Musculoskeletal & Pain
Rotator Cuff Injuries
The shoulder that aches at night and won't reach overhead anymore.
What is Rotator Cuff Injuries?
The rotator cuff is a group of tendons that keep your shoulder stable, and problems here usually show up as pain reaching overhead, discomfort lying on that side at night, or a specific weakness when lifting your arm out to the side. Damage ranges from mild irritation to partial tears to full-thickness tears, and the pattern of what you can and can't do usually hints at which one you have.
How regenerative medicine supports it
We assess with clinical tests and ultrasound to distinguish tendinopathy from a partial or full tear, because they're managed quite differently. PRP and growth factor injections are our main tools for tendinopathy and partial tears, always paired with a structured shoulder physiotherapy programme, with range of motion and strength retested along the way. A large, retracted full-thickness tear generally needs surgical repair, and we'll refer you rather than attempt to treat around it.
Treatments we would consider
Options discussed for this condition
Listed for orientation only. What is actually prescribed depends on your records.
- PRP TherapyPlatelet-rich plasma for orthopaedic, aesthetic and recovery applications.
- Growth Factor TherapyConcentrated growth factor protocols for tissue repair and regeneration.
- Exosome TherapySignalling-rich exosome protocols, often combined with stem cell therapy, supporting tissue repair, recovery and aesthetics.
If the evidence for treating rotator cuff injuries this way is thin, we will tell you before you book — and the review is not billed.
Rotator Cuff Injuries — Questions Patients Ask
Why is my shoulder worse at night specifically?
Lying down loads the rotator cuff tendons differently and reduces blood flow through the area, and night pain is one of the more reliable signals of genuine cuff involvement.
Can a full-thickness tear be treated without surgery?
A large retracted tear generally needs surgical repair, and we'll say so rather than offer injections we don't think will hold up.
Will I need physiotherapy as well?
Yes, and it isn't optional in our plans — injections without a movement programme give back only a fraction of what they could.
How do you tell this apart from frozen shoulder?
Frozen shoulder restricts movement in every direction, even when someone else moves your arm for you; cuff problems restrict specific movements and leave others intact.
I'm in my seventies, am I too old for this?
Age itself rarely rules it out — tendon quality and general health matter more, and we've treated shoulders well into the eighties successfully.
Reviewed by Bangkok Stem Cell Center Medical Team | Last updated: August 2026
