Rotator Cuff

This exercise targets the rotator cuff muscles, located underneath the shoulders. These muscles are responsible for keeping your arm from slipping out of its socket and are very susceptible to injury. They enable you to twist your arms inward and outward and help in throwing and catching motions. They also come into play when you raise your arms above your head. Since they do a fair amount of work in most upper body movements, it's important to keep them strong, healthy and evenly balanced.

The Chargers will have to play the regular-season finale against the Broncos in Denver Sunday without quarterback Dan Fouts. Fouts was ruled out of the game because of a shoulder injury and will be replaced by Mark Herrmann, Coach Al Saunders said in a news release Tuesday night. Saunders said he had been informed by Dr. Gary Losse, team physician, that Fouts has a slightly torn rotator cuff in his throwing arm. The injury occurred in the first half of the 20-7 loss to Indianapolis Sunday.

Although Padre reliever Larry Andersen probably will open the season on the disabled list with an injured right shoulder, the club was relieved to learn Thursday that medical tests revealed no damage to his rotator cuff. Instead, results from the magnetic resonance imaging tests disclosed that Andersen has a cartilage impingement in his right shoulder, which caused the shoulder to become inflamed.

J.J. O'Laughlin, the quarterback who provided instant offense for the Cal State Northridge football team, will miss the Matadors' final game, Coach Bob Burt said Wednesday. A magnetic resonance imaging test administered Tuesday night revealed a small tear in the rotator cuff of O'Laughlin's right shoulder. "He's history," Burt said after watching the 6-foot-3, 200-pound junior throw a few passes at a late afternoon practice. "He can start getting better for next year."

Green Bay Packer quarterback Don Majkowski underwent surgery Thursday to repair a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder and will miss the rest of the season. Coach Lindy Infante said surgeons who performed the operation in San Diego did not characterize the injury as career threatening, but said Majkowski would not be able to throw for three to six months. "Doctors feel very good about his chances for full recovery. There was no mention of career ending or anything remotely like that.

A recurring shoulder injury forced a tearful Australian Open champion Monica Seles out of the Toray Pan Pacific Open today. "I felt pain in my left shoulder when I started to practice this morning. Nothing was wrong yesterday," the 17-year-old Seles said. A doctor at a hospital where she went for treatment diagnosed the injury as a rotator cuff strain and recommended a two-week break from tennis.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said he isn't concerned about the "little torn rotator cuff" in his right arm. "I'm good. It's OK, just sore," he said when asked about the injury. "I have a little torn rotator cuff. That doesn't heal. We just have to hope it doesn't tear the rest of the way," he said, laughing. Roethlisberger's injury occurred in the Steelers' Nov. 6 loss to Baltimore. He mentioned it in the spring, but this is the first time he has publicly called it a rotator cuff tear.

Tony Gwynn Jr. said Saturday that he hopes his injured left shoulder heals soon enough for the outfielder to play again before the season ends Sept. 28. Gwynn initially jammed the shoulder while stealing a base against the Washington Nationals early this month, then aggravated the injury on another slide against the Arizona Diamondbacks last week. The Long Beach native said he has a bruised rotator cuff. Before the injury, Gwynn had appeared in 133 games and was batting .258 with two home runs, 22 runs batted in and a career-high 22 stolen bases.

The St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday removed Jaime Garcia from their division series roster, a day after he lasted only two innings in his Game 2 start against the Washington Nationals because of an ailing shoulder. An MRI exam revealed that the left-hander has a strained rotator cuff and inflammation in his throwing shoulder. He'll be replaced by rookie right-hander Shelby Miller. Garcia's health was a concern after he sat out two months because of shoulder fatigue, but he had pitched well since returning in mid-August and won his last three regular-season starts.

Right-hander Mark Gubicza of the Kansas City Royals had arthroscopic surgery to repair a partial tear in his rotator cuff.