks, are especially vulnerable to rotor cuff injuries due to the constant need to have their arms ready to toss a football for a great number of yards. Weightlifters are incredibly vulnerable to Articular-sided tear if they are particularly active in performing exercises that are meant to challenge their shoulder muscles and neck tendons, and particularly risky is the bench pressing exercise; powerlifters, who commonly lift degrees of weight that eclipse that of a typical weightlifter, are even more likely to experience a rotor cuff tear.
Volleyball players
Volleyball players are susceptible to rotor cuff tears because of the almost indefinitely high amount of over-the-head movements that they must perform over the entire course of the games they play. Rodeo team ropers are susceptible to rotor cuff tears because of the overhead motion of the arms required to accurately toss their lassos.
Shot put throwers are amongst the most likely to experience Articular-sided rotator cuff tears because of the heavy weight of the iron ball that is almost always situated directly upon their shoulder and collarbone area. Western martial artists are likely to experience a rotor cuff tear because of the constant, flowing motion of the arms required to perform many moves and also the degree of high-impact collisions that can often be focused directly on their shoulders and necks.
Tennis players
Tennis players are wise to suspect Articular-sided rotator cuff tears due to the constant overhead action in performing a serve and overhand strike throughout the many games that they will play in their careers. Even orchestra conductors are likely to experience a rotor cuff tear because of the constant overhead action involved in conducting a musical performance that can easily extend over an hour. If one has involvement in any of these activities or others that need movement comparable to them, it would be wise to suspect that a rotor cuff tear may arise at some point in time in their pastime.