The shoulder is a’ ball and socket’ joint with a large ball and shallow socket that allows the shoulder to have a large amount of movement.

The shoulder rotator cuff is a group of muscles that keeps the ‘ball’ centred in the socket when we move our shoulder.

If the rotator cuff muscles have been damaged for a long time, their ability to control the shoulder movement is affected, resulting in secondary arthritis, called cuff tear arthropathy.