Do interstitial rotator cuff tears heal on their own or is surgery needed?

[Jake LaMotta]

I got an MRI taken because of shoulder pain when I do certain motions and it said that I have an interstitial tear of the supraspinatus and infraspinatus at the musculo-tendinous junction. It said that the tendons are intact and there is no full thickness tear of any of the rotator cuff tendons.

So my question is...do interstitial rotator cuff tears heal on their own or is surgery needed? If surgery is not needed would PT help (ultrasound, massage, heat, ice, strengthening, etc.)? Or is surgery the only way this will heal?

Will this be a permanent injury and the interstitial rotator cuff tears will NEVER heal?

I have had this pain for about 6 weeks now. My good friend muscle96ss has given me some great advice (as usual) but I just want to hear what you fellas think as well.

 

[dragonfire101]

I had partial tear and healed. Its never going to be the same though. By that i mean its going to be hard to max out without causing the injury again. Your going to have to incooperate rotator cuff work and stretching in your workouts for now on even after it heals.

 

[Jake LaMotta]

I had partial tear and healed. Its never going to be the same though. By that i mean its going to be hard to max out without causing the injury again. Your going to have to incooperate rotator cuff work and stretching in your workouts for now on even after it heals.

I think you had a different injury than me. I do not have a partial tendon tear. My tendon is fully intact. I have an interstitial tear.

DID you have an interstitial tear?

 

[Sesshomaru]

Im going to answer, but seriously, you post a lot about some really serious injuries that no one here is qualified to diagnose or prescribe recovery modalities so you either 1) need to start getting very cozy with your doctor, or 2) find a new doctor who you can talk to.

With that said an interstitial tear is a tear that is confined to the ligament. They contain hemorrhage and edema thats usually confined in the center, but outer margins are well-preserved. Oftentimes this type of tear is treated just as one would treat tendinosis but you have so much other shit that you need to ask your doctor.

 

[Jake LaMotta]

Im going to answer, but seriously, you post a lot about some really serious injuries that no one here is qualified to diagnose or prescribe recovery modalities so you either 1) need to start getting very cozy with your doctor, or 2) find a new doctor who you can talk to.

With that said an interstitial tear is a tear that is confined to the ligament. They contain hemorrhage and edema thats usually confined in the center, but outer margins are well-preserved. Oftentimes this type of tear is treated just as one would treat tendinosis but you have so much other shit that you need to ask your doctor.

3 things:

1. I did ask my doc, I just wanted to see what you guys think as well.

2. So you're saying this type of tear is treated just as one would treat tendinosis...how is that (surgery, PT, rest, etc.)?

3. Pardon me for sounding ignorant but are you saying that surgery is needed to repair this or not?

 

[Sesshomaru]

2 things:

1. I did ask my doc, I just wanted to see what you guys think as well.

Then read what I wrote again. If someone says 'yeah bro fuck it, its all good hit 415 on the bench in 2wks' are you really going to be able to relate that to you given your pec tear and lord knows what else you have? Additionally, what if the info goes against your doc (which you havent told us so that also leaves us with a ton of limited info and even less qualification to give you a good response)?

2. So you're saying this type of tear is treated just as one would treat tendinosis...how is that (surgery, PT, rest, etc.)?

http://www.professionalmuscle.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20048

Im not saying to follow anything in this thread. Again, TALK TO YOUR DOC AND THERAPIST.

 

[rotty]

shoulders are tough to heal on their own. There isnt a lot of blood flow in there so the only thing you can really do is lay off of it. I think PT sucks. I wasted almost a year of my life doing PT on my shoulder with nothing to show for it. Would have been better off doing nothing

 

[Jake LaMotta]

I also have a posterior labrum tear from the 8 to 11 o clock position. My doc said it's a coincidence I have both and the torn labrum may or may not be causing the interstitial rotator cuff tears. He said he can repair the labrum but there's nothing he can do to repair the interstitial rotator cuff tears. He said they will just heal on their own.

2 questions:

1. Do you agree with my doc that there's not a surgical procedure that can fix my interstitial rotator cuff tears and that they will just heal on their own?

2. Do you think the torn labrum is causing my interstitial rotator cuff tears?

 

[Sesshomaru]

1. Do you agree with my doc that there's not a surgical procedure that can fix my interstitial rotator cuff tears and that they will just heal on their own?

Not that I know of, though there might be some cutting edge research on procedures. But really its just a small ligament tear, the entire thing is in tact so surgery would be unnecessary.

2. Do you think the torn labrum is causing my interstitial rotator cuff tears?

No idea. The answer is "maybe maybe not."

 

[rotty]

i would avoid surgery at all costs. Take 6 months off and see what happens

 

[ironone1]

I had rotator cuff surgery on both shoulders with a full recovery. The one was a full repair for a large tear and the other one was a partial tear (done just with arthoscoptic, no cutting) and they removed some of the collar bone to give me more range. My doctor is awesome. I would just go ahead and have it done. I tried rehab for months and it didn't do anything.