The rotator cuff is the group of four muscles that hold the ball of the shoulder centred in its socket while the bigger muscles move the arm. When the cuff is the problem, you typically feel pain on the outside of the upper arm, trouble reaching overhead or behind your back, weakness lifting away from the body, and night pain lying on that side.
Tendinopathy, partial tear or full tear?
These sit on a spectrum, and the right plan depends on where you sit on it, your age and how it started.
- Cuff tendinopathy is an overloaded, deconditioned tendon rather than a torn one. It is the most common version and responds well to progressive loading over roughly three to six months.
- Degenerative tears develop gradually and are extremely common with age. Many cause no symptoms at all, which is why scans alone never make the decision. Most are managed with rehab first, and trials comparing rehab with surgery for these tears show similar outcomes for many patients.
- Traumatic tears from a fall or a wrenching injury in a younger person behave differently and warrant an early surgical opinion, especially with marked weakness. We refer these on promptly.
Rehab-first, honestly applied
Cuff rehab at Sportscare Caloundra is a staged strength program: settle the irritated tendon, restore mechanics of the shoulder blade, then progressively load the cuff itself with measurable strength targets. It is unglamorous and it works, but only if the loading is heavy enough and long enough. We also tell you at review if you are the patient it is not working for, because months of ineffective rehab before a needed repair helps nobody.
After rotator cuff repair
If you do have surgery, rehabilitation determines much of the result. We rehabilitate cuff repairs to the operating surgeon's protocol, from the sling phase through passive motion, active motion and graded strengthening, and we coordinate with Sunshine Coast orthopaedic surgeons routinely. Full recovery from a repair typically runs six to twelve months, and knowing that upfront helps you plan work and sport around it. See our post-surgery rehabilitation page for how we structure it.
Shoulder weak and waking you at night?
That is the classic cuff pattern. Call for an assessment and an honest plan.
Call (07) 5221 5254My scan says full-thickness tear. Do I need surgery?
Not automatically. Degenerative full-thickness tears in middle age and beyond are often managed successfully with rehab, and surgical decisions weigh your age, how the tear happened, weakness and response to loading. A traumatic tear in a younger shoulder is the main pattern needing early surgical review.
How long does cuff rehab take?
Meaningful change in pain usually comes inside six to twelve weeks, with strength continuing to build for months after. Plan on a three to six month program for a real result.
Can cortisone fix it?
An injection can settle a highly irritable shoulder enough to start rehab, but on its own it changes nothing about the tendon. Repeated injections are associated with poorer tendon health, so we use them as a tool, not a treatment.