Cannot lift my arm overhead
You reach for a top shelf, and your arm stops partway. Some people feel a sharp catch on the outside of the shoulder. Others feel no real pain at all, just a weak arm that will not go up.
Four small muscles hold the top of your arm bone in its socket. Together they are called the rotator cuff. A strain, a tear, or swelling in that group can block the lift, and the arm may feel like it belongs to someone else.
This can start with one fall or one hard yank. It can also creep up over months of reaching, throwing, lifting, or painting. These tendons wear down with age, so the problem is more common as the years go by.
When to see someone
Get seen right away if the arm went limp after a fall, if the shoulder looks out of shape, or if the arm is numb, cold, or pale. Book a visit soon if you cannot raise the arm at all, if the weak feeling is getting worse, or if pain wakes you most nights. Fever, hot red skin over the joint, or no change after two to three weeks also calls for a doctor.
Below is a list of home and folk remedies that people have long used for rotator cuff trouble. Each one carries a grade that shows how much research stands behind it, not a promise of any result. Read the grade first, and talk with your doctor before you try anything, above all if you take other medicine.
4.8
