The rotator cuff is made up of four muscles that stabilize and move the shoulder joint.  The four muscles are the infraspinatus, supraspinatus, teres minor and the subscapularis.  These muscles are necessary to stabilize the shoulder joint as it is one of the most vulnerable joints in the body.  Injuries often occur to the rotator cuff due to repetitive trauma in many sports, but it is not uncommon to have injuries even if you don't play sports.  Overhead activity is particularly stressful to the shoulder joint and can result in injury. 

Over the 12 years I've been a chiropractor, rotator cuff problems are the most overlooked conditions by my clientele.  Often times patients come in for other problems, but I discover abberant shoulder motion in my initial examination.  A reduced shoulder range of motion shouldn't be ignored and needs to be treated. The body will compensate for this lack of motion and cause problems in other places, most commonly the upper back and neck.  If a lack of shoulder motion goes untreated for too long it can lead to a frozen shoulder and it becomes a much more severe condition requiring far more treatment than earlier detection would have resulted in.

Rotator cuff problems are treated very effectively with Active Release Technique(A.R.T.).  A.R.T. is a soft tissue treatment system that removes the scar tissue that has developed in the tissues of the rotator cuff.  This scar tissue "glues" the tissues together and prevents normal motion from taking place.  Strengthening and stretching exercises may eliminate some superficial scar tissue, but only A.R.T. can get to the deep seated scar tissue that is the source of the problem. I recommend anyone who can't lift their arm over their head or behind their back fully to get in as soon as possible for an A.R.T. treatment.