One of the easily injured areas of the body is the shoulder. The shoulder is composed of a variety of ligaments, tendons and muscles, which are collectively known as the 'rotator cuff'. Those who are involved in racket sports, baseball or softball, or even just do a lot of strength training exercises or movements that use the shoulder joint, often find themselves suffering from a rotator cuff injury.
Since the shoulder has such a wide range of motion and needs to be flexible in adapting, it is quite easy for it to become dislocated as well. This is a very painful process and usually medical help is needed in order to resolve it.
Usually as we age the risk of suffering from a rotator cuff injury often increases so it is increasingly important to start performing strengthening exercises for it now rather than waiting for later. Prevention is always the better choice when it comes to your health.
The signs and symptoms that you might have dislocated your shoulder or are experiencing a rotator cuff injury are obviously pain in the shoulder, particularly when you are reaching overhead, behind your back or pulling on an object, a general sense of weakness in the shoulder and the loss of your range of motion. Some people experience the pain so intensely that even simply raising a glass to their mouth will cause them discomfort. If you are experiencing any of these signs, it is critical that you rest the shoulder as much as possible and see a physiotherapist or sports injury doctor. They should be able to correctly diagnose the problem and lead you in the right path to recovery.
So don't take the health of this part of your body for granted. When it becomes injured it can be extremely debilitating and will really alter your lifestyle.
