We hear a lot about the rotator cuff. What is it? Why is it important? How come everyone is always tearing their rotator cuff? The rotator cuff is made up of 4 muscles. They all attach at the same general point on the humerus and then spread in different directions. Think of anchors holding a tent down. They are relatively small compared to most of our shoulder muscles. I think a more appropriate term would be stabilizing cuff. Their job is to keep the head of the humerus centered on our glenoid fossa (shoulder blade attachment). Our shoulder joint is so loose that if the rotator cuff doesn't intermittently turn on while we are upright and arm unsuppported it can slowly lead towards a dislocation. Hence you may see stroke victims wearing slings to help prevent dislocation as their rotator cuff may have become paralyzed from the stroke. If the rotator cuff is not doing it's job properly (which doesn't always mean injury: could be too tight, too loose, underactive, overactive, you get the point), it can lead to pain and problems. If you think you may have a rotator cuff issue, reach out and i can help you resolve the issue. Some issues require surgery and many require GOOD physical therapy training.
Dr. Coby Jones
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