Articles About: Common Diagnoses

Rotator Cuff Tears

Related to: Shoulder, Common Diagnoses, Rotator Cuff Tears

The rotator cuff is a series of four muscles that originate from the shoulder blade and attach to the outside portion of the shoulder. When the rotator cuff is torn, patients often have difficulty raising the arm above their head. The function of the rotator cuff, however, is not raise the arm, but to stabilize the ball in the shoulder socket. With the ball stable the larger muscles around the shoulder, such as the deltoid, are then able to help raise the arm.

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Shoulder Anatomy

Related to: Shoulder, Common Diagnoses, Shoulder Anatomy
The shoulder is a ball and socket joint with the greatest range of motion compared to any other joint in the body. The humeral head is the ball of the ball and socket joint, where the glenoid is the the socket. The socket is extremely small and shallow compared to the humeral head. This mismatch is essential to allow the amount and types of motion seen in this joint. Continue Reading »