Dislocated shoulder

[Mayer]

So during my rec league game last night i dislocated my shoulder for the first time in my life. I took a pass on a 2 on 1 and tried to deke the goalie glove side. Unfortunately he got his leg out, accidentally tripping me and sending me into the net, with quite a bit of force.

It was easily the most painful thing I have ever experienced, especially because they refused to give me painkiller before the x rays. That was an unpleasant experience and made me want to punch the dude out. I guess it was pretty bad because the last thing i remember before they put me to sleep was the doctor saying, "Holy %$#! Thats WAY out".

Anyways, the reason for the thread is to get some info from people who have had this before. It still hurts when I move but my biggest worry is how my shoulder reacts in the future after physio and a possible surgery (really hope it doesn't come to that though). I've heard once it comes out once it comes out again.

Any help would be hugely appreciated, and even some names of some good physio places.

Thanks.

[TheSutterDynasty]

Originally Posted by Mayer

Anyways, the reason for the thread is to get some info from people who have had this before. It still hurts when I move but my biggest worry is how my shoulder reacts in the future after physio and a possible surgery (really hope it doesn't come to that though). I've heard once it comes out once it comes out again.

As you can imagine, when your humerus is forced out of its socket, the ligaments normally holding it in are stretched. This stretching will cause increased ligament laxity in the joint after the healing period of several days to a couple of weeks. After this time, rehabilitating (strengthening) the shoulder will go a long way in preventing further problems.

The degree of laxity will obviously vary based on how badly the dislocation was (ie, how far the humerus was forced out), and be especially bad if there was any tearing. I assume there was no tears in your case based on your post. Also, different bodies heal differently, so while someone else may not have laxity problems, you may.

If it's determined that the dislocation was quite severe, or if you have further problems with dislocation in the future, you will likely have to (and want to) undergo surgery which will tighten up the shoulder joint. This will reduce or eliminate the ligament laxity.

[Mayer]

Originally Posted by TheSutterDynasty

As you can imagine, when your humerus is forced out of its socket, the ligaments normally holding it in are stretched. This stretching will cause increased ligament laxity in the joint after the healing period of several days to a couple of weeks. After this time, rehabilitating (strengthening) the shoulder will go a long way in preventing further problems.

The degree of laxity will obviously vary based on how badly the dislocation was (ie, how far the humerus was forced out), and be especially bad if there was any tearing. I assume there was no tears in your case based on your post. Also, different bodies heal differently, so while someone else may not have laxity problems, you may.

If it's determined that the dislocation was quite severe, or if you have further problems with dislocation in the future, you will likely have to (and want to) undergo surgery which will tighten up the shoulder joint. This will reduce or eliminate the ligament laxity.

There was no ligament tears. The doctor just said it tore through the shoulder capsule (?) or something, but it sounds like thats normal, I dunno.

Thanks for your help...you sound like a doctor

[djwazzy]

I've dislocated my left shoulder 4 times. The first time, just like yours, was the most painful experience of my life. After the first time I did the whole physio/strength routine and after a few months of that I thought my shoulder was fine. About a year after the first incident it just popped out again. I was swimming and it dislocated during a swimming stroke. The pain wasn't that bad and it kinda just went back in on its own when I got back to shore.

Dislocations three and four were very similar, the shoulder just came apart at weird times, usually when extending it over my head or making a quick jolt with my arm. I finally decided to get surgery after my fourth disconsolation in four years. I hesitated getting it done earlier because I heard about the long wait times just to see a surgeon, and didn't want to be out of commission for weeks after the surgery. Looking back on it all, I should have insisted on surgery right after the first dislocation. It would have saved me a world of hurt, time, rehab etc.

After my first dislocation surgery wasn't really discussed as an option for me, they wanted me to try to rehab it. From my own personal experience I would try to get surgery as soon as you can. I couldn't believe how smooth the surgery went, and how quickly I was back to normal. In fact I'd say my left shoulder feels much stronger than my right one.

[NuclearFart]

Originally Posted by Mayer

There was no ligament tears. The doctor just said it tore through the shoulder capsule (?) or something, but it sounds like thats normal, I dunno.

Thanks for your help...you sound like a doctor

You can't determine ligament tears from a simple xray, you'll need an MRI for that. And it's not so much ligament laxity/tears that's a problem for recurrent dislocations, its more a function of tearing of your labrum.

Why did they withhold pain management until after the xray? Seems inhumane to me, unless they thought you were some east hasting drug seeker.

[DrJ]

At least you didn't separate your shoulder.

[d_phaneuf]

I had a dislocated shoulder when I was younger, which I thought would be the most painful thing I ever experienced

And then I separated it about 6 months later...

I didn't rehab it enough though, so the tendons/muscles around it were so weak. I eventually had to have surgery on it. I would suggest taking the rehab very seriously or its a problem you will have for awhile.

I couldn't even throw a baseball or a football without pain, anytime I lifted something above my shoulder it hurt. So make sure you take care of the rehabilitation. Its not something you think would be important but you notice it a lot if its even a little bit out of place.

[djwazzy]

Originally Posted by NuclearFart

Why did they withhold pain management until after the xray? Seems inhumane to me, unless they thought you were some east hasting drug seeker.

Not sure why they do this, same thing happened to me.

[bradster57]

The physio felt even worse than the original dislocation for me! But work through the pain.

When I dislocated it, I had to wait about 2 hours to even get an xray. Luckily they gave me morphine, percs, and something else (can't remember what) to numb the pain. Then they put me under to get it back in. That was a terrible night but I was flying when I got out of there!

[Jayems]

I'd talk with a certain member of our hockey team that also played with you. I know he suffered a similar incident in one of our games last year.

[dj_patm]

Pfft. I broke my collar bone and tore all the tissue around it.

That hurt. They gave me Demerol and then it stopped hurting. However my stupid doctor thought that giving a months worth of synthesized morphine to a high school kid was a good idea... I did very bad that month.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by dj_patm

Pfft. I broke my collar bone and tore all the tissue around it.

That hurt. They gave me Demerol and then it stopped hurting. However my stupid doctor thought that giving a months worth of synthesized morphine to a high school kid was a good idea... I did very bad that month.

In one of my last competitive hockey games I had my head down in the neutral zone and a player took a run at me and hammered me.

I ended up with a broken collar bone and a dislocated shoulder on the same side.

Worst pain I've ever gone through and yes Demorol was nice stuff, the surgery wasn't cool and the fact that I can still dislocate my shoulder with a love tap isn't cool.

[fatso]

This is an important thread for all our new Canuck fan posters. I'd imagine there's a lot of dislocated shoulders in Lotusland these days, what with all the self-congratulatory patting of their own backs.

[ynwa03]

Originally Posted by djwazzy

I've dislocated my left shoulder 4 times. The first time, just like yours, was the most painful experience of my life. After the first time I did the whole physio/strength routine and after a few months of that I thought my shoulder was fine. About a year after the first incident it just popped out again. I was swimming and it dislocated during a swimming stroke. The pain wasn't that bad and it kinda just went back in on its own when I got back to shore.

Dislocations three and four were very similar, the shoulder just came apart at weird times, usually when extending it over my head or making a quick jolt with my arm. I finally decided to get surgery after my fourth disconsolation in four years. I hesitated getting it done earlier because I heard about the long wait times just to see a surgeon, and didn't want to be out of commission for weeks after the surgery. Looking back on it all, I should have insisted on surgery right after the first dislocation. It would have saved me a world of hurt, time, rehab etc.

After my first dislocation surgery wasn't really discussed as an option for me, they wanted me to try to rehab it. From my own personal experience I would try to get surgery as soon as you can. I couldn't believe how smooth the surgery went, and how quickly I was back to normal. In fact I'd say my left shoulder feels much stronger than my right one.

I've had a similar experience. I'd recommend for the OP to get surgery as soon as he/she can. I dislocated my left shoulder...about 3 years ago now in a soccer game. Pretty rough. Same with you guys, they didn't give me any painkiller before doing the x-ray. It sucked pretty bad especially because the lady doing my x-rays seemed like she didn't give a sh*t how much pain i was in.
Anyway, i let it heal up for a few months and when i felt ok i tried playing again. Bad mistake. I think over the past 3 years it's come out of the socket 5-10 times. Anytime you make a sudden movement, it's prone to come out of the socket. I decided to do strength training to see if i could strengthen it enough without surgery. So far so good, i haven't had any problems for a while now. Having said that, if you can get surgery, do it. I would have after the first time but i was young and stupid lol
It came out of the socket on me while swimming once, and i nearly drowned. That was pretty scary. Definitely one of the worst injuries i've ever had.

[RyZ]

I've dislocated both shoulders (left multiple times) and saparated the left shoulder as well and it can be a bitch. One piece of advice I can give you is that if there is a bump, ask your doctor if there is anything he can do for it right away. It can be painful, but if you wait till years later (like I did), the bump will require surgery, which will put you out of action for a lot longer.

I can't do bench presses or high weight fly's any more for fear of my shoulder popping out in the gym, again.

[Mayer]

Another question about this.

Both doctors I've seen have recommended rehab to see if that strengthens the muscles enough. So he wrote me a note for physio and told me to contact a place wherever was close to me. I've never been and am not sure what it costs. I don't think I have medical coverage at my current job. Is it covered because he wrote me a note? Or will it infact cost me money?

[Dan02]

Originally Posted by Mayer

Another question about this.

Both doctors I've seen have recommended rehab to see if that strengthens the muscles enough. So he wrote me a note for physio and told me to contact a place wherever was close to me. I've never been and am not sure what it costs. I don't think I have medical coverage at my current job. Is it covered because he wrote me a note? Or will it infact cost me money?

IIRC I went to the sports physio at father david bauer and it was 40$ for the initial evaluation and 20$ per session after that, my insurance did cover it up to a certain point.

[Mayer]

Originally Posted by Dan02

IIRC I went to the sports physio at father david bauer and it was 40$ for the initial evaluation and 20$ per session after that, my insurance did cover it up to a certain point.

How did physio work for you? Is the shoulder back to normal? Was last year the first time it had happened?

[Mayer]

Last bump.

The physio that I am starting is costing me $100 for the initial assessment and then $65 every visit after.

Does this seem high? It sure sounded high to me, then again I've never gone to physio.

[Red_Baron]

First time I dislocated mine was when I was about 15 years old. Mine is an odd case as it was a posterior dislocation (went towards my back rather than downward or forward as most dislocations do) and could easily be placed back into place with my opposite arm. It felt fine within 15 minutes. Throughout my football days it progerssively got easier to dislocate and the healing time started to increase dramatically despite constant physio and rehabilitation exercises. I survived high school and 5 years of Jr ball before it got really bad during my first year at UBC when I missed 4 straight games from it. The Orthopedic surgeon found a very pronounced posterior shift and we decided to keep trying rehab until the end of the season as the team was battling to keep it's playoff hopes alive. My final blow before surgery was during a playoff game and it came out. When it was put back in, something got pinched and they had to pull it back out, manipulate it and then put it back in-I didn't make it back into that game.
Had surgery, rehabbed it for a full year, got a medical redshirt, and put the pads on the following season as a fullback rather than a defensive end.
I no longer have anything more than minor aches in that shoulder. Nothing a couple ibuprofens doesn't fix.