Non-Surgical Treatment

Non-surgical treatment is used to alleviate pain and increase shoulder mobility.

Common methods include:

• Physiotherapy. Gentle stretching and strengthening exercises (as recommended by a specialist)
• Apply ice, then heat. Applying a cold compress on your affected shoulder can reduce inflammation and swelling. When the swelling has improved, a hot pack can be applied to the same area for about 20 minutes to relax sore muscles and promote blood flow.
• Anti-inflammatory medications. Aspirin, ibuprofen or steroids can relieve pain temporarily.

Surgical Treatment

Surgical methods are generally recommended when non-surgical remedies are insufficient in reducing pain and improving shoulder mobility.

The surgical removal of inflamed tissues and bone spurs may be performed to reduce pain. However, this may not necessarily improve the mobility and function of the shoulder.

As such, shoulder replacement surgeries are usually done for RCA patients. A traditional shoulder replacement surgery uses a standard shoulder implant for treatment. However, it is only partially effective as the artificial shoulder still requires a properly functioning rotator cuff to work correctly. Hence, the shoulder joints may still be misaligned, resulting in the socket portion of the implant wearing out easily.

Instead, a reverse shoulder replacement surgery is becoming a more popular option as it uses a special type of implant that mimics the function of a rotator cuff by placing a ball within the shoulder socket to form a new socket at the humerus. Hence, a properly functioning rotator cuff is unnecessary for this type of implant and can last longer without loosening.