Dislocated Shoulder Reappearing

[sponge008]

In January, I had a pretty bad fall skiing and dislocated my left shoulder painfully, but it popped back in place after ten seconds or so. It took a week or two to mostly heal, and by now, it had been pretty much forgotten about, but today it popped out again while I was swimming, and popped back in. Now my left arm is barely functional due to pain from the shoulder accompanying any movement. I don't want this to become a constant problem. Would seeing a sports injury type doctor be likely to improve my long-term situation, or should I just hope it doesn't reappear?

 

[clickynext]

Maybe you should see a doctor. If the condition gets worse they may have to amputate your arm.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Err. Doctor. Now. You realize that the arm might have popped in wrong, and could be pinching nerves/blood vessels.

you should've have gotten a doctor to check your arm the first time, just in case.

 

[Regs]

Might not be in all the way. Usually takes a good amount of force to get it back into position.

I know my private doctor is a sports doc as well. The place I go to has a slew of doctors to choose from. Ask for one that has experience in sports related injuries. Though most the time it really doesn't make a difference....a popped shoulder is a popped shoulder.

It might also be all the way in, but a doc might recommend you to be in a sling or inactive for awhile. There could also be fluids inside the joints.

 

[SludgeFactory]

Go see an orthopedic surgeon, preferably one who specializes in shoulders. The problem is there and it's not going away, and every time it pops out, it makes it that much easier to happen again in the future. You probably will be a candidate for surgery, especially if this is interfering with your lifestyle. If the doctor is conservative, he may send you to physical therapy instead, to try to strengthen the musculature around the joint to lessen the likelihood of this happening again. But that may not be an option, depending on what's going on in there.

Now that you're a recurrent dislocator, I wouldn't mess around. Every time you do it, you're damaging the joint capsule even more and making it looser and looser and more likely to pop out again. Depending on the severity of your dislocations (now or in the future), there's the potential for damage to neurovascular structures, ligaments, the labrum, the head of the humerus, etc. -- basically things that you want to avoid damaging if you haven't already.

I'm unstable posteriorly, it subluxes on me in certain positions, feels like it's on the verge of going out, if you know what I mean. You sort of instinctively learn what motions to avoid, but I still feel like it's a ticking time bomb sometimes. I dread the day it finally goes out.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: tenshodo13
Err. Doctor. Now. You realize that the arm might have popped in wrong, and could be pinching nerves/blood vessels.

you should've have gotten a doctor to check your arm the first time, just in case.

Word. Go to the doctor. Shoulder injuries are a bitch and need proper attention. If not taken care of it can last you a lifetime.

 

[olds]

All I can say is if your shoulder is disappearing then reappearing, you have bigger problems that a dislocation.

 

[sponge008]

Originally posted by: SludgeFactory
Go see an orthopedic surgeon, preferably one who specializes in shoulders. The problem is there and it's not going away, and every time it pops out, it makes it that much easier to happen again in the future. You probably will be a candidate for surgery, especially if this is interfering with your lifestyle. If the doctor is conservative, he may send you to physical therapy instead, to try to strengthen the musculature around the joint to lessen the likelihood of this happening again. But that may not be an option, depending on what's going on in there.

Now that you're a recurrent dislocator, I wouldn't mess around. Every time you do it, you're damaging the joint capsule even more and making it looser and looser and more likely to pop out again. Depending on the severity of your dislocations (now or in the future), there's the potential for damage to neurovascular structures, ligaments, the labrum, the head of the humerus, etc. -- basically things that you want to avoid damaging if you haven't already.

I'm unstable posteriorly, it subluxes on me in certain positions, feels like it's on the verge of going out, if you know what I mean. You sort of instinctively learn what motions to avoid, but I still feel like it's a ticking time bomb sometimes. I dread the day it finally goes out.

Actually, this time I had no advance warning. I just reached up from a freestyle stroke to touch the edge of the pool and felt the pop and the pain.

Thanks for the replies, I'm icing it right now and will see a doctor asap.

 

[thepd7]

Originally posted by: sponge008

Originally posted by: SludgeFactory
Go see an orthopedic surgeon, preferably one who specializes in shoulders. The problem is there and it's not going away, and every time it pops out, it makes it that much easier to happen again in the future. You probably will be a candidate for surgery, especially if this is interfering with your lifestyle. If the doctor is conservative, he may send you to physical therapy instead, to try to strengthen the musculature around the joint to lessen the likelihood of this happening again. But that may not be an option, depending on what's going on in there.

Now that you're a recurrent dislocator, I wouldn't mess around. Every time you do it, you're damaging the joint capsule even more and making it looser and looser and more likely to pop out again. Depending on the severity of your dislocations (now or in the future), there's the potential for damage to neurovascular structures, ligaments, the labrum, the head of the humerus, etc. -- basically things that you want to avoid damaging if you haven't already.

I'm unstable posteriorly, it subluxes on me in certain positions, feels like it's on the verge of going out, if you know what I mean. You sort of instinctively learn what motions to avoid, but I still feel like it's a ticking time bomb sometimes. I dread the day it finally goes out.

Actually, this time I had no advance warning. I just reached up from a freestyle stroke to touch the edge of the pool and felt the pop and the pain.

Thanks for the replies, I'm icing it right now and will see a doctor asap.

My brother did the same thing, 1st time he did it swimming the butterfly, 2nd time in ranger school.

After the first time they told him take it wasy 6 weeks to let it heal. When it happened again they said he needed surgery, similar to DWade if I understand correctly. It still gives him a little trouble now and them but he is in Iraq and it hasn't popped out again yet.