Torn rotator cuff symptoms will usually consist of sudden pain in the shoulder sometimes accompanied by a tearing feeling. This can be severe and may transmit down into the arm.
The patient will often be unable to sleep on the injured shoulder and there may be signs of impingement where the tendon pinches between the ball and socket of the shoulder joint when moving the arm out over head height.
Pain can gradually get worse over time and eventually weakness in the shoulder will occur to the point where the athlete is unable to lift their arm up to the side. Overhead movements such as in racket sports become very difficult