Does a Rotator Cuff Tear Require Surgery?

Have you torn your rotator cuff at work or on the field? Whether or not you need surgery for a rotator cuff tear depends on the severity of the injury and other factors like your age.

Rotator cuff tears are one of the most common shoulder injuries, especially if you work a job or play a sport with repetitive movements that affect your shoulder joint. If you’ve suffered a rotator cuff injury, you might be wondering if it can heal on its own or if you’re going to need surgery.

At Keck Medicine of USC, Orthopaedic Surgery in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, orthopaedic and sports medicine specialist George Hatch, MD, treats patients with all types of joint injuries, including rotator cuff tears. Here’s what Dr. Hatch wants you to know about rotator cuff tear treatment.

Rotator cuff tear basics

Your rotator cuff is what gives your shoulder joint so much mobility and strength. This combination of muscles and tendons wrap around the shoulder joint from different directions, allowing extreme flexibility.

A rotator cuff tear happens when a large tendon attached to the shoulder, known as the supraspinous tendon, rips away from the bone. You can have a partial tear, leaving the tendon partially severed but still attached, or a complete tear which separates the tendon completely from the bone.

Rotator cuff tears are common in athletes who suffer hard impact to their shoulder or twisting hyperextension of the shoulder. People who work with their arms over their heads making repetitive motions, like house painters, are also at risk.

Treatment for rotator cuff tears

Dr. Hatch starts with the most conservative treatment possible in the attempt to avoid unnecessary surgery. With a partial tear, overlapping therapies like bracing, physical therapy, medical pain relievers, and steroid injections may allow your shoulder to recover in time.

However, complete tears can’t heal on their own. Dr. Hatch must perform surgery to repair complete tears or severe partial tears. He may be able to reattach your tendon to your shoulder using arthroscopic rotator cuff surgery.

If the tendon is too badly damaged, Dr. Hatch may use a piece of tendon from a different part of your body to repair your rotator cuff. Depending on the tear, this may also be done arthroscopically, but might require open shoulder surgery.

For complete thickness tears and additional damage to the shoulder joint, Dr. Hatch may recommend a full shoulder joint replacement. If you’re older and already showing signs of severe shoulder arthritis, this may be your best option.

How to find out if your rotator cuff tear requires surgery

If your shoulder clicks and pops with movement, you can’t lift your arm very far without acute pain, you have pain in the shoulder that gets worse at night, and you’ve lost a lot of strength in that arm, you’ve likely experienced a rotator cuff tear.

Dr. Hatch completes a full exam and may order scans like X-rays or an MRI (or both) to clearly visualize what’s going on inside your shoulder joint and accurately diagnose your rotator cuff injury. If you have a full thickness tear, he’ll arrange for surgery. However if you have only a partial tear, we may be able to help your body heal with appropriate care.

To learn more about rotator cuff tears and treatment, contact our office by calling 323-442-5860, or book an appointment online today with Dr. George Hatch of Keck Medicine of USC, Orthopaedic Surgery.