By Robert Rupp, MD
Shoulder pain is often related to rotator cuff injuries. The rotator cuff stabilizes the ball of the shoulder joint in the socket and is involved with daily shoulder movements. Repetitive lifting and/ or sporting activities can cause injury to the rotator cuff, or it may degenerate as a person ages without a specific trauma/ injury.
Pain associated with the rotator cuff is often a deep joint pain aggravated with overhead or reaching activities of the affected arm. Night pain is also a typical characteristic of rotator cuff injury and a severe rotator cuff injury may result in loss of shoulder strength and motion.