Patrick Denard explains the key difference: bursitis causes pain but keeps your strength, while a rotator cuff tear weakens your arm. Both feel similar at first, so start with anti-inflammatories and physical therapy, then get an MRI if you're not better in six weeks.
Shoulder pain doesn't always mean a rotator cuff tear. So here's the difference between bursitis and a rotator cuff tear. Bursitis, or sometimes called tendinitis, is just inflammation above the rotator cuff. Sometimes that's from an injury, sometimes that's from repetitive use. That typically will have pain, but somebody has normal strength. With a rotator cuff tear, you actually have the tendon tearing off the bone. That's typically where you're going to lose strength. Now, the reality is that clinically these often look like the same thing. So the treatment always is to start with conservative things— anti-inflammatories, physical physical therapy. And then if it doesn't get better for several weeks, particularly 6 weeks, that's the time to consider an MRI where you can really see the rotator cuff in detail and fully distinguish the difference between the two.
