Dislocated Shoulder

goneforever

goneforever

Member
Hey NS, I dislocated my shoulder playing in a high school basketball game on Friday and I am going to the doctor on Monday, but I was wondering if you guys and girls can tell me some info about your accidents.
This was my first dislocation. My shoulder dislocated forward, according to the school's trainer. It was not that painful and the shoulder did not move much, in fact to get it back in I just had to lean over at the waist and it went back in.
Some questions:
1. Does it make a difference if you are younger (i.e., underclassman in high school)?2. I had a little tear in my rotator cuff in the 2006-2007 season due to skiing, but I have been in the gym working out since. Will this effect my recovery?3. Lastly, is a full recovery possible with physical therapy and possible surgery?
Factual information is greatly appreciated. If you don't have any information to give a bump would be greatly appreciated.
P.S.: I am going to Japan this winter break and I might not be able to ski by that time, so there is my reason to post in Ski Gabber.

 
Honestly it depends on what your doctors say. I had to get surgery done on my right shoulder due to repeated dislocations / rotater cuff injuries and I'm sure it could have been avoided had I listened to my doctors and their recovery times. If you have to miss out on skiing over break then do it, because if you injure it more in Japan then you will only miss more time skiing back home. Tell your doctor the same things you said here (working out, etc.) and see what they have to say and play it from there. Good luck and keep faith
 
Thanks for the information. You said that you had multiple dislocations and after the first one did you do everything your doctor said to do? (Not trying to be nosing, but I just want to see how I can minimize the chances of dislocating it again).
Yeah, unlike most of the Newschoolers out there, I would be willing to sit out of skiing for awhile to heal the most possible because of basketball.
Also, other than skiing, how is your shoulder's range of motion/strength?
 
Well, I don't think most people realize that even if an injury feels better, it might not be. My main problem is that I would do therapy until the shoulder felt better, then quit. I usually wouldn't rest my shoulder as long as I should have and it ended up screwing me over in the end. As far as range of motion / strength, I'd say both are at about 90% of what they were before. My best advice to you would be to work out your shoulder as much as possible, because the stronger your support muscles are, the harder it is to dislocate again. Hope that all helps
 
The other thing is that the fact that it doesn't feel as bad can also be dangerous. I dislocated mine about 100 times before I got surgery. By the time I got it operated on, I could put it back into the socket on my own no problem, and it wouldn't even hurt afterward because everything was already torn so there was nothing to fuck up any more. Preeeeeetty fucking sketchy.
And as for recurrence, injuries like this never really go away, no matter what. If you get it operated on, make sure you take rehab VERY seriously and start working out to keep it strong, cause it WILL still pop out if you're not careful...I've popped mine out like 4 times since surgery and it hurts like fuck once you've gotten it fixed again. I didn't pop it out last season at all though, and I probably haven't done it in over a year, so you just have to be careful and do everything your doctor says, but it's still just a matter of luck to a certain extent.
oh and btw, 1000th post...glad it was maybe a helpful one.
 
It was helpful and I feel honored, haha. I don't know if it makes I difference (because I am not a doctor), but I am planning to get surgery before I dislocate it again. As I said before, I am a pretty serious basketball player and pretty strong, so I really feel that this injury was a freak accident, like Dwayne Wade's. [I am not comparing our skills (i.e., no claim)]
 
Hey dude, i've dislocated my shoulder a couple times, once pretty bad. and broke both my collar bones. not from skiing though. Here's a good site, check out the weaknesses section of the exercise instructions it'll give you some exercises that will help rebuild the tissue in and around your shoulder joint.
http://www.exrx.net/Exercise.html

 
i've also dislocated my shoulder and gotten the surgery. I got the surgery like 4 months ago now and my shoulder is still not 100%. Not sure it ever will be, but there have been a couple threads on this in the past month or so. You should try looking em up. It's a shitty injury. I wish i just broke my collarbone instead.
 
Ok the questions:

1. As far as age goes, i don't think age matters too much in terms of requiring surgery, I was 18 when I had my surgery, and much younger when i first started dislocating, 14 years old. So I was 14, about your age i'm guessing, and I ended up needing surgery, although I didn't have it looked at until I was 18, so maybe if you go get it looked at now, with strengthening, you can avoid surgery.

I also know that if you do need surgery, the younger you are to get it, the better, you will recover faster and therapy will be much easier, if you waited until you were to get surgery 30 or 35 you might need a full shoulder replacement, so make sure you get it now if you need it.

2. I don't know anything about rotator cuffs, so I can't answer this question.

3. My doctor said its possible to have recovery w/o surgery in certain cases, in my case I started dislocating at 14 years old and didn't have it looked at until 4 years and probably 50 dislocations later, which all stretch, tear, and chip all the ligaments, muscles, and bones in that joint until my shoulder was wrecked. What they did with me was essential reconstruct my shoulder. It was a lot worse than they though when they got inside, bones were chipped, cartilage was torn, and ligaments were stretched.

You might get lucky and can get away with exercising your shoulder, it really depends, they'll proably take an MRI and be able to tell you when they evaluate the images.

For me I had surgery last January so almost a year ago. Since then i've had no dislocations despite mntn biking, sea kayaking, pick up football, and day to day life. I had intense therapy which helped a ton, I'm probably at 90% mobility, and maybe 50-75% strength. My goal is to work a little on mobility and a lot on strength, not only for upper body strength, but to make the joint as strong as possible. I also plan to buy a shoulder brace for skiing and other sports, I remember it used to dislocate when I would botch a park feature and fell on that shoulder, so a brace shoulde help.

If you're looking at surgery, maybe you can postpone until may, I had mine in January thinking I could ski from march on, but when march rolled around the doctor said no. It was 8 weeks in a sling where the only time it could come off was for a shower, and then about 8-12 weeks of rehab, and no sports including skiing for 6 months. So a may surgery would put you out from may-october so you'd be back just in time for skiing, and still be able to ski this winter, maybe you could exercise it until may just to get you through, and play it safe this winter when skiing, this is of course if you need surgery.

Anyway, good luck with everything, and feel better soon.

 
i dont think even with surgery your shoulder will ever be as strong and as stable as it was to begin with. i had surgery to repair my shit and i have dislocated twice after that. its kinda a drag and my confidence in it is way down. it doesnt hurt as much anymore which is always nice. i think being younger is a plus because your body is still growing and making more of itself and such. good luck buddy.
 
Thanks for the responses. I just had a talk with my doctor over the phone and when he checks out my shoulder tomorrow and if he does think I need surgery, I am just going to take it as early as possible. It might not mean skiing in Japan this winter break or skiing for the rest of the season, but I can't really bear the idea of having my shoulder become dislocated every time I put a shirt on.
 
i am in the same exact boat

i dislocated my shoulder on the 20th of nov in keystone

doctor says i need surgery but that i could wait till april if it is strong enough

only problem is that i get a new insurance deductable in january so i kinda have to have it before the end of the year

which means i will probably miss all of ski season

last year i got 149 days and this year i will be cut short at 9

i hate it

i wish it never happened
 
So heres the not so good news you'll likely hear: Being young and active you have a 90% chance of a second dislocation. Young is actually not good for shoulder joints. Yes it sucks.

I did my first dislocation kayaking a creek a year and a half ago. I hit the rehab hard and two months later, I was kayaking hard big rivers in Africa until another dislocation that novermber kayaking a powerful wave. I did little rehab after that and made it a year (skiing 80 days) until my 3rd dislocation rock climbing 2 weeks ago. Im now scheduled for surgery in the summer, and I plan on skiing hard all winter.

The key here is this shoulder brace I got through my PT. Its made by BREG and it locks your shoulder into a limited range of motion so you dont dislocate. Ive never dislocated while wearing it. I can ski and kayak just fine with it on. Talk to your PT or doctor and have them order it. It costs like 400 bucks (absurd), but youll likely meet your deductible this year and if you work your insurance company, theyll pay for it. Get it to go on both shoulders too, if you've got one bad joint you may have two and you better not even go there.

The problem is that the shoulder brace is not convienient. You wont be able to play basketball in it. However, for skiing its pretty solid. I forget im wearing it unless I am skinning up or going for a tail grab or nose. Get the brace, its worth it.

I've been told that surgery is 4-6 months recovery (from activities) depending on the damage done. Your and my best case scenario is skiing in 3-4 months post surgery with the brace.My advice to you is to do your PT super hard. Do like three times the activities they tell you. Like they said above, even if it feels better dont stop the excersizes. The odds are slightly in your favor, as the longer it is out of socket the more damage it does. You sound like you got it back in quickly, perhaps even subluxed.

Good luck from one cripple to another. Ive got to go fix my tendonitis from typing so much.
 
Just a quick update....
I went to the doctor today, had some X-rays taken, and there were no problems. I am now scheduled to take an MRI with fluid injection/contrast on Wednesday. So I am on the edge of seeing if:
1. I did in fact dislocate it in the first place (maybe just a subluxed shoulder).
 
My bad, computer sent it out.
2. If I will need surgery3. If I do need surgery, for how long.
I am guessing that I will need it and was wondering if from your own personal experiences if I should just get the surgery over with right now.
(I am going to follow my doctor on this, but if he gives me the option to put it off I am thinking about doing it now).
 
if you're not scared i would put it off until after ski season. but make sure to take it easy for sure. after i had surgery it was a ten week recovery and even after all my pt it was still sore and a little uneasy. but whatever you choose don't take short cuts on your pt and do exactly as your doctors says about not moving it and such. i didnt and my shoulder is still a little shitty sometimes.
 
i am not 100% but my dad has dislocated his shoulder more than once. he did all his phys therapy etc after the first one, and it was still much easier to pop out the second time.
 
My man. I have been around the block more than once when it comes to surgery. I have had 3 on a single shoulder. Depending on the severity of your injury it can be a reasonably simple yet lengthy recovery to an experience that redefines pain.
Docs see something wrong and they want to cut. Plain and simple.
If I were you I would get my mri and all of that other shit together and go to the best PT/sports med in your area and ask them if they can help you rehab w/o surgery. Surgery that is avoidable is the last thing you want to do. PLEASE TRUST ME.
You are going to get all kinds of different opinions based on other peoples experiences. Be as informed as you can prior to committing to surgery. What is the docs success rate, what are the chances of living w/ chronic pain, everything from soup to nuts.
A shoulder is so different from a knee it is not even funny. Ive had my knee done 2x and its no biggy (yeah it is a drag) but nothing like a shoulder imho.
If you want to talk pm me and ill give you my number
 
my dad dislocated his shoulder this winter and tore his rotator cuff and fucked everything up badly. He had surgery in may and is pretty much totally fine now (about a month or two ago it was mostly healed)
 
I had shoulder surgery back in April from a dislocation. I'm too tired to post a well thought out response right now, but I'll hit you up tomorrow.
 
I dislocated my shoulder last January when I was skiing and it dislocated anteriorly as well. Since I was working at the time, I was forced to do a certain times worth of physical therapy because it was workmans comp. My injury happened around the second week of January and it wasn't until the end of February that I was able to start skiing again, and even then I still had to continue to do pt. I think I ended up doing 3 months of physical therapy total, and even after that my shoulder still wasnt 100%. Finally by the end of March I was able to get back to work full boar doing heavy lifting and pulling things around. All spring my shoulder was still kind of weak. The best thing I have ever done for it is surfing because paddling so much, even going out on flat days and just paddling around on my board built up a lot of muscle in my shoulder. I surfed almost every day this summer and my shoulders have never felt stronger. A complete full recovery isn't really possible because once you dislocate your shoulder, theres about a 90% chance that you will dislocate it again at some point. The most important thing is to continue to work out after physical therapy, and keep building the muscles around your shoulder area which are now going to be the most important things holding your shoulder in place.I wouldnt push it with skiing because if you fall, you could mess it up even more and stretch out the ligaments to a degree that surgery will be the only option. Good luck, and do as much pt as possible!
 
I've dislocated both elbows and my right shoulder. each injury sucks and none of the joints have ever been the same. My shoulder comes out probably once a month on average now, and my elbows just lost a bit of extension power. its just a matter of knowing your injury and remember to always be exercising and stretching. Be careful, it will happen again.
 
My dad also dislocated his shoulder, same way as you. He chose to not get the surgery and simply excercise at home to regain the strength/range of movement. He had problems with it for a while but I asked him and he told me he thinks it's about 95% of what it was before, which is as good as he thinks it's ever going to be. We have a history of weak joints in our family, and actually when I first started skiing my right hip would pop out of place and I would have to stop and pop it back in. I went to the doctor and he said the most important thing if you have a problem joint is to make sure the muscle and tendons around it are as strong as they can be, which is the point of physio. So he assigned me an excercise routine and it's better than it was before IMO.

PS...My dad dislocated his shoulder mountain biking in the river valley. A beaver ran out into the trail and he t-boned it and endo'd. Just thought that would be a funny addition.
 
well currently i did the same thing during football, they couldnt see anything during xray but the mri showed i had a torn labrum (sp?) and i had torn all the tissue in my shoulder, i started off by doing pt and they gave me a shoulder brace my shoulder feels ok now but im supposed to have surgery on it, can do everything normal but anytime i whip my arm up fats or for ward ex. throwing, it will disslocate and hurts for a lil then is fine
 
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