Dislocated shoulder - aftercare


Description

The shoulder is a ball and socket joint. This means the round top of your arm bone (the ball) fits into the groove in your shoulder blade (the socket).

When you have a dislocated shoulder, it means the entire ball is out of the socket.

When you have a partly dislocated shoulder, it means only part of the ball is out of the socket. This is called a shoulder subluxation.

Alternative Names

Shoulder dislocation - aftercare; Shoulder subluxation - aftercare; Shoulder reduction - aftercare; Glenohumeral joint dislocation

About Your Injury

You most likely dislocated your shoulder from a sports injury or accident, such as a fall.

You have likely injured (stretched or torn) some of the muscles, tendons (tissues that connect muscle to bone), or ligaments (tissues that connect bone to bone) of the shoulder joint. All of these tissues help keep your arm in place.

Having a dislocated shoulder is very painful. It is very hard to move your arm. You may also have:

What to Expect

Surgery may or may not be needed after your dislocation. It depends on your age and how often your shoulder has been dislocated. You may also need surgery if you have a job in which you need to use your shoulder a lot or need to use it in order to be safe.

In the emergency room, your arm was placed back (relocated or reduced) into your shoulder socket.

You will have a greater chance of dislocating your shoulder again. With each injury, it takes less force to do this and can cause more damage to the bone and tissue around the shoulder.

If your shoulder continues to partly or fully dislocate in the future, you may need surgery to repair or tighten the ligaments that hold the bones in your shoulder joint together.

To Relieve Your Symptoms

To reduce swelling:

For pain, you can use ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn), or acetaminophen (Tylenol).

Activity

Your provider will:

After your shoulder has healed for 2 to 4 weeks, you will be referred for physical therapy.

Do not return to activities that place too much stress on your shoulder joint. Ask your provider first. These activities include most sports activities using your arms, gardening, heavy lifting, or even reaching above shoulder level. Motions such as reaching with your arm on the side and rotating to the back can make the shoulder more unstable.

Ask your provider when you can expect to return to your normal activities.

Follow-up

See an orthopedic specialist (orthopedic surgeon or sports medicine provider) in a week or less after your shoulder joint is put back into place. They will check the bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments in your shoulder.

When to Call the Doctor

Contact your provider if:

References

Phillips BB. Recurrent dislocations. In: Azar FM, Beaty JH, eds. Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics. 14th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2021:chap 47.

Smith JV. Shoulder dislocations. In: Fowler GC, ed. Pfenninger and Fowler's Procedures for Primary Care. 4th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 174.

Thompson SR, Menzer H, Brockmeier SF. Anterior shoulder instability. In: Miller MD, Thompson SR, eds. DeLee, Drez, & Miller's Orthopaedic Sports Medicine. 5th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 40.


Review Date: 6/17/2024
Reviewed By: C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Professor, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, San Francisco, CA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. No warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, is made as to the accuracy, reliability, timeliness, or correctness of any translations made by a third-party service of the information provided herein into any other language. © 1997- A.D.A.M., a business unit of Ebix, Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.
© 1997- adam.comAll rights reserved.
 
A.D.A.M. content is best viewed in IE9 or above, Firefox and Google Chrome browser.