Many people have heard of the shoulder's rotator cuff but often they haven't been shown or told exactly what it is.  The rotator cuff consists of four muscles: the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis, and teres minor.  These deep shoulder muscles are critical to the shoulder's function.  Firstly, the tendons of these muscles help to make up the shoulder capsule that actually holds the shoulder in its socket.  Secondly, these muscles control the internal and external rotation of the arm and help with arm abduction.

In a rotator cuff syndrome, one or more of these muscles (or their tendons) has become injured.  Determining which muscle is actually causing the problem is the first step.  Then to correct the problem, the nature of the injury must also be determined (i.e. Is it a partial tear?  Is it scar tissue and adhesions between muscles and tendons?)  Once this is determined, the proper treatment regimen can implemented.  Active Release Technique is one form of treatment that works incredibly well with a lot of shoulder injuries by helping to restore normal muscular function of the rotator cuff.