Shoulder Injuries

What is a Slap Tear in Shoulder?

The term SLAP stands for Superior Labrum Anterior and Posterior. In a SLAP injury, the top (superior) part of the labrum is injured. This top area is also where the biceps tendon attaches to the labrum. This cross-section view of the shoulder socket shows a typical SLAP tear.A SLAP tear occurs both in front (anterior) and back (posterior) of this attachment point. The biceps tendon can be involved in the injury, as well.

What is a Rotator cuff tear?

A rotator cuff tear is a tear of one or more of the tendons of the four rotator cuff muscles of the shoulder. A rotator cuff ‘injury’ can include any type of irritation or overuse of those muscles or tendons,and is among the most common conditions affecting the shoulder.The tendons of the rotator cuff, not the muscles, are most commonly involved, and of the four, the supraspinatus is most frequently affected, as it passes below the acromion.

The role of the supraspinatus is to resist downward motion. The supraspinatus resists downward motion while the shoulder is relaxed as well as when carrying weight.Such a tear usually occurs at its point of insertion onto the humeral head at the greater tubercle. Even though the supraspinatus is the most commonly injured muscle of the four muscles in the rotator cuff, the other three muscles that comprise the rotator cuff, the infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis, may also be injured