The Rotor Cup is not a new sporting event (maybe it is somewhere);  it is a common mispronunciation of a group of muscles in the shoulder. The correct term is rotator cuff which refers to a group of four shoulder muscles: supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis.  These muscles work together to accomplish actions such as reaching behind your back, throwing a ball, holding your arm out in front of you or overhead. In fact, anytime your hand is away from your body these muscles are working to stabilize the shoulder.

Many injuries can occur at the shoulder which involve these muscles: tendonitis, impingement, strain, sprain or even a tear of the tissues. Besides pain, the most common complaint is that one cannot lift his arm overhead. When injured, it is important to seek care and avoid waiting weeks and months for the pain to go away because waiting usually leads to another ailment called “frozen shoulder” or adhesive capsulitis. This ailment is the loss of most of the movement in the shoulder and can be quite painful.

What exercises are good to keep the rotator cuff muscles conditioned? It can be strengthened using light dumbbell weights, elastic tubing and medicine balls. It is important when exercising these muscles to isolate them so that their strength improves without other muscles trying to compensate for them. Therefore, using a stacked weight system is not ideal to strengthen these muscles. However, pushups performed slowly are good for this group of muscles because it helps with stabilizing the shoulder.

In addition, I always have to mention posture because that is important for the position of the shoulder blade or scapula, the bone where the rotator cuff muscles are attached. If one slouches, the upper spine is curved and it changes the position of the scapula and shoulder joint causing the rotator cuff muscles to get pinched in the shoulder joint during use. Overtime, this leads to wear and tear of the rotator cuff muscles. Aging of the rotator cuff muscles can lead to spontaneous tears in the muscle.

The inability to lift or use your arm is a great loss of function so the more we can take care of the rotator cuff the better. And again, if the shoulder pain has not gone away in three weeks, seek medical attention!