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Symptoms of Rotator Cuff InjuriesWhat are the symptoms and signs of a Rotator Cuff injury?  To begin with, letâs distinguish the difference between a Rotator Cuff symptom and a Rotator Cuff sign. A symptom is an abnormality that a person recognizes themselves, for example pain or numbness in your shoulder. Everyoneâs experience is different; therefore symptoms are subjective and based on an individual basis. A sign is an abnormality that is recognized by a health care professional during an examination. For example, a doctor will palpate your shoulder to feel for any bone abnormalities or inflammation. Signs are more objective and normally confirm your symptoms. If you have early stage Rotator Cuff inflammation or tendonitis you may only experience pain and other symptoms with strenuous activity. However, if you have a Rotator Cuff tear you may experience more weakness and targeted pain, which interferes with your ability to sleep at night and greatly affects your mobility. If you allow your pain to persist, you will eventually experience pain at rest or with no activity at all. The most common Rotator Cuff symptoms:  Pain in your Rotator Cuff may happen gradually and is normally associated with movement from repetitive activities, overstraining, or from degeneration of the tendon. It can also occur immediately following a trauma, such as a fall onto your arm or a lifting injury. It is most aggravated and intensifies when doing overhead or forward reaching activities (throwing motions or reaching for objects). You will often feel Rotator Cuff pain on top of and in front of your shoulder which radiates down the outside of your upper arm (near the deltoid area). People generally find it worse at night, especially when lying on the affected shoulder. This pain can range from mild, to moderate, to sharp, although it can be difficult to pinpoint. Generally the amount of pain you experience will depend on the extent of your injury.  Weakness in your Rotator Cuff makes it difficult for you to raise your arm above your head, or extend your arm in front or to the side of you. You will often find it difficult to complete routine tasks such as reaching behind your back or combing your hair. This is frequently noticed with complete rotator cuff tears. The loss of mobility and/or decreased range of movement in your shoulder area can indicate a Rotator Cuff injury. This is often accompanied by stiffness in the joint area, which is sometimes referred to as ãfrozen shoulderä. Another key symptom of a Rotator Cuff injury is Crepitus (the clicking, grating, crackling or popping sounds heard and experienced in your shoulder joint when you move your upper arm around). This tends to result from two rough services coming in contact and grinding against one another, especially where cartilage has worn away. These noises tend to occur when you are overexerting yourself, such as pushing a heavy object. Recurring or constant inflammation and swelling around the Rotator Cuff or near a bone spur on your shoulder blade will also indicate an injury. Often this will be a result of tissue catching on the bone or being pinched between the bones.  If you have Rotator Cuff Tendinitis and Bursitis you will generally experience some of the above symptoms as well as red, sore, and swollen tendons or bursa. There is generally a gradual onset of pain, which flares up when you move your shoulder in any direction, especially overhead or out to the side. Your ache will often originate from deep inside your shoulder and you will feel tenderness in a general area; this pain will often be worse at night. A mild popping or crackling in your shoulder joint often indicates rotator cuff bursitis. As mentioned previously, if left untreated this can lead to a chronic tear. Rotator Cuff tendonitis and bursitis are very common in women 35 ö 50 years of age. If you have Rotator Cuff Instability you may feel your arm slipping in and out of your shoulder socket, and/or you may experience a ãdead armä feeling when you raise your arm over your head or move it away from your body. This Rotator Cuff instability may cause you to experience pain and unsteadiness. If you have a dislocation, your arm bone will slip or be forced out of the socket, resulting in immediate inflammation, loss of mobility, and a possible tear. This is very painful.  If you have a chronic or acute Rotator Cuff Strain or Tear you will experience most of the above symptoms. You will notice that your pain will be targeted in specific areas, especially when you lift your arm overhead or away from your body. You will also not be able to sleep on your injured shoulder. A strong crackling or popping sensation in your shoulder often indicates a tear. If the tear occurs with a traumatic injury you may experience a sharp and sudden pain, a snapping sensation and an immediate weakness in your arm. This is known as an Acute Rotator Cuff tear. You will experience specific tenderness over the point of the tear and your range of motion will decrease immediately, as a result of muscle spasm, bleeding, or pain. You will also not be able to raise your arm out to your side without assistance. This sharp pain will generally last for a few days; however the other symptoms may carry on indefinitely. Rotator Cuff strains or tears occur most often in athletes and people over 50 years of age.  A Chronic Rotator Cuff tear is usually found on your dominant side and is worse at night, which will interrupt your sleep. You will notice that your shoulder muscles will weaken and atrophy (decrease in muscle mass), and the stiffness and pain in your shoulder will get worse over time. Your range of motion will also decrease until you are unable to lift your arm out to the side or over your head without assistance. This condition is very common in women, and generally affects people over the age of 40 years. Should You Seek Medical Attention? This is up to your discretion; however any continued discomfort in your shoulder should be investigated, as it can lead to long term damage. If you experience any of the symptoms below, it is recommended that you seek professional medical attention:
Therapeutic ProductsBlood Flow Stimulation TherapyYou can help your body repair itself by speeding its natural healing process using an Inferno Wrap™. The Inferno Wrap's patented design delivers the most effective Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy you can find.  During normal activities, the movement promotes blood flow through our body. Our body responds to the movement by sending oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to the muscles, joints, tendons and other soft tissue in the body. When at rest, the blood flow to your tendons is greatly reduced. Unfortunately, when your tendon is injured it requires rest but it also needs the blood flow to promote the healing process. Since you can't work your tendon without danger of further injury, you need to stimulate the blood flow another way. Our innovative Inferno Wrap™ gives you the best Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy available. The Inferno Wrap™ creates energy waves that stimulate blood flow by penetrating through the outer layers of your body. The energy waves reach deep into your muscles, tendons and cartilage, reducing your pain as they heal the inner tissue. An Inferno Wrap™ gives you unparalleled blood flow stimulation to your injured tendon. You simply won't find a comparable product on the market. Other therapy products can not come close to offering the comfortable, contoured fit and targeted energy treatment an Inferno Wrap™ provides. You will experience a soothing, penetrating warmth deep in the tissue as it works to stimulate your blood flow, we guarantee it. Now you can reduce your pain and heal yourself with the comfortable, light weight Inferno Wrap™. The Inferno Wrap™ provides effective, non-invasive, non-addictive pain relief with no side effects. When your tendon has healed somewhat and it comes time for more aggressive rehabilitation, stretching and activity, Blood Flow Stimultation Therapy warms the muscles in the injured area which increases range of motion and allows for a safer more thorough stretch.  Therapeutic Ultrasound Ultrasound Therapy is also a great tool for pain prevention of tendonitis or healing a tendon tear, and having a therapeutic ultrasound device at home can be a powerful and convenient treatment tool. If you have symptoms of tendonitis or are recovering from a tendon injury, using ultrasound on a regular basis before your activity or throughout the day will help relax your tendons and muscles, diminish pain and inflammation, soften scar tissue and contribute greatly to the healing of your injury. Therapeutic Ultrasound heats and massages your soft tissue giving you three primary benefits. First, it increases blood flow in the treated area which speeds your body's natural healing process. Second, it reduces swelling and edema which are the main sources of pain. Third, ultrasound softens existing scar tissue and minimizes the build up of new scar tissue resulting in reduced pain while healing and greater flexibility once healing is complete.  Eucalyptus...
It's in our Gel! Ultrasound can also be used to administer therapeutic medicines into the body. This is a process known as phonophoresis. Ultrasound with Phonophoresis is rapidly becoming more popular than Ultrasound Therapy alone.  Peppermint... It's in our gel too! Our MendMeShop Lavender Infusion Gel is the only topical therapeutic gel that is also a Phonophoretic Ultrasound Gel. It is made with natural medical ingredients including eucalyptus, peppermint, Bulgarian lavender and menthol. These effective ingredients have anesthetic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, decongestant, and circulatory stimulant properties. When applied topically and massaged into the skin, MendMeShop Lavender Infusion Gel relieves pain and speeds healing without any side-effects. Cold Compression TherapyOur cold compression wraps work by interrupting and slowing nerve and cell function in the area of your injured tendon. Once blood vessels are damaged they can no longer carry oxygenated blood to the damaged tissue and therefore cells begin to break-down. The deep cold provided by our cold compression wraps slows cell function thereby reducing cellular break-down. Furthermore, because the cold wraps serve to numb the nerves, the wraps also reduce pain! We have noticed over time that our customers are so fond of our cold wraps that they are frequently coming back and ordering a second one - this way they can cool one while wearing the other. The wraps are becoming very popular with baseball and soccer trainers, and the wraps can be conveniently stored in a cooler for quick application on the field when needed. Always allow the injured area to return to normal body temperature between hot and cold treatments by waiting 60-90 minutes before applying a different therapy. 
| Dear MendMeShop, Hi Paul- You had written me about a month ago to follow up on my purchase of a Mendme Ultrasound. I wanted to express my recognition and appreciation for how Mendmeshop does business. I am very familiar with ultrasound therapy from first hand experience as a patient. In fact, currently, three of my four family members have been in physical therapy which included professional ultrasound therapy. I purchased the Mendme for home use ultrasound to extend the benefit and thereby reduce the pain while shortening healing time. In the past month plus since purchasing my ultrasound, we have used the ultrasound on a daily basis and are very pleased with it. There are other ultrasound machines out there for purchase, however, I've felt the quality of the Mendme is superior to those I've seen and feel that the greater cost is indicative of a better product. One aspect that is clearly superior is the customer service. In these economic times, we have a choice as consumers and many of us are very much budget minded. I consider that the value added in my purchase from Mendme is the people from your company who support your product and provide follow-up and ongoing support from the time of purchase. I appreciate this very much. Upon purchasing the Mendme ultrasound to assist me with several ailments, Virginia was hit by two blizzards burying us in over three feet of snow within a couple of days. This meant a great deal of shoveling and subsequently, made my injury areas worst. Using the Mend-me ultrasound was integral in providing relief. I used the brochure included with my purchase to ensure that I was applying the therapy correctly to the new areas that were painful following all the extra lifting and work we did digging out after the storms. I just wanted to let Mendme know that we're happy with our purchase! I'm very interested in many other products by Mendme and appreciate the focus of customer service from the company. These days when it seems consumer service is gone for most companies, Mendme shows that if you have a good product and you care about your customer, a business like Mendme develops true loyalty. Thanks very much- Rating: Laura Merciez           | ||||
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