Dislocated shoulder recovery time

well i would give it a couple weeks to heal, but if you just want to go and ski some runs you probably could, just dont push it, and dont use poles, but taking a week off wouldn't hurt. it comes down to how it's feeling, but dont push yourself right away.

Well I'd rest it, You don't wanna strain it and cause you more problems which could lead to putting you out for the whole season.

Welcome to the club!!!!

Your shoulder will never be right, ever again. I still cannot throw an overhand pitch or throw a football properly. Your shoulder will now forever pop out easier and easier. They will eventually recommend you a surgery, which will more than likely not do all that much for you either.

My honest suggestion, is to give it a few weeks. Rehab it like crazy and do lots of shoulder exercises during that time period. Get the surrounding muscles as strong as possible.

My final suggestion is a shoulder brace. I just started wearing one while skiing for the first time on Monday. I bought the EVS SB03 ($45) and it seemed to make a positive difference. It gave me confidence, and also helped apply a small amount of pressure which definitely helped keep the shoulder more in place.

Good luck though! Shoulder dislocations suck, and hurt like hell, and know exactly where you are standing.

Thanks for the idea of the brace, I'll look into it for sure. this was my 2nd time dislocating the same shoulder, did it a few years back.

if you think dislocations hurt, try separating it, damn those suck, though they actually fully heal.

haha.  Yes.  I had surgery in august and am still not able to throw a ball properly either.  I hope to get it back sometime soon, but even more so I don't want my shoulder to come out again.

This fucking blows though.  It's shitty that an injury that isn't especially painful can fuck up you so permanently.   I just opted for the surgery right away rather than wait for my shoulder to come out a few more times.  They said the rate of success for the surgery goes way down the more you dislocate it.  It's something to consider.  good luck.

The success rate of the surgery may be good, but as a freeskier, your odds of blowing it again after all those medical expenses are also high. Another thing to consider.

As for pain, I found it to be incredibly painful. One of the times I had to go to the ER to have it relocated, and it was 2 inches down out of the socket. I had an IV injection of a synthetic morphine and it took 4 doses to alleviate the pain. As soon as it went back in its socket there was no pain, but while it was out, it was very painful.

My first time it hurt really badly but the second time it was just mad sore. I didn't get an IV or any pain meds when the doctor pulled it back in. He just grabbed my arm and pulled down and out and it popped back in, no pain when he was pulling just kind of a minor soreness.

those hurt like a bitch!

Maybe that's good news then! Hahaha, it was the only major dislocation I'd had. I just had a few subluxes before that.

I too was/am in the club.  I dislocated mine for the first time when I was 19.  For three years, until I was 22, it got worse and worse.  I probably dislocated it a few hundred times in those three years.  I definitely lost count after the first 100 dislocations.  I had surgery a year and a half ago.  Not last may, but the May before.  When the surgeon opened me up, he had to call a toxicologist because all the tissue and cartilage in my shoulder was black.  He thought I had cancer.  It turned out that, because I had dislocated it so many times and had never let it heal properly, I had hemmoraged so much that the iron in my blood had stained all my muscle tissue black and left a dark residue which was covering everything within my shoulder.  Disgusting right?  Anyway,  I have not re-dislocated it since, even after skiing hard all last winter.  BUT, 3 weeks ago at the diving boards, I landed with my arms out and it moved all nastily and subluxed (went out and back in really fast) and the nightmare reinvented itself in my mind.  So, I have been at the Gym everyday strengthening and toning all muscles which contribute to shoulder stability.  My recommendation to you is that since you've already had two dislocations, your shoulder is now loose and fucked.  There is nothing you can do.  You can excersie and make the muscles strong for stability, but the fact of the matter is, your ligaments are now permanently loose, and your cartelidge around your rotator cuff is now chipped, and your shoulder will undoubtedly dislocate again.  It might take a few months, but it will happen.  So rest it up, until that pain that runs down your inner-bicep is tolerable, strengthen your shoulder with these exercises : http://www.orthop.washington.edu/uw/weakshoulder/tabID__3376/ItemID__190/PageID__370/Articles/Default.aspx and go and at least inquire about surgical repair.  All the best dude.

rehab is like crazy cus if you dont youll end up like me... 200+dislocations, 2 surgeries and two screws plus modified pecs muscle.

i've dislocated my left shoulder twice now and its never been right since the first time.  there will be times when i pick something up and have intense pain, also my hand goes numb from the nerves being compressed in my shoulder it suks!  i suggest as much down time you can stand and do the rehad exercises they will speed recovery.

you get those nasty bumps where the bone like sticks out on top of the shoulder, it's natural for the injury

I strongly recommend waiting a couple weeks.
The first time i dislocated mine I didnt go to a doctor or anything, and just kept living like normal, and sure enough it popped out again2 weeks later, after that, it has popped out probably once or twice a week for the past year and a half.  Now I have to get surgery because I've gotten to the point where I can't swim without it popping out and it pops out when i roll over in my sleep.  The surgeon I talked to said its because after the first time the ligaments didnt heal properly and are now too stretched to hold it in properly.

becarefull, it will get easier and easier to pop it out now.

my dads healed in 2 weeks. but he cant swing a golf club like he used to and lil things like that.

+vibes man

yeah both my shoulders are fucked.  I skied with one arm in a  sling for most of the last two years.  I have a 350 brace that seems help hold both shoulders in.  Take the time off I didnt and now both my shoulders are fucked

Take the injury seriously... Use the next 2 weeks to train your shoulder. train them carefully and do some push ups when you can manage them its important to make the shoulder strong again after such an injury. I've had 2 wrecked shoulders but ive used the summer to train them again and they are working beter but they will never be perfect because i rushed into skiing to quicklyu

I've already considered that and got the surgery, but yea i agree.  Surgery is not 100% but the chances of it coming out repeatedly without the surgery are basically 100%.  And with insurance the cost of surgery is equal to a couple trips to emergency room anyway.

And for pain, I meant the pain when it first happened.  It wasn't too bad for me,I crashed mtn biking and  didn't really realize it was out until I figured out I couldn't move it at all.  Of course adreneline helped.  I'm just glad I was within walking distance of the car cause I could have been totally fucked.  Luckily they gave me a crazy drug in the ER which completely relaxed all my muscles and gave me memory loss for like 10 min.  So luckily I skipped that part i'm sure it would have been insanely painful otherwise.  It was a weird drug though.  I just sort of came to a few minutes later and my shoulder was in.  My friends said it took like 2 guys holding my body and another guy just cranking my arm to get it back in.  I'm very thankful I don't remember that.

as much as it sucks, id take at least 2, probably 3-4 weeks off from skiing.  thats how long i was told to take it easy and keep it in a sling, and mine only popped out once during that time which was while i was sleeping.  unfortunately, my doctor told me i have a 98% chance of it happening again

as for pain and knowing it happened, i knew i dislocated it right away because i couldnt move it or lift myself off the ground.  it hurt real bad and i went to the ER cause i didnt know what to do

Yeah, I've dislocated my left shoulder over 10 times. After an MRI I learned that I had an anterior laboral tear. I'm probably going to surgery sometime early this summer. It's really the only viable option for me right now. It will never be better without this. It's gonna be a 6 month recovery time + tons of PT.

yah screw surgery, i blew mine out like 100 times and got it fixed and i still knock it out every now and then, but it's been pretty good for a while

I dislocated my shoulder a few years ago when I was drunk, I got it in a sling which I left on overnight then resumed normal activity. My shoulder was fine for a few months, maybe even a year when I had it dislocated again. I thought it was fine but in the 06-07 season I popped it out again while skiing and it felt fucked for a few days after that. I went to the ER to get it checked out since it felt like it was slowly falling out of joint every hour or so and only fixed itself when I relaxed hardcore and gave my arm a gentle tug. Anyway, the ER doc referred me to an orthopedic specialist who basically said my laborum was fucked and I could either get an MRI to confirm it, then get surgery, or just skip the MRI and operate. I decided to just jump into the surgery. Last october they operated and I wore a sling for 6 weeks then started physio. It's a slow recovery but a year later I was back at full strength although my range of motion is slightly hindered and it doesn't feel as stable as it could be. At least it hasn't popped out again in over a year. For the medical nerds here I had a Bankhart repair on my laborum which had a poserior, anterior and superior(?) tear. It took my doctor 8 anchors to get it back in one piece.

Are there any online resources for pt that you guys know of? I didn't separate my shoulder but messed it up pretty well and am in need of some exercises.

http://www.orthop.washington.edu/uw/weakshoulder/tabID__3376/ItemID__190/PageID__370/Articles/Default.aspx

Wow, I didn't know this was such a common experience.  I'll give you my 2 cents. 

So when I was young 2 or 3 years old I had a major dislocation, fell of a couch which took it out, I put it back in myself a week or so later by falling on it again off a rocking horse.  Everything was good for the next 12 years as I was growing and everything is soft in that stage of your life so it appeared normal.

Fast forward to when I was 14.  I am starting to stop growing.  I start to dislocate it from time to time.  I can always put it back in myself by just feeling around and playing with it until i feel it pop into place.  for the next 4 years this happens more and more often, which blows, but i deal with it.  The worst was when it dislocated 3 times in one day of skiing.

So eventually I decided to figure out whats going on in my shoulder cause I want to see whats up.  So I get an MRI.  Doctor says i need surgery.  So I basically get shoulder reconstruction.  When they cut inside its much worse than they thought from the MRI.  I tore the cartilage from the ball part of the ball and socket joint, tore other various ligaments and cartilage including a labral tear.  Apparently its gotten so bad the bones in my shoulder joint have started to chip.  Also i guess it was never fully back into place so i was going around with it on the edge of a dislocation, not good for the joint to heal.

So the surgery takes longer than they thought cause they had a ton of stuff to fix.  Tightening basically every ligament in the shoulder and reattaching every piece of cartilage and replacing it into its socket.  So several pins and hours later the surgery is complete.  I guess it went well.  Gotta tell you anesthesia sucks.  Waking up from it is the worst thing ever.  Worst sensation and feelings ever.  Although I guess its worse for people of english and scotish descent.

But yeah, expect 6 months of doing nothing, no skiing, no mntn biking, no baseball, football, bball, etc.  Cause if you fall on it during those 6 months there is a very good chance of needing to have the surgery over again which ondoes everything so another 6 months of nothing, so play it safe and get it over with.  Its worth the wait.

PT sucks though.  But it is very helpful to get your range of motion and strength back.  Very painful though.  So i had my surgery done in janurary.  Wanted to wait till may cause then i'd be skiing in november, but it was so bad i needed to get it done asap.  So i bit the bullet and had it done.  Got some skiing in nov and dec in but then sat the rest of the season out which sucked.  But i'm so pumped to ski this season and take nothing for granted and have so much more confidence when skiing. 

Thats another thing get it done soon it only gets worse.  My Dr. said if you wait until you're 30 or 35 you will need a new shoulder which really sucks.  Right now I'm still working on confidence with it and strengthening it up.  I work it at the gym and do pushups and also play some football and throw a baseball around.  I might buy a shoulder brace though for skiing just in case. 

Anyway good luck with your shoulder.  I'd say since you've taken it out twice this is the path you're heading for.  You might be in luck.  Since its only been twice tons and tons of muscle building might save you from surgery.  I was a lost cause since it had been 4-5 years of frequent disloations probably adding up to several hundred dislocations.

Good luck with your injury

My previous post was directed at you.

i know its tough but take the time off until while the snow isnt great and rehab the shit out of your shoulder. do lots of rotator cuff and deltoid workouts to support your socket and definately get  a brace for skiing if you have already done it twice its that much easier to happen again. like i said dont push the healing time, you still have a whole season ahead of you, dont waste it on something that could only take a few weeks to heal properly.

Stay positive dude, the mental aspect is a huge part of it.  I had a horrible dislocation in motocross racing and tore all my nerves down arm. Doc said I may never ride or ski again.  Completely put that out of my mind, got the R&R i needed, when I had a little strength a started lifting.  Could barely get a weight above my head. Kept at it and now I'm stronger than ever and it has never come out again through some vicious crashes.  Good luck do work

That is the absolute truth.

You just joined the club of working out your shoulder because if you let those muscles weaken at all, they will no longer help support your shoulder and will allow the joint to dislocate much easier.

Since you haven't had many dislocations, I'd definitely try the PT method first anyways, as it is far better than surgery, and if limited damage is done, your shoulder may be stronger and more stable after PT than it was before the injury.

I'm in the club.. 10+ dislocations deep

it really fuckin hurts
i dislocated mine this summer in chile
after they popped it back in they told me i really shouldnt ski at all but i did it anyways just really carefully after i got home i had to go  through physical therapy and just do all the exercises they tell you to do and youll be alright

kind of

i dislocated and fractured mine. i had to get surgery but i tried to remember not to ski on my shoulder. So as long as you dont fall on you shoulder, get out there and stomp a little yard.

I also agree, and for anyone who is reading this thread and who hasn't had a shoulder injury, strengthen that shit for some prevention... the gym sucks but injuries suck way more.

well dude, its gonna be shitty from here on out for you. my dad dislocated his shoulder skiing about two years ago and let it heal for a around 2 months and worked it out quite a bit. he ended up dislocating it again skiing this last season and they had ALOT more trouble putting it back in the second time. apparently he had built the muscle around his shoulder up almost too much, and it got in the way of putting it back in. the ligaments are the things that are getting fucked over most and stretched. it got to the point where he was threading a computer cord through a desk from below and it popped out on him. he ended up getting surgery for it and it went well. its normal for him except the surgeon said it could pop out again if he does anything with contact on it (aka falling on it again)

don't fuck around with shoulders. take the doctor's advice....trust me

Wow, i know a lot of skiers suffer from this but i had a similar experience.

Hurt my shoulder when i was around 10 years old, and have had very loose shoulders ever since - hyper extension!!

This caused me quite a few painful days until one day i hurt it by falling on a nose butter three, and it went into the wrong position without me realising. I carried on skiing and later in the lodge whilst adjusting my goggles my shoulder just fell out of its socket. I managed to get it back in myself as it was soo loose by this point. I went to the doctor and he told me to take at least two weeks off. Stupidly i was skiing again after three days and my shoulder had dislocated again within a week.

This continued to happen over the next year and each time it went in and out more and more easily. it even fell out while i was ASLEEP!!

anyway eventually saw the surgeon and bit the bullet and had the op. six months out, and never the same range of movement and strength again, EVER!!

have been skiing on it for about a year now and this summer it just started feeling better and i am starting to get more confidence, but i still shit myself on all jumps.

anyway my advice is to read carefully all these posts and to think very hard befor skiing again because likely it will come out again soon. the first time is always the most crucial and if you dont rehab now you will never have another chance and you will probably regret it. i know i do. a few weeks hard work now is much better than six months to a year later!!

TIMEWARB RAPIST BUMP!!!!

Ive dislocated both my shoulders, but recently just dislocated my left for the first time and im looking for braces for it and i see you mentioned the evs brace wich i was looking at, and the other one (the one at the bottom of this) looks good also. Im likdof leaning to the one at the bottom though it looks a little more like it would squeeze my shoulder in place a bit more? So ns anyone else have a shoulder brace theyd like to show me, or anyone have this one im about to get? Wich ones would be better for a freeskior?

http://www.amazon.com/SixSixOne-661-SHOULDER-Sixsixone-Shoulder/dp/B002A0ROR0#moreAboutThisProduct