Overview
Rotator cuff tendinopathy is one of the most common causes of shoulder pain, affecting
office workers, athletes, and older adults alike. The rotator cuff is a group of four
muscles and their tendons (supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, subscapularis) that
stabilise the shoulder joint. When these tendons become inflamed, degenerated, or torn —
due to overuse, aging, or trauma — it results in pain, weakness, and restricted shoulder
motion.
Symptoms & Causes
Common Symptoms
- Deep aching shoulder pain, worse at night
- Pain when lifting arm above shoulder level
- Difficulty reaching behind the back
- Weakness when rotating the arm outward
- Painful arc between 60°–120° of elevation
- Clicking or catching sensation in the shoulder
- Tenderness over the greater tuberosity
Common Causes
- Repetitive overhead activity (sports, painting, IT work)
- Age-related tendon degeneration (tendinosis)
- Subacromial impingement syndrome
- Acute trauma or fall on outstretched arm
- Poor shoulder biomechanics / scapular dyskinesis
- Calcific deposits within the tendon
- Prolonged corticosteroid use
Conservative & First-Line Treatment
- Activity modification and ergonomic correction
- Physiotherapy — rotator cuff strengthening, scapular stabilisation
- NSAIDs and oral analgesics for acute pain
- Hot and cold therapy
- Postural training and sleep positioning advice
How Vedant Pain Management Clinic Can Help
Our interventional pain specialists offer the following evidence-based procedures, all
performed with real-time ultrasound guidance for precision and safety:
- Ultrasound-guided subacromial bursa injection (corticosteroid or PRP) for rapid pain
relief
- Ultrasound-guided calcific deposit needling (barbotage) for calcific tendinitis
- Ultrasound-guided hydrodistension for associated adhesive capsulitis
- Pulsed Radiofrequency Ablation (Pulsed RFA) of suprascapular nerve for chronic
refractory pain
- Shoulder Capsule Release Adhesiolysis RFA for frozen shoulder component
- High-resolution diagnostic musculoskeletal ultrasound to grade tear size
- Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injections to stimulate tendon healing
Newer Diagnostic Concepts & Advances
Partial-thickness articular surface tears (PASTA lesions) and the newer concept of
'rotator cuff failure spectrum' — recognising that pain does not always correlate with
tear size — are increasingly important in clinical decision-making at Vedant Pain
Clinic.
