Rotator Cuff Impingement

Rotator cuff impingement injuries vary from mild tendon inflammation (tendonitis), bursitis (inflammed bursa), calcific tendonitis (bone forming within the tendon) through to partial and full thickness tendon tears, which may require surgery.

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Rotator Cuff Impingement is one of the most common problems that we see at PhysioWorks and it is unfortunately an injury that often recurs if you return to sport or work too quickly – especially if a thorough rehabilitation program is not completed.

Your rotator cuff is an important group of control and stability muscles that maintain “centralisation” of your shoulder joint. In other words, it keeps the shoulder ball centred over the small socket. This prevents injuries such as bursitis, impingement, subluxations and dislocations.

We also know that your rotator cuff provides subtle glides and slides of the ball joint on the socket to allow full shoulder movement. Plus, your shoulder blade (scapular) has a vital role as the main dynamically stable base plate that attaches your arm to your chest wall.

Did you know that your arm only has one bony joint articulation where your collarbone (clavicle) attaches to the acromion (tip of shoulder blade)? 

The rest of your attachments are muscular, which highlights the importance of retraining and strengthening of your shoulder muscles.

Researchers have concluded that there are essentially 7 stages that need to be covered to effectively rehabilitate these injuries and prevent recurrence – these are:

As with most soft tissue injuries the initial treatment is RICE - Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation.

In the early phase you’ll most likely be unable to fully lift your arm or sleep comfortably. Our first aim is to provide you with some active rest from pain-provoking postures and movements.
This means that you should stop doing the movement or activity that provoked the shoulder pain in the first place and avoid doing anything that causes pain in your shoulder.

You may need to be wear a sling or have your shoulder taped to provide pain relief. In some cases it may mean that you need to sleep relatively upright or with pillow support. Your physiotherapist will guide you.
Ice is a simple and effective modality to reduce your pain and swelling. Please apply for 20-30 minutes each 2 to 4 hours during the initial phase or when you notice that your injury is warm or hot.

Anti-inflammatory medication (if tolerated) and natural substances eg arnica may help reduce your pain and swelling. However, it is best to avoid anti-inflammatory drugs during the initial 48 to 72 hours when they may encourage additional bleeding. Most people can tolerate paracetamol as a pain reducing medication.

As you improve, supportive taping will help to both support the injured soft tissue and reduce excessive swelling.

Your physiotherapist will utilise a range of pain relieving techniques including joint mobilisations, massage, acupuncture or dry needling to assist you during this painful phase.

If you protect your injured rotator cuff structures appropriately the injured tissues will heal. Inflammed structures eg (tendonitis, bursitis) will settle when protected from additional damage.

Symptoms related to rotator cuff impingement may take several weeks to improve while we await Mother Nature to work her wonders. During this time it is important to create an environment that allows you to return to normal use quickly and prevent a recurrence.

It is important to lengthen and orientate your healing scar tissue via joint mobilisations, massage, shoulder muscle stretches, and light active-assisted and active exercises.

Researchers have concluded that physiotherapist-assisted treatment will improve your range of motion quicker and, in the long-term, improve your functional outcome.

In most cases, you will also have developed short or long-term protective tightness of your joint capsule (usually posterior) and some compensatory muscles. These structures need to be stretched to allow normal movement.

Signs that your have full soft tissue extensibility includes being able to move your shoulder through a full range of motion. In the early stage, this may need to be passively (by someone else) eg your physiotherapist. As you improve you will be able to do this under your own muscle power.

Your shoulder blade (scapular) is the base of your shoulder and arm movements.

Normal shoulder blade-shoulder movement - known as scapulo-humeral rhythm - is required for a pain-free and powerful shoulder function. Alteration of this movement pattern results in impingement and subsequent injury.

Your physiotherapist is an expert in the assessment and correction of your scapulo-humeral rhythm.

Researchers have identified poor scapulo-humeral rhythm as a major cause of rotator cuff impingement. Any deficiencies will be an important component of your rehabilitation.

Plus, they have identified scapular stabilisation exercises as a key ingredient for a successful rehabilitation.

Your physiotherapist will be able to guide you in the appropriate exercises for your shoulder blade.

You may find it difficult to comprehend, but your neck and upper back (thoracic spine) are very important in the rehabilitation of shoulder pain and injury.

Neck or spine dysfunction can not only refer pain directly to your shoulder, but it can effect a nerve’s electrical energy supplying your muscles causing weakness and altered movement patterns.

Plus, painful spinal structures form poor posture or injury doesn’t provide your shoulder or scapular muscles with a solid pain-free base to act upon.

In most cases, especially chronic shoulders, some treatment directed at your neck or upper back will be required to ease your pain, improve your shoulder movement and stop pain or injury returning.

It may seem odd that you don’t attempt to restore the strength of your rotator cuff until a later stage in the rehabilitation. However, if a structure is injured we need to provide nature with an opportunity to undertake promary healing before we load the structures with anti-gravity and resistance exercises.

Having said that, researchers have discovered the importance of strengthening the rotator cuff muscles in a successful rehabilitation program. These exercises need to be progressed in both load and position to accommodate for which specific rotator cuff tendons are injured and whether or not you have a secondary condition such as bursitis.

Your physiotherapist will happily prescribe the most appropriate program for you.

If your shoulder injury has been caused by sport it is usually during high speed activities, which place enormous forces on your body (contractile and non-contractile), or repetitive actions.

In order to prevent a recurrence as you return to sport, your physiotherapist will guide you with exercises to address these important components of rehabilitation to both prevent a recurrence and improve your sporting performance.

Depending on what your sport or lifestyle entails, a speed, agility, proprioception and power program will be customised to prepares you for light sport-specific training.

Depending on the demands of your chosen sport or your job, you will require specific sport-specific or work-specific exercises and a progressed training regime to enable a safe and injury-free return to your chosen sport or employment.

Your PhysioWorks physiotherapist will discuss your goals, time frames and training schedules with you to optimise you for a complete return to sport or work.

Work-related injuries will often require a discussion between your doctor, rehabilitation counsellor or employer.

The perfect outcome will have you performing at full speed, power, agility and function with the added knowledge that a through rehabilitation program has minimised your chance of future injury.

There is no specific time frame for when to progress from each stage to the next. Your injury rehabilitation status will be determined by many factors during your physiotherapist’s clinical assessment.

You’ll find that in most cases, your physiotherapist will seamlessly progress between the rehabilitation phases as your clinical assessment and function improves.

It is also important to note that each progression must be carefully monitored as attempting to progress too soon to the next level can lead to re-injury and frustration.

For more specific advice about your bursitis or rotator cuff injury, please contact your PhysioWorks physiotherapist.


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• Immediate Injury Treatment

• Avoid the HARM Factors

• What are the Phases of a Soft Tissue Injury?

• What to do after a Muscle Strain or Ligament Sprain

• Acupuncture and Dry Needling

• Sub-Acute Soft Tissue Injury Treatment

• Scapular Stabilisation Exercises

• Rotator Cuff Strengthening Exercises

• Shoulder Stretches

• Biomechanical Analysis

• Proprioception & Balance Exercises

• Agility & Sport-Specific Exercises

• Medications?

• Soft Tissue Massage

• Bracing or Support

• Electrotherapy & Local Modalities

• Heating Pads

• Joint Pain Relief Techniques

• Kinesiology Taping

• Muscle Strengthening

• Muscle Stretches

• Neurodynamics / Neuro Mobilisation

• Physiotherapy Instrument Mobilisation (PIM)

• Prehabilitation

• Supportive Taping or Strapping

• TENS Machines

• Acromioclavicular Joint Sprain

• Biceps Tendinitis

• Muscle Pain: Strains or Tears

• Overuse Injuries

• Rotator Cuff Calcific Tendinitis

• Rotator Cuff Impingement

• Rotator Cuff Injuries

• Rotator Cuff Tears

• Rotator Cuff Tendonitis

• Shoulder - Subacromial Bursitis

• Shoulder Arthritis

• Shoulder Dislocation - Instability

• Swimmer's Shoulder