The rotator cuff and rotator cuff tendons are often involved in shoulder pain, and targeted with our treatment. Dr Chris Littlewood is a Physio and senior research fellow at the University of Sheffield, and spends a large portion of his time studying and treating shoulder pain, including rotator cuff tendinopathy. In this episode, Chris and I discuss how to identify rotator cuff tendinopathy and other types of shoulder pain, and how you can direct your treatment for rotator cuff tendinopathy. We also explore:

• Other sources of shoulder pain
• Clues that the cervical spine could be referring pain to the shoulder
• Unstable shoulder
• Red flags
• When to image the shoulder
• When bursal thickness or effusion is or isn’t a problem
• Shoulder assessment
• Stiff painful shoulders
• Treatment for rotator cuff tendinopathy
• Improving exercise adherence
• When to perform special orthopaedic tests
• Injections
• Surgery
• Is there really a rotator cuff exercise, compared to a scapular muscle exercise?
• Do exercises isolate the rotator cuff?

Links of interest

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