Rotator Cuff Post-Surgery Physio Glasgow: Physiotherapy for Rotator Cuff Repair

What is a Rotator Cuff Injury, and How Can Physiotherapy Help with Recovery?

Rotator cuff injuries are one of the more common shoulder conditions, especially in active individuals or who use their shoulders for frequent heavy lifting or repetitive motions. For those who have undergone rotator cuff surgery, you're no stranger to the recovery struggles. At The Physio Clinic Glasgow, we understand how important it is to regain strength, improve your range of motion, and return to your routine after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair surgery. In this article, we will explain what is a rotator cuff injury and the reason behind it and familiarise you with the role of physiotherapy in this rehabilitation process.

What is a Rotator Cuff and Why is it Important?

The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles and tendons that help stabilise the shoulder joint and allow a wide range of motion. Those muscles serve to hold the head of the upper arm bone (humerus) snugly in the shallow socket of the shoulder. In fact, your rotator cuff is needed for nearly every single shoulder movement—from overhead reaching to lifting, throwing, and even doing chores like brushing your hair. The shoulder joint has such a wide range of movement that it can easily become injured, leading to conditions that may require an orthopaedic surgeon's intervention. Rotator cuff tears can result in pain, weakness and decreased range of motion, and can affect activities of daily living as well as athletic performance.

The Role of Physiotherapy in Rehabilitation After Rotator Cuff Surgery

Physiotherapy after rotator cuff surgery is a very important step after surgery where the patient regains strength, mobility and function. The Physio Clinic Glasgow helps their clients at every step of the way in their post-surgery rehabilitation journey:

Coping with Pain and Alleviating Swelling

• The first few weeks after surgery can be painful and inflammatory, especially in cases of arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. Gentle manual techniques, soft tissue massage, and movement guided by a physiotherapist can alleviate pain; here is how. These physical therapies can increase blood flow to the area which promotes healing and reduces swelling.
• Pain medication, ice therapy, as well as anti-inflammatory exercises, are often included in pain management early in the recovery process.

Restoring Range of Motion

• At first, your physiotherapist starts with passive range-of-motion activities, where your arm is moved for you to help make sure you don't get stiff, but not so much that you stress the tissues that are still healing. This stage is important to improve the range of motion slowly but not destroy the surgical repair.
• Our specialists utilise tailored techniques and pacing to help each client regain movement as safely and effectively as possible at The Physio Clinic Glasgow.

Reinforcing Muscles of the Shoulder

• The emphasis turns to strengthening exercises when your shoulder heals sufficiently. A lack of strength in the rotator cuff muscles can predispose you to re-injury, particularly in the context of previous shoulder injuries. A physiotherapist will lead you through rehabilitation exercises to strengthen the rotator cuff and the surrounding muscles for better shoulder stability.
• Some loading exercises involved are: low-impact strengthening with Iso-metrics; Shoulder endurance exercises with a resistance band; push-ups on the wall when you progress with bodyweight exercises

Improving Flexibility and Preventing Re-injury

• Stretching improves shoulder motion and mobility which are essential to return to normal. Then, your physiotherapist will assist you with stretches that will target the shoulder joint and the surrounding muscles to prepare your shoulder to perform day-to-day tasks, lessening the risk of further injury.
• Here at The Physio Clinic Glasgow, we ensure correct form and movement patterns through these exercises and teach safe and effective muscle activation to our clients.

Functional exercise and return to activity

• The last step in physiotherapy involves functional training — returning you to your daily life, work, or sports activities. It may feature discipline-specific activities, drills that mimic your job functions, or activities catered to your sporting interests and lifestyle.

How The Physio Clinic Glasgow Can Help Rotator Cuff Repairs

At The Physio Clinic Glasgow, we know the frustration of injury and the effect that it can have on your mental well-being. We understand the importance of keeping you active, not just in terms of your physical health but for your psychological and social well-being. We offer tailored solutions to our clients and offer bespoke treatment and rehabilitation programmes.

Physiotherapy Assessment and Treatment

With a focus on evidence-based practice, our experienced, fully qualified expert physiotherapists will perform a thorough initial assessment, allowing us to give you a simple explanation for your injury or pain.

Your physiotherapist will guide you through your personalised rehabilitation plan to ensure it meets your needs and fits into your schedule, especially if you're dealing with shoulder pain.

Your detailed rehab plan is emailed directly, with a video demonstration and guidance on how to tackle your injury between sessions. We will continue to manage any performance-related issues to get you back to your best quickly.

We welcome any questions between sessions. If you find you have any queries concerning your rehabilitation progress, contact your physiotherapist in the first instance. Your comfort is always our priority, both physically and mentally.

Physiotherapy Review and Exercise

In the review sessions following your assessment, we discuss your injury management, your goals, and how we can achieve them through effective conditioning.

Your recovery progress is continually measured and evaluated, and your recovery plan is modified where necessary to guarantee results. We strive to adapt all of our plans to evolve with your changing requirements.

We will always work through any change in plan with you in our rehab space to ensure the plan works for you and addresses any symptoms effectively. This includes exercise observations and adjustments that we will sign off on once they are spot on, particularly for those recovering from shoulder injuries.

Sports Massage From Physiotherapists in Glasgow

Whether it is for recovery or relaxation, our fully qualified massage therapist will be able to deliver a professional sports massage session tailored to your needs. That means you choose the duration, the areas requiring attention, and the intensity.

Choose a 30/45/60/90 slot to suit you. Not sure what's best? Send an enquiry through our 'contact' page!

Telehealth Assessment

Can’t make it into our Glasgow clinic? Not to worry: we can deliver a thorough assessment and plan for you over a video call.

We are pleased that we can now make physiotherapy more accessible for all, as we are well-versed in effective remote pain management and rehabilitation.

If you need help from one of our physiotherapists but cannot make it into the clinic itself, we are only a video call away.