treatment
Last reviewed 01/2018
The condition may resolve with rest or a short course of anti-inflammatory drugs. Instruction should be given as to what activities may aggravate the condition so these can be avoided. If these measures are unsuccessful, injection of corticosteroid and local anaesthetic around the tendon - not into it - may be effective. The injections are given into the subacromial space and may be repeated once or twice.
Surgical decompression of the rotator cuff, or subacromial decompression is indicated when conservative measures fail or where response is only temporary. The entire coracoacromial arch and the anteroinferior part of the acromium are removed to provide a larger space for movement of the supraspinatus tendon.