Shoulder Impingement Syndrome
Along with rotator cuff disease, shoulder impingement syndrome is also seen in people who perform repetitive movements. Overhead athletes and people who carry and lift objects overhead as a part of their job are at high risk. A single occasion every once in a while won’t likely give you a shoulder impingement. But continuous use of the tendons in this way causes attritional changes in tendons and compromises blood flow supply, causing this condition.
Rotator cuff impingement is a mechanical impingement of the tendons. The problem is usually located in the anteroinferior portion of the acromion. There are three stages of this syndrome. In stage one, the main features are inflammation and edema. Sometimes we also get hemorrhage of the rotator cuff. It happens in younger patients, and it is reversible. In stage two, the damage progresses to tendonitis and fibrosis. This stage requires surgery and occurs in patients aged 35-40 years. After 40 years, stage three is more common, and it disrupts the tendons in the rotator cuff. The only way to treat this condition is through acromioplasty.
Patients with this syndrome usually experience a sudden onset of pain when a rotator cuff tear happens or a gradual increase in symptoms when it is only in the first stage of the disease.