US Medical Term · conditions
Rotator Cuff Tear
Desgarro del Manguito Rotador
What it means
A rotator cuff tear is a shoulder injury in which a tendon of the rotator cuff has been torn away from the bone, through overuse or an injury. It may occur in two ways: a sudden acute tear may happen when you fall on your arm while it is stretched out, and a chronic tear occurs slowly over time. The pain with a sudden tear after a fall or injury is usually intense, while with a chronic tear people often do not notice when it began. Tendon tears often cause pain at night, and other symptoms of a torn rotator cuff may include loss of strength in the arm. Rotator cuff repair is surgery to repair a torn tendon in the shoulder; a partial tear may not require surgery.
Rotator Cuff Tear in Spanish
- Spanish term
- Desgarro del Manguito Rotador
- Gender and article
- masculine: el desgarro del manguito rotador
- Pronunciation
- dehs-GAH-rroh dehl mahn-GHEE-toh rroh-tah-DOR
| Other Spanish terms | Where it is used | Note |
|---|---|---|
| desgarro del manguito de los rotadores | General | Form used in the MedlinePlus en español encyclopedia article on rotator cuff repair. |
No cited page prints the headword in exactly this form. The MedlinePlus en español topic page prints it in the plural, desgarros del manguito rotador, and its encyclopedia article on the repair surgery writes desgarro del manguito de los rotadores. Desgarro is used as a masculine noun on those pages: un desgarro, el desgarro. For a torn rotator cuff, the topic page says un manguito rotador desgarrado, and the encyclopedia article speaks of un tendón desgarrado en el hombro.
The same pages give the vocabulary for cause and repair. A tear from a recent injury is one caused por una lesión reciente, and tendons can tear por sobrecarga, lesión o por desgaste por el tiempo. The surgery is reparación del manguito de los rotadores, with three techniques: reparación abierta, reparación artroscópica and reparación miniabierta. The encyclopedia article also uses ruptura for a tear, and it names fisioterapia for physical therapy.
Phrases for an appointment
What a patient or a clinician might say, in English and Spanish:
| Who | English | Spanish |
|---|---|---|
| Patient | I fell on my outstretched arm, and since then my shoulder has hurt a lot. | Me caí sobre el brazo extendido, y desde entonces me duele mucho el hombro. |
| Clinician | Does the pain wake you up at night? | ¿El dolor le despierta por la noche? |
| Patient | Yes, and my arm feels weak when I try to lift things. | Sí, y siento el brazo débil cuando trato de levantar cosas. |
| Clinician | The imaging shows a complete tear of the rotator cuff. | Las imágenes muestran un desgarro completo del manguito rotador. |
| Patient | Does a complete tear mean that I need surgery? | ¿Un desgarro completo significa que necesito cirugía? |
| Clinician | We can talk about rotator cuff repair and about physical therapy. | Podemos hablar de la reparación del manguito rotador y de la fisioterapia. |
| Patient | How long would I have to wear a sling after the repair? | ¿Cuánto tiempo tendría que usar un cabestrillo después de la reparación? |
| Patient | When could I go back to work? | ¿Cuándo podría volver al trabajo? |
In 9 languages
| Language | Term |
|---|---|
| English | Rotator Cuff Tear |
| Spanish (Español) | Desgarro del Manguito Rotador |
| Chinese (中文) | 旋轉肌袖撕裂 |
| Korean (한국어) | 회전근개 파열 |
| Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt) | Rách chóp xoay vai |
| Filipino (Tagalog) | Rotator Cuff Tear |
| Portuguese (Português) | Ruptura do Manguito Rotador |
| Thai (ภาษาไทย) | เอ็นหมุนไหล่ฉีกขาด |
| Japanese (日本語) | 腱板断裂 |
Where you'll see it
Related ICD-10-CM category
ICD-10-CM code: M75 → Shoulder lesionsRelated terms
Your right to an interpreter in the United States
If English is not your primary language and you have difficulty communicating in English, you may need an interpreter or a translated document when you visit a doctor or dentist, go to the emergency room or pick up a prescription. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights states that two federal laws, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, require programs that receive its funding to provide language access services free of charge.
You can ask when you make the appointment or at the front desk: "I need an interpreter, please." «Necesito un intérprete, por favor.»
More terms: Bones, joints and muscles
All terms in this area: Bones, joints and muscles — Huesos, articulaciones y músculos
Sources
- Rotator Cuff Injuries — MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine
- Lesiones del manguito rotatorio del hombro — MedlinePlus en español, Biblioteca Nacional de Medicina
- Rotator cuff problems — MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, National Library of Medicine
- Rotator cuff repair — MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, National Library of Medicine
- Reparación del manguito de los rotadores — MedlinePlus enciclopedia médica, Biblioteca Nacional de Medicina
- Limited English Proficiency (LEP): Your Right to Language Assistance Services — U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights
This page is a language reference. It is not medical advice.
Last reviewed: October 8, 2026