Your friend, the rotator cuff

Geeky gym rat heaven!

So, your rotator cuff does several things for you, and your shoulder doesn't work right if it's not working. It's common for gym rats to ignore it, though, and work hard at developing lat and pec muscles but ignore the rotator cuff until it tears. Whooooooops!

What is the rotator cuff made of?

Supraspinatus muscle: Raises your arm from its position dangling by your side
Infraspinatus muscle: Externally rotates your arm
Teres minor muscle: Externally rotates your arm
Subscapularis muscle: Internally rotates your arm, along with the latissimus dorsi and pectoralis major

What exactly is the rotator cuff doing? Well, gravity pulls on your arm every day. The rotator cuff muscles are among the muscles that pull back, so your arm stays in its socket. Tension in the rotator cuff muscles helps to compress the head of your humerus against its mate, the glenoid fossa (that's the other part of your shoulder.)

Accordingly, a functioning, strong rotator cuff helps prevent:

- Impingement syndrome
- Dislocation of the shoulder
- Subacromial bursitis

"Run what you brung" day

Due or occurring today:

- Reflective essay on the value I got out of the assigned readings for the shoulder
- Pharmacology case study (look up drugs a mythical patient is taking, list their interactions, dosages, precautions, and what about them would cause you to treat him differently in PT)
- Killer Friday Orthopedics Quiz
- Laaaaaaab competencies!

and that was:
- Posted on Wednesday (nice to be early for once)
- Completed Wednesday night
- 90% on the quiz, hooray!
- and done.

Thanksgiving break now. One full week. wahoooo!