Patty Mills announces his should Injury

Just two weeks after winniing an NBA title with the San Antonio Spurs, a devastated Patty Mills announced that he has a shoulder injury that will keep him out for seven months. The Australian superstar has undergone surgery to repair a rotator cuff tendon. He managed to play with the pain for most of the season but has opted for surgery as the best long term management.

Rotator Cuff Tear,

The Rotator cuff is an important group of four small muscles that provide the shoulder with stability. Without the strong ligamentous support of most joints, the shoulder has excellent mobility but is heavily reliant on the rotator cuff muscles to work together to support the shoulder during function.

Rotator Cuff injuries are relatively common, especially affecting the supraspinatus tendon (see image). This is largely due to the location of this tendon that leaves it vulnerable to being compressed between the ball of our shoulder and the under surface of our acromion with repeated overhead activities. This is known as shoulder impingement. Repeated compression can result in gradual or dengenerative changes to the tendon leaving it unhealthy and at risk of tears. This is the typical process that occurs, but the tendon can also be acutely strained lifting or during a traumatic event. Small tears are managed conservatively and in fact often can go unnoticed and considered normal degenerative process. Moderate sized tears are usually managed with a rehabilitation program aimed at strengthening the tendon and correcting any issues that may be leading  to impingement. With larger tears and often in a sporting population surgery will be required to adequately repair the tendon. A period of 6-8 weeks ina sling follows before beginning a slow rehabilitation program to restore movement and strengthen the shoulder.

No doubt Patty will be putting in plenty of hard work! And we hope to see him starring again next NBA season.