Treatment for painful shoulder injury isn’t exactly a slam dunk

STRIKE up the familiar jazz tune Sweet Georgia Brown – the Harlem Globetrotters are in Scotland this week.

They’re part-basketball team, part-circus act, and have been delighting audiences with hoop-based trickery for more than 90 years.

I had my own would-be Globetrotter in the surgery last week. A young basketball player had torn his rotator cuff in an on-court incident.

He’d fallen on to his outstretched arm after being pushed while jumping on court – probably a nasty Washington General.

The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons which surround the shoulder joint, helping with shoulder movement and keeping the top of the upper arm bone stable within the shallow socket of the shoulder.

A tear to the rotator cuff leads to pain in the arm and difficulty lifting or rotating it.

Writing or typing is usually fine, but raising the arm above the head is often painful – for example while one is painting, swimming or, that’s right, playing basketball. An ultrasound or MRI scan confirms the diagnosis.

It’s worth noting though that tears can also occur in older patients without a definite injury, as simple wear and tear makes the rotator cuff tendons weak.

Treatment isn’t exactly a slam dunk. Painkillers and the physiotherapist are the first option.

The physio will usually prescribe a programme of exercise that can strengthen the joint safely, as well as reducing pain and weakness.

Steroid injections can help pain – although too many can ultimately weaken the area, so there are only a set number we can give.

So if those solutions don’t work then there’s keyhole surgery, open surgery – or a combination of both. Surgery is more likely to be needed after an acute injury, as with my young patient.