Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Rotator Cuff Injuries
Your rotator cuff is part of your shoulder joint. It's a group of muscles and tendons that holds the top part of your upper arm bone firmly in your shoulder socket. The rotator cuff keeps your shoulder stable when you move your arm in any direction.
Rotator cuff injuries are common. Most of them are wear-and-tear injuries from doing the same arm movements over and over - especially reaching over your head. With time, the tissues in the rotator cuff break down, leading to these injuries:
- Tendinitis. The tendons in the rotator cuff connect your muscles to your shoulder bones. In tendinitis, the tendons become irritated and swollen from being pinched during shoulder movements.
- Bursitis. The bursa is a small, fluid-filled sac that pads the space between the rotator cuff and the bones of your shoulder. Bursitis happens when the muscle and bone rub the bursa too much. It swells with extra fluid, which causes pain
- Rotator cuff tears. Tears in a rotator cuff tendon can happen over time or suddenly from an injury, such as falling on an outstretched arm or lifting something heavy. A tear may go part way through a tendon (partial tear) or all the way through (full tear).
Anyone can develop a rotator cuff injury. But certain people are more likely to have one:
- People over age 40. Most rotator cuff injuries are from the wear and tear of aging. By age 80, most adults have tears.
- Athletes. Playing sports with repeated shoulder movements increases the risk of a rotator cuff injury, for example, tennis, swimming, and baseball - especially pitching.
- People in jobs that require a lot of reaching overhead or heavy lifting. Carpenters, construction workers, and painters are examples of workers who may be more likely to have rotator cuff problems.
Rotator cuff injuries don't always cause pain. But when they do, the pain is often in the top part of your arm or shoulder. You may feel more pain when you:
- Lie down, especially on the injured shoulder
- Lift your arm or lower it to the front or side
- Reach behind your back
Other symptoms from a torn rotator cuff may include:
- Loss of strength in the arm
- Clicking or popping sounds when you move your arm
To find out if you have a rotator cuff injury, your health care provider:
- Will examine your shoulder. This includes checking the range of motion and where the pain is.
- Will test your arm and shoulder strength.
- May order imaging tests, such as x-rays, an ultrasound, or an MRI scan.
The best treatment for you depends on your age, how much your injury bothers you, and whether your injury was sudden or happened from wear and tear.
Treatments for rotator cuff injuries often include:
- Rest
- Putting ice or a cold pack on the sore area
- Pain relievers to lessen pain and swelling, such as ibuprofen or aspirin
- Physical therapy exercises to strengthen your shoulder and improve movement
- A corticosteroid shot into your shoulder joint if other treatments don't help with the pain
Treatments for rotator cuff tendinitis and bursitis may also include ultrasound therapy. Surgery may be an option if your shoulder doesn't feel better in 6 to 12 months.
Treatments for a torn rotator cuff may also include heat to the sore area or electrical stimulation of the nerves and muscles (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, TENS).
You provider may suggest surgery if your tear is large or is from a recent injury, or symptoms last for 6 to 12 months.
If certain activities bother your shoulder, it's best to stop doing them and check with your provider. That's because early treatment can prevent mild rotator cuff injuries from becoming more serious later on. If you your arm feels weak right after a sudden injury to your shoulder, see your provider as soon as possible.
It sits within Bones, Joints and Muscles and Injuries and Wounds.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Rotator Cuff Injuries
670 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Superior Capsular Reconstruction vs. Partial Repair for Massive Rotator Cuff TearsSunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
- Effects of Rotator Cuff Drills Versus Progressive Resistance Exercises on Chronic Rotator Cuff TendinopathyRiphah International University
- Intravenous Dexamethasone With Single-Shot Versus Continuous Brachial Plexus Block for Rebound Pain After Shoulder SurgerySeoul National University Hospital
- Rotator Cuff Repairs With or Without BioEnthesis™ AugmentationBrooke Army Medical Center
- Subscap Reverse Shoulder ArthroplastyUniversity of Maryland, Baltimore
- FiberLocker® System Augmentation of Rotator Cuff RepairsZuriMED Technologies Inc.
Research already completed
- Randomized Study of an Analgesic Device Enabling Local Anesthetic Delivery and Neuromodulation After Shoulder/Foot SurgeryUniversity of California, San Diego
- Safety and Performance of MICRORAPTOR™ Suture Anchors in Shoulder and HipSmith & Nephew, Inc.
- Mulligan and Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation Techniques in Individuals With Rotator Cuff LesionsMedipol University
- Optimal Dosing of IC-Green for Visualization of Rotator Cuff Vascularity Using Advanced Imaging Modality ArthroscopyNYU Langone Health
- The Contribution of Platelet-Rich Plasma to the Surgical Treatment of Rotator Cuff Tear: An Experimental StudyKAT General Hospital
- Intravenous Versus Intra-articular Tranexamic Acid for Visual Clarity During Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff RepairKonkuk University Medical Center
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Diagnosis and Tests
- Direct ArthrographyRadiological Society of North America
- Shoulder MRIRadiological Society of North America
- Shoulder Pain: Causes and TreatmentAmerican Academy of Family Physicians
Treatments and Therapies
- Cortisone ShotsMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- Rotator Cuff and Shoulder Rehabilitation ExercisesAmerican Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
- Rotator Cuff Tears: Surgical Treatment OptionsAmerican Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
- Shoulder ArthroscopyAmerican Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
- Shoulder Impingement TreatmentAmerican Academy of Pediatrics
- Shoulder Joint ReplacementAmerican Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Rotator Cuff InjuriesNational Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Shoulder Impingement SyndromeNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Rotator Cuff Injuries. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Rotator Cuff Injuries, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.