Dr. R k Saxena

When a blow or a fall causes an injury, where the top of your arm bone pops out from your shoulder socket, it’s called shoulder dislocation. It is a very painful condition and you need to get this relocated to its position immediately. The tissues and bone related to that particular joint get damaged.

If you ignore this situation or keep the shoulder like this, it will be more harmful and painful for you. There may appear a bump in front or at the back of your shoulder that hurts.

What can lead to a dislocated shoulder injury?

• Sharp or a very fast twist of your arm.
• Falling down on a hard surface.
• A sudden hurt or hit.
• It may also happen when you fall down and try to save yourself using your hand. The force of the hit indirectly gets into the shoulder and your shoulder joint may slip from its place.

In some of the outdoor games, there are high chances to get hurt in the shoulder. Hockey, football, rugby, rock climbing, volleyball etc. bring in high probabilities of injuring the shoulder, thereby resulting in a shoulder dislocation.

What is the treatment or therapy of a dislocated shoulder?

The dislocated shoulder should be very urgently treated. As this injury of the shoulder is very painful, you should consult to a specialized orthopaedist as fast as possible to fix up the shoulder to its proper joint. As it is very painful and swollen, the faster the treatment, the better it is. When your doctor fixes your shoulder in its actual place or the bone of your arm comes back to the socket, most of your pain will go away and you get huge relief from pain. After the shoulder bone is relocated, you can use further conservative treatment to reduce the pain and swelling of that place. Dislocated shoulder may take 3 to 12 weeks to recover. But this is the approximate time and it depends on the seriousness of the injury.

After the treatment, when all the symptoms are gone, the doctor will suggest some exercises for better results and normal shoulder movement and to prevent future shoulder injury. Ones the shoulder is dislocated, the chances of dislocation in future is further increased as the tissue supporting the head of humerus into its socket is torn. Such patients may land up with recurrent dislocation of shoulder wherein shoulder dislocates easily on specific movement and patients are afraid to do over-head activities. The problem is best diagnosed by MRI Scan.

The best treatment for this is Arthroscopic (Key-Hole Surgery) Bankart's Repair. Following operation shoulder is kept at rest for 2 weeks then Physiotherapy is started. Day to day activities are started after 2 weeks and sports activity is started after 3 to 5 months.