Yet Another Cycling Forum

General Category => The Knowledge => Health & Fitness => Topic started by: Luke on 11 June, 2019, 04:39:51 pm

Title: Dislocated shoulder
Post by: Luke on 11 June, 2019, 04:39:51 pm
Does anyone have any experience of recovering from a dislocated shoulder?

I managed to pull my arm out at work yesterday. And I'm beginning to think my original plan of nip to A&E, get it popped back in and get back to work isn't entirely realistic.

 :facepalm:
Title: Re: Dislocated shoulder
Post by: ElyDave on 11 June, 2019, 04:46:16 pm
Not at all I'm afraid, unless you are very lucky, the shoulder is very complicated and I'd expect muscle and tendon damage as well.

I dislocated mine aged 16 while playing rugby and 30 years later it's still weaker than the other.

A medic will surely be along shortly, but I'd suggest rest until swelling is reduced, pain relief, and then start physio ASAP, but I'd not expect full recovery for at least 6 months for a normal person such as us

And BTW - OUCH! GWS
Title: Re: Dislocated shoulder
Post by: Canardly on 11 June, 2019, 06:56:51 pm
Ouch. GWS Luke.
Title: Re: Dislocated shoulder
Post by: hellymedic on 11 June, 2019, 07:10:12 pm
I am NOT a shoulder expert though I think chrisbainbridge is.
My thoughts:

1) Are you SURE it's dislocated? Most younger (<80) people won't tolerate a dislocated shoulder for long. My Mum, then 80, certainly did not.

2) My vague recollection is that the longer a shoulder is dislocated, the tougher it is to relocate, so GET IT FIXED PDQ! I don't think we attempted to put back shoulders that had been out for several weeks.

My Mum has regained a good (not full) range of pain-free movement following months of physio. She's a tough lady!
Title: Re: Dislocated shoulder
Post by: Paul on 11 June, 2019, 08:58:06 pm
Oh man! Hope it starts to feel better soon.
Title: Re: Dislocated shoulder
Post by: LittleWheelsandBig on 11 June, 2019, 09:01:08 pm
Helly is right on both accounts, given how it felt when I dislocated my shoulder while MTBing some years ago.
Title: Re: Dislocated shoulder
Post by: Luke on 11 June, 2019, 09:06:10 pm
I am NOT a shoulder expert though I think chrisbainbridge is.
My thoughts:

1) Are you SURE it's dislocated? Most younger (<80) people won't tolerate a dislocated shoulder for long. My Mum, then 80, certainly did not.

2) My vague recollection is that the longer a shoulder is dislocated, the tougher it is to relocate, so GET IT FIXED PDQ! I don't think we attempted to put back shoulders that had been out for several weeks.

My Mum has regained a good (not full) range of pain-free movement following months of physio. She's a tough lady!
It was definitely dislocated, an x-ray confirmed that. After a couple of failed attempts involving a lot of pulling, and by far the worst pain I’ve ever experienced, I was sedated. When I woke up it was back in place.

My reason for posting was to hopefully find out what to expect from recovery? My original assumption was that I’d be able to quickly get it popped back in, then back to work the next day and crack on like nothing had happened.  ::-)

It’s becoming apparent that it’s not the case.  :facepalm:
Title: Re: Dislocated shoulder
Post by: Paul on 11 June, 2019, 09:17:49 pm
What did they say to you on discharge?

And how did you do it?
Title: Re: Dislocated shoulder
Post by: LittleWheelsandBig on 11 June, 2019, 09:35:57 pm
No, your shoulder will probably be sore and quite weak and loose for a while yet.
Title: Re: Dislocated shoulder
Post by: Luke on 11 June, 2019, 09:50:04 pm
What did they say to you on discharge?

I dont recall much being said to be honest.

I was at that point still on the drowsy side after whatever they used to knock me out, and prior to that a couple of doses of morphine.

Had someone sat and recited the complete works of Shakespeare to me, I probably wouldn't of noticed.

My Mum was there for the last couple of hours, so they might have said something to her. I do have an appointment card for next month.

And how did you do it?

My foot slipped climbing out of my truck at work, I grabbed the handles that I usually just loosely hold when climbing down to stop myself falling and out it popped.  :-[

Title: Re: Dislocated shoulder
Post by: Paul on 11 June, 2019, 10:03:11 pm

My foot slipped climbing out of my truck at work, I grabbed the handles that I usually just loosely hold when climbing down to stop myself falling and out it popped.  :-[

Ow.

Have you got some good drugs?
Title: Re: Dislocated shoulder
Post by: Luke on 11 June, 2019, 10:12:35 pm

My foot slipped climbing out of my truck at work, I grabbed the handles that I usually just loosely hold when climbing down to stop myself falling and out it popped.  :-[

Ow.

Have you got some good drugs?

Sadly not.

I may have to resort to a strictly medicinal pint tomorrow afternoon.
Title: Re: Dislocated shoulder
Post by: Kim on 11 June, 2019, 10:19:01 pm

My foot slipped climbing out of my truck at work, I grabbed the handles that I usually just loosely hold when climbing down to stop myself falling and out it popped.  :-[

Ow.

Have you got some good drugs?

Sadly not.

I may have to resort to a strictly medicinal pint tomorrow afternoon.

Hopefully it's not your drinking arm that's affected...
Title: Re: Dislocated shoulder
Post by: barakta on 11 June, 2019, 10:34:28 pm
Luke, sounds to me like you should go and see your GP ASAP to

1) ask for advice about the shoulder e.g. safety to drive for work and home as well as recovery etc and 2) get some suitable pain meds...

I think not giving you written recovery/treatment information when they've conked you out is a ***ing disgrace on the hospital's part!

As someone who has serious shoulder impairments I would say "don't mess with shoulders" they're one of the least easily treatable joints in the body.
Title: Re: Dislocated shoulder
Post by: hellymedic on 11 June, 2019, 10:58:36 pm
When you dislocate your shoulder, you tear structures that hold the joint in place and keep the joint functional. These structures need to heal, but the chances are there will be some permanent damage. It's easier to redislocate an injured shoulder than one that's never been out of joint. Some people will need surgery to regain stability of the joint.

Some rest is needed immediately after the injury to give the soft tissues a chance to mend, but this needs to be balanced against the need to prevent stiffness.

To be realistic, I think it will be 3-6 months before your shoulder is 'normal', which might not be as good as before.

You need follow-up by a fracture clinic, a physio and your GP.

Shoulders are not simple; there's a conflict between stability and mobility in a ball and socket joint whose socket is no deeper than a soup spoon.

Try to get some experts!

Wishing you a full recovery!
Title: Re: Dislocated shoulder
Post by: ian on 12 June, 2019, 10:16:38 am
I recommend slamming your shoulder into a wall and gurning. You may feel the need to deliver a snappy one-liner. Then pick up the machine gun, there's always more euro-trash baddies around the corner.

I base my diagnosis on Die Hard: The Physician's Handbook.
Title: Re: Dislocated shoulder
Post by: T42 on 12 June, 2019, 10:33:01 am
The Inlaw Paw was strapped up for a couple of weeks when he did his.  Getting him up & down the stairs was a nightmare.
Title: Re: Dislocated shoulder
Post by: Jakob on 14 June, 2019, 08:20:34 am
Many years ago..(argh, 30 years ago), we were riding BMX at a skatepark when one of my friends came over and asked if I could hold his arm while he got his wallet out. Only then did I notice that it was dislocated!.
He only looked a little uncomfortable, although they did need to pump him full of morphine to pull it back in. It happened to him fairly often and eventually got loose enough that he could pop it back in himself.
Apparently the worst was when he did his first solo parachute jump. The force of opening the chute popped his shoulder out and he was not able to put it back in and had a heck of a time steering the parachute. (Not to mention considerable pain). He had also not told them of previous medical issues when he signed up and was promptly banned from parachuting.
So..erhhh, you may want to put the parachuting on hold.
Title: Re: Dislocated shoulder
Post by: Brucey on 14 June, 2019, 11:25:18 am
I pranged one shoulder (decades ago now) playing hockey on astroturf [I learned the hard way; a synthetic fabric shirt sleeve can practically weld itself to the astroturf instead of sliding; that's what did the damage...]. Anyway my shoulder popped out, I had about three seconds of the worst pain ever, and then two things happened; my shoulder popped back in again and my endorphin system kicked in.  I literally didn't know what was going on I had so many endorphins in me. I was lucky because the shoulder popped back in quickly, i.e. before there was any real swelling.

My shoulder was pretty sore for some weeks and I was advised to wear a sling until the soft tissues had mostly healed. I didn't feel at all like not wearing the sling, to start with anyway.

Anyway as others have said there is always some permanent damage and the damage means a recurrence is more likely.  If you don't get a recurrence then the risk reduces over time but it is never as low as it would be for a shoulder that had never popped out.  I again have been lucky, it never popped out again, but that shoulder still isn't as strong as the other one, and tends to ache in cold weather.

One of my acquaintances dislocated both shoulders so often that they came out far too easily; so much so that they would dislocate in rather everyday circumstances. He elected to have surgery and this did fix them, but he recovered slowly and for a long while he was wondering if he'd done the right thing or not.

cheers
Title: Re: Dislocated shoulder
Post by: Kim on 14 June, 2019, 01:17:09 pm
The orto clinic once gave barakta a questionnaire that - amongst other things - asked, on a scale of 1-10, how often her shoulder dislocated in a typical day.  We laughed.
Title: Re: Dislocated shoulder
Post by: T42 on 14 June, 2019, 01:51:29 pm
The Inlaw Paw had a nursing student who could pop his shoulder out and in again at will.  Great for demonstrations.
Title: Re: Dislocated shoulder
Post by: Sergeant Pluck on 14 June, 2019, 02:23:48 pm
I partially dislocated a shoulder some years ago (probably almost 10) when I came off the bike. It popped out again a few days later too, almost by itself.

Once it has come out, it is never the same again,in that there will be orientations in which the shoulder just doesn't feel as securely attached as it should. Appropriate physio at the correct stage and ongoing exercises to strengthen the rotator cuff and other muscles that support the joint is essential.

I still do exercises with the shoulder in mind. If I don't, I notice that after a few weeks the shoulder starts to feel "loose".

On the plus side, 10 years on, it hasn't limited me in any way although I sometimes suspect there is a bit of arthritis starting up in that shoulder.
Title: Re: Dislocated shoulder
Post by: benborp on 14 June, 2019, 02:48:53 pm
I have chronic shoulder stability issues and my recommendation would be to find a good physiotherapist as soon as possible.

The process of being referred through a fracture clinic to a physiotherapist can be a little clunky sometimes, leaving treatment a little out of step with where the joint is in its current function - there is a lot of work to balance muscle coordination, regaining strength and supporting weaknesses that varies from week to week. Under or overdoing it even for a short period can add months to rehabilitation.

NHS physio services seem to be generally oversubscribed which in my experience resulted in courses of physio whose aims were to get me back to a pre-surgery, walking wounded state of function. Excellent service, but the aims were to get me about 20% of the way down the road to recovery. Long term physio supervision has been quite important in keeping my shoulders functioning as best they can and for me to know what my limitations are.
Title: Re: Dislocated shoulder
Post by: Paul on 25 June, 2019, 11:25:31 pm
How’s your shoulder, Luke?

Coincidentally, my mum (81) broke her arm on Sunday: top of the humerus right in the shoulder joint.

So I’m thinking of you both.

P