Rotator cuff injury – from direct trauma or repetitive overuse. The most common
cause of Rotator cuff injury is from repetitive overuse, and can lead to tendonitis,
muscle tears (Fig 1) or dislocation/subluxation. Often the act of throwing will cause a
rotator cuff injury, such as when delivering a baseball pitch.
Patients with a rotator cuff injury present with pain, weakness and limitation of active
motion around the shoulder. The pain can be located in the anterior, superior and
lateral aspects of the shoulder. Overhead activities typically aggravate the pain.
Orthotic intervention – minor rotator cuff problems are generally not treated with
orthoses. Orthoses are used to immobilise the shoulder post-operatively with a
shoulder abduction orthosis – sometimes referred to as an abduction pillow or
aeroplane orthosis. Fig 2 shows an example of a SEWHO (Shoulder Elbow Wrist
Hand Orthosis) that could be used for shoulder immobilisation.