The rotator cuff is a set of four muscles that are part of the shoulder blade and designed to protect a person's shoulder ? the particular set of muscles works together with the tendons to protect the shoulder from injury. One of the reasons this set of muscles is called the rotator cuff is because they facilitate the movement of the arm in different directions. The rotator cuff itself is often subject to injury and the occurrence of this increases with age.

One or more of the four muscles that go to make up the rotator cuff are at particular risk of injury when a person engages in certain sports ? this is especially so when sports people and athletes fail to exercise and warm up these muscles before engaging in sport, which means they are subjected to unnecessary pressure. A damaged rotor cuff is easily avoided by engaging in exercises that are designed to stretch the muscles and make them ready for strenuous sporting activities.

The rotator cuff is also stressed and damaged whenever there is an unexpected trauma in that area ? often this may be the result of a heavy fall. This may cause immediate damage, which can be felt at the time and if it is ignored this leads to more damage and severe pain.

The symptoms of an injured rotator cuff may not be immediately apparent as most injuries develop over a period of time. When the rotator cuff is stressed in this way the person will usually experience severe pain. Over time the repetitive stress on this group of muscles can result in pain that is not responsive to pain medication

A rotator cuff injury puts extra stress on the shoulders and the results can be extremely painful. Those who suffer from pain in their shoulders often have a history to injuries in that area of the body. One of the reasons that many rotator cuff injuries go unchecked for an extended period of time tend to ignore warning systems because pain in this area tends to go in cycles. There are times when the person will be free from pain but each time the pain returns it is usually stronger than the time before. Eventually the rotator cuff loses a lot of its flexibility and when the person engages in strenuous activity the muscles are easily torn. When the damage is left unchecked the result is a premature aging of this area of the body along with the loss of strength and flexibility that more generally occurs with age.

The premature aging process and loss of flexibility can be reversed when the person engages in the right kind of exercises to bring strength back into the muscle group. A primary function or rotator cuff exercises is done in an attempt to reduce and avoid the risk of injury. If the injury cycle is broken then the exercises help to reduce the damage and increase the proper working of the rotator cuff.