shoulder dislocation, how long is recovery?

[discNDav]

I fell and dislocated my throwing shoulder today. The emergency room popped back in place. I've not spoken to a orthro doc or PT rep yet so I'm asking those who are familiar with this, how long before I'm playing again? (I did go thru rotator cuff surgery 10 years ago).

 

[prerube]

best to consult a doctor. all injuries are different based on intensity, your age, weight, history of injury, and activity levels.
It would be unwise to trust guys on the internet with advice about your health.

 

[Dave242]

I don't know how to answer your question about how long recovery is. But, I had dislocated my throwing shoulder originally years before I started playing DG regularly, but around the time I was tapering off from playing a lot of Ultimate. I proceeded to disclocate it in almost every sport and activity imaginable....once while sleeping (it was that loose).

The motions that were affected (and put me in jeopardy of dislocation) were reaching behind my back (like threading my belt) and backwards pressure while reaching up (blocking a volleyball spike, catching a ball, diving, etc).

The great news is that there was no pain or risk in the motion of a backhand throw. I dislocated a couple times while playing DG (climbing over a fence and falling), popped it back in, and continued my round (taking some Advil too). I had surgery which was major and extremely painful, and was back playing in about 4 months.

Like Prerube says, get medical advice from a medical professional....and do your prescribed physical therapy when that time comes!

 

[Broken Shoulder]

Was it a full anterior dislocation? X-rays were good following reduction?
How old are you? In patients under 40, an anterior dislocation following a fall will likely coincide with a torn labrum. In patients over 40, a torn rotator cuff. Given your history of rotator cuff issues, well that complicates things.

You need to see an ortho.

Depending on your age, you are either less or more likely to have recurrent instability and future sublaxations and dislocations. The younger you are, the more likely you are to experience future events. Much of it will depend on the severity of the damage to your soft tissues, and how your rehab goes.

In June of this year, I suffered my seventh anterior dislocation of my right shoulder. I had a labrum repair and debridement in 2001, and have dislocated five times since then. I have surgery scheduled again for September 15th of this year. Rather than rehash all that, I'll just link the thread. http://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=115891

More and more now, the specialists are advising against prolonged use of an immobilizer or sling following a dislocation. Like, a few days at most, and then beginning initial PT to not limit your ROM and lose all your strength. I would think, in a best case scenario, that you're several months away from throwing at least. That is a lot of trauma to that joint. But, I'm just a patient, not an expert, so PLEASE SEE AN ORTHO.

 

[discNDav]

I'm 52 and killing time here and on the net waiting for the orthro to call back. My vaca and DG road trip just got all f*'d up

 

[Broken Shoulder]

I can empathize for sure. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

 

[sidewinder22]

I can only tell you it took me a month recovery when I was in college, but I popped it back in myself.

 

[Clonan]

I've dislocated both of my shoulders and I date a Doctor of Physical Therapy who rehabs shoulder surgery patients. I've had Labral repair surgery on both. When you dislocate your shoulder, you tear your labrum (in rare cases, you may not though). The labrum is a ring shaped piece of cartilage that stabilizes your shoulder (stabilizes the humorous head in the Glenoid Socket which is a part of your Scapula aka shoulder). A torn labrum reduces the stability of your shoulder. Depending on how you dislocated your shoulder will depend on how torn your labrum is.

What are your options? Surgery to repair the labrum or Physical Therapy. Other factors are did you chip your humoral head or the scapula? How torn is the labrum? Was there any other trauma done like bicep tendon damage? You need to go see an Orthopedic surgeon who will prescribe an Contrast Dye MRI aka Arthrogram. They can be pricey without insurance ($1k-$3k) and still pretty expensive with insurance. What they do is inject a dye into your Glenoid Socket and use the MRI to see if the dye is leaking out of the socket. If it reveals the dye is leaking out, you have a torn labrum and they'll have a general idea of what kind of tear you have (SLAP tear, Bankart Lesion, Reverse Bankart lesion etc.). The severity of the tear isn't %100 known until you have surgery and they can see it with the scope. But various range of motion tests can give the doc an idea.

The decision to do surgery depends on the person (young/old, active/not active, dominant arm/non dominant arm). I tore my left labrum in high school and chose to rehab since it wouldn't affect my sports activities. When I tore my right, I ended up getting both repaired in the same year. Recovering from labral repair surgery is a bear. It sucks. You wear an Ultra Sling for 6-8 weeks and sleep in a recline for 6-8 weeks. Then you rehab for 3-6 months. Rehab is PAINFUL. THEN, after you complete rehab you need to maintain rehab on your own to prevent reinjury. That is the key. If you stop your exercises, the muscles supporting your shoulder (back and shoulder muscles) atrophy and the only thing keeping your labrum from retearing is the Anchors your doc put in to keep it in place which are not strong enough alone. Retares are not uncommon for people who do not maintain therapy on their own. But everyone is different. Let me reiterate, your repair is only as good as your rehab.


If you choose to not repair it, Physical Therapy is your option. They will show you exercises to help you build up the supporting muscles which will help stabilize your shoulder but your still at risk of subluxation (which is when your shoulder "slips" in/out of socket. Not a full dislocation though.)

Good luck to you man!

 

[Jukeshoe]

Get well soon!

 

[Clonan]

Also, after I tore my right labrum (2012) I was playing DG about 1 week after. SLAP Tear and a Bankart lesion is what I did.

How long YOU are out depends on what other trauma may have occurred as a result of the dislocation. See an Ortho, maybe get an Arthrogram if you can afford it and talk to your ortho about it.

 

[discNDav]

What are your options? Surgery to repair the labrum or Physical Therapy. Other factors are did you chip your humoral head or the scapula? How torn is the labrum? Was there any other trauma done like bicep tendon damage?

yes to chip or hairline fracture on the top of the humeral, seeing the ortho doc tomorrow to get more details and schedule PT. My vaca and DG road trip just got f*'d up, leaving next week. Thanks Clonan! I now have more questions for the doc.

 

[Indiana574]

Not be be the bearer of bad news but I dislocated my left arm 10 years ago. It has never been the same it pops out even doing the easiest task it is horrible. I can not do any kind of full reach with it any more or it will pop out. It is more serious then you think.

 

[Broken Shoulder]

yes to chip or hairline fracture on the top of the humeral, seeing the ortho doc tomorrow to get more details and schedule PT. My vaca and DG road trip just got f*'d up, leaving next week. Thanks Clonan! I now have more questions for the doc.

I have a sizable Hills-Sachs lesion, and roughly 10% glenoid bone loss. My surgeon put it at a 5% chance that he will address either when I go in for surgery. A remplissage procedure to address the humeral head defect may severely limit ROM, so in my case, he is shortening and relocating the tendons to further aid in stability above and beyond the labrum repair.

Good luck though. As someone who has gone through it, put all your effort into rehab. It will suck, but the consequences of cheating rehab at all are much worse.

 

[thirtydirtybirds]

GO TO THE DOCTOR! I messed up my shoulder years ago in a freak archaeology accident, and being young and bullheaded I let it heal up on its own. I still have problems with that shoulder occasionally. It really is not fun sometimes, nothing wrecks a good day faster than intense pain.

Don't be like me, get it sorted out by a professional.

 

[dysmike]

I can only tell you it took me a month recovery when I was in college, but I popped it back in myself.

Mine took twice as long to recover at 38 than it did at 23.

After you see an ortho, follow up with the PT... And take that seriously. That's the only advice I've got.