"At first, there was pain when the right shoulder was lifted, and then it gradually developed to waking up at night. Activities such as cooking, mopping and holding children felt more and more laborious." Aunt fan, 62, said that she was troubled by "scapulohumeral periarthritis" for more than half a year. After trying exercise, hot compress, massage and other methods, the pain intensified. Recently, she came to the hospital. After a series of professional examinations, the mystery was finally solved. It turns out that what hides behind shoulder pain is not scapulohumeral periarthritis, but rotator cuff injury. There is obvious difference between rotator cuff injury and scapulohumeral periarthritis Rotator cuff injury looks like a "minority", not as "famous" as scapulohumeral periarthritis. In fact, about 60% of shoulder pain is caused by it. Clinically, it is not difficult to distinguish between rotator cuff injury and scapulohumeral periarthritis: if your upper arm cannot be raised above your head with your own or with the help of others, it is likely to be scapulohumeral periarthritis; Most of the rotator cuff injuries will not affect the shoulder lifting with the help of others. Because both rotator cuff injury and scapulohumeral periarthritis have the symptoms of shoulder pain, they are often misjudged by patients themselves. However, there are obvious differences between them in clinical manifestations, prognosis and treatment methods. "Scapulohumeral periarthritis" is also known as "frozen shoulder". It often occurs in people around the age of 50. In addition to shoulder pain, it is mainly manifested in stiff shoulders and inability to move. Generally, it can heal itself after about a year and a half. Rotator cuff injury generally occurs in middle-aged and elderly people, more common over the age of 60, and may be accompanied by trauma. The pain mainly occurs when the shoulder joint is active, and the pain at night is more obvious than that during the day. The range of motion of shoulder joint is generally normal, and shoulder weakness may also occur. Because the injured rotator cuff can not be repaired by itself, improper treatment may lead to the expansion of the injury, and some may even seriously affect the structure and function of the shoulder joint, and even require shoulder replacement in the late stage. Rotator cuff injury cannot be stretched blindly Rotator cuff is a group of tendons, which belongs to the "tendons" in our popular cognition. Our shoulders can rotate, raise and lower flexibly, which is due to the shoulder sleeves. Rotator cuff tear is associated with many factors, including age-related degeneration, impact and trauma. For individuals, it can be caused by one or more reasons. Aunt fan is a typical senile chronic strain. With the increase of age, the tendons of middle-aged and elderly people will gradually degenerate and wear. Occasionally, slight push and pull will lead to non-healing rotator cuff tears. At present, the treatment of rotator cuff injury is divided into conservative treatment and surgical treatment. For patients with short course of disease, mild symptoms and old age who are not suitable for surgery, the conservative treatment of "rehabilitation training + physical therapy + drugs" can be adopted. It is worth noting that conservative treatment is only a means of relief and cannot "repair" the torn rotator cuff. After 3-6 months of conservative treatment, if the condition is not significantly relieved or even aggravated, they should see a doctor in time and consider rotator cuff repair. At present, most doctors will choose to use arthroscopic minimally invasive means to repair rotator cuff, which has good curative effect, less trauma and rapid recovery. Due to the self limitation of scapulohumeral periarthritis, symptoms can be relieved by stretching, massage and physiotherapy, waiting for self-healing. The rotator cuff injury can not be stretched blindly by itself. Improper exercise will cause the tear of the damaged rotator cuff to expand. Therefore, once you find that your shoulder pain is obvious and hasn't improved for a long time, you should see a doctor in time. Don't "lift" lightly, act recklessly, or exercise by yourself. (the author is deputy director of orthopedic clinical medical center and director of Sports Medicine Department of Shanghai First People's Hospital) Tips "Rolling pin method" to judge scapulohumeral periarthritis Take right shoulder pain as an example. Stand against the wall, hold a rolling pin with a length of about 50 cm with both hands, or a wooden stick and an umbrella, bend the Elbows 90 degrees and clamp them, push the wooden stick with the left hand and push the right hand to the side. If it is found that the right elbow does not leave the trunk, the right shoulder pain intensifies and the right hand cannot be pushed out, it is likely to be scapulohumeral periarthritis. If not, please see a doctor in time to eliminate the cause. It should be reminded that this is only a simple discrimination method for shoulder pain and can not be used as a diagnostic basis. If the pain exceeds three months, it is recommended to see a doctor in time and ask a professional doctor for diagnosis to avoid delaying the condition. (outlook new era)