Most people have the perception that they may be suffering from frozen shoulder, but it is not a big problem, so they don’t need to go to the hospital and just stick a plaster on themselves and keep exercising. This perception is wrong. A significant number of patients with chronic shoulder pain are not suffering from frozen shoulder, but are actually diagnosed with rotator cuff injury. For patients with rotator cuff injury, insisting on exercising with rotator cuff injury will only make the ruptured rotator cuff continue to tear and aggravate the condition. Here, Ah Toob has a popularization of what rotator cuff injury is, the clinical manifestation and diagnosis of rotator cuff injury, hoping to correct some misconceptions about shoulder pain! What is the rotator cuff and where is it located in the shoulder joint? The rotator cuff is a tendon complex formed by the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis and teres minor muscles, which wraps around the head of the humerus. The function of the rotator cuff is to tighten the humeral head toward the glenoid during upper arm abduction, maintain the normal fulcrum of the humeral head and glenoid, and ensure the stability of the shoulder joint. One of the most common injuries to the rotator cuff is to the supraspinatus, followed by the infraspinatus. Why are the supraspinatus and infraspinatus muscles prone to injury? 1. The internal structure of the rotator cuff gradually develops cellular degeneration, necrosis, calcium salt deposition, and fiber rupture with age, which is relatively rare in adults under 40 years old and gradually worsens with age. 2.Angiography confirmed that there is a significant vascular sparing zone in the area of 1 cm where the supraspinatus muscle ends at the humeral head stop, which is called the rotator cuff tear risk zone. 3.Anatomical structure and mechanical stress analysis showed that the supraspinatus muscle was under maximum stress at the stop of the humeral head and was prone to injury. 4, There is a bony structure above the supraspinatus muscle, and the shoulder abduction and supination can easily lead to an impact between the supraspinatus muscle and the acromion, producing a rupture. Classification of rotator cuff injury: 1. partial rupture: rotator cuff articular surface rupture, rotator cuff synovial surface rupture, rotator cuff tissue internal flat rupture, rotator cuff tissue internal longitudinal rupture 2. complete rupture: small rupture: rupture mouth less than 1cm 3. medium rupture: rupture mouth 1-3cm 4. large rupture: rupture mouth 3-5cm 5. extra large rupture: rupture mouth greater than 5cm Etiology of rotator cuff injury: 1. trauma is the main cause of rotator cuff injury in young adults. The main cause of rotator cuff injury in young adults. 2.Degenerative degeneration of rotator cuff tissue caused by insufficient blood supply, a common cause of rotator cuff injury in elderly patients.v 3.Chronic impingement injury to the shoulder, easy to be injured in middle-aged patients with long-term shoulder activity. Typical symptoms of rotator cuff injury: Pain in the shoulder, pain mostly located at the top and front of the shoulder, pain can radiate to the outside of the shoulder. 1. Patients with complete rotator cuff rupture: Most patients show significant limitation of shoulder movement, especially supination and abduction, and inability to maintain supination after assisted supination. 2.Patients with partial rotator cuff rupture: Usually the shoulder can still be moved, but the range of motion is reduced and the strength is diminished; the pain increases at night and the patient cannot lie on the affected side. Treatment of rotator cuff injury: 1. Conservative treatment: For patients with partial rotator cuff rupture, the injury time is within 3 months. If the patient is older and does not have high demands on the shoulder joint or cannot tolerate surgery, conservative treatment is also available. 2.Surgical treatment: Complete rotator cuff rupture requires surgical treatment, and the main treatment method is shoulder arthroscopy. Shoulder arthroscopic surgery is now more mature, with less trauma, faster recovery, and less impact on the function of the shoulder joint. Depending on the extent of the complete rotator cuff rupture, the rotator cuff can be repaired by direct suturing or anchoring with a wire. The cause of pain around the shoulder joint is not only frozen shoulder, but diseases like rotator cuff tear, acromioclavicular impingement, frozen shoulder, calcific supraspinatus tendonitis, etc. can cause pain in the shoulder joint and the treatment varies. If you insist on exercise and activities without a clear diagnosis will cause the rotator cuff rupture to continue to expand and eventually a huge irreparable rotator cuff rupture will form. If you have long-term pain in the shoulder joint, please go to the hospital promptly and do not treat it yourself.