What Increases Your Risk

Things that may increase the risk of rotator cuff disorders include:

• Aging.
• Having long-standing rotator cuff tendinitis.
• Holding or moving your arm overhead frequently, such as when you regularly paint, wait tables, or play tennis, baseball, and other throwing sports.
• Previous shoulder injuries, such as dislocations and broken bones.
• Having a rotator cuff tear in the other shoulder.
• Irregularities of the muscles, tendons, and bones in the shoulder that increase wear on the rotator cuff tendons.
• Having received multiple corticosteroid injections in the shoulder, which may weaken tendons and increase your risk.
• Smoking, which decreases the blood supply and slows the healing process.
• Shoulder instability.

As the rotator cuff and the shoulder weaken, the risk of developing a partial or complete tear increases. Complete tears are present in 25% of people older than 60.¹