Gene J. DeMorat, MD

Weekend warriors’ watch out, rotator cuff injuries happen from simple yard work more often than they do from pitching nine innings

Rotator cuff injuries
The sharp pain in your shoulder that wakes you up when you roll over in the middle of the night might be your rotator cuff or several other things. Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Gene DeMorat of Shore Orthopaedic University Associates, who works with local athletes and was a physician for the U.S. Olympic ski, snowboard and speed skating teams, works with many patients suffering with shoulder pain. “I work with athletes who have shoulder and rotator cuff problems due to injuries related to their sport. But more than athletes, I have weekend warriors who do a lot of damage to their shoulder in their own backyard,” said DeMorat.

Weekend Warriors are frequent patients
Spring is here and it is prime season for rotator cuff injuries according to Dr. DeMorat. “I see so many patients who come in with shoulder pain and it is not because they just pitched nine innings. It is because they have not done any exercise over the winter and there is a nice sunny day and they decide to go for a run even though they have been rather sedentary, not working out over the winter and they find themselves hurting. We see a lot of weekend warriors that come out with the good weather, doing a sudden burst of work, whether it is raking leaves, digging, lifting heavy objects or they decide to do some painting and they find themselves in some pretty significant discomfort.”

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