Repeated dislocation

an ortho doc could probably do something to help you out. Probably wouldn't hurt for you to at least see one to get it evaluated (then have him refer you for a second opinion).

Also, you might check with an athletic trainer or physical therapist to see what kind of exercises you can do to strenthen the muscles around your shoulder. My wife deals with this on a daily basis and has brought a lot of kids back into action who had shoulder problems.

My ol' man also had trouble with his always falling out until he started lifting daily. I can't recall him having a problem since.

good luck.

My son went through this a few years ago. He dislocated his shoulder wakeboarding. We went to a sports orthopedic doctor (best thing, I recommend the "sports" specialty).

The doctor laid it out for us very plainly (and accurately, as it turned out). He basically said that the "lip" of the shoulder socket looks a lot like a golf tee and now the lip has been torn off. The "ball" will still sit there and be fine but the lip is gone to keep it there. The result: it will dislocate very easily.

Two options: live with it, or fix it.

To fix it will put your shoulder out of commission for several months. No wakeboarding, no football, no snowboarding, no dirt bike riding.

Live with it will be a pain (literally and figuratively) and when you get tired of it popping out you will want to get it fixed. No harm in waiting, however.

This happened the summer before my son's senior year in high school. He was a starter on the football team (tight end) and wanted to finish out his last year so we deferred the operation.

The doctor was 100% correct. My son popped his shoulder out again a couple of times in football practice (freaked his teammates out) and once while he was sleeping! The good news is that he got pretty good at putting it back in by himself. Relax the best you can, drop your hand down towards your knee, give it a tug with the other hand.

One time at a wakeboard competition I watched another rider with the same problem put his shoulder back in place. He obviously had done it a bunch of times before. He had been riding with a belt strapped around his upper torso, apparently an attempt to keep the shoulder together. Obviously didn't work, but the belt came in handy to get the shoulder back into the socket. He wrapped the belt around his wrist, the stood on the free end and jerked up with his body. A small crowd was watching this guy and they couldn't figure out what he was doing but I recognized it.....

The day the football season ended (or rather the Monday after) we called up the doctor and scheduled the surgery. Since the surgery he has had no problems with the shoulder at all. That was almost 5 years ago.

The surgery is definitely worth it, but I recommend going to a "sports" doctor.

Rod

eds_tls said:

I already made an apointment with a highly recommended orthopedic guy. He is also the team doctor for the minor league baseball and hockey team here and is supposed to be very good.

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Perfect! That's definitely the guy you want to talk to. He's had experience getting guys back in action, so you couldn't have asked for a better choice.

But, don't hesitate to get a second opinion if you feel the least bit uncomfortable.

Same thing has happened to me this year in football. I have dislocated the same finger 3x now. The first hurt very badly and it was all crooked and stuff. The 2nd and 3rd hurt just as bad but it was just at an angle not all hanging there and stuff.

I have had the surgery. It worked very well and I only lost a very small amount in rage of motion. Now I pitch a baseball like a girl, but who cares.
Absolutely any further dislocations without repair will do further damage. It's not just one dimensional. Prepare to be down and out for at least 6-8 weeks, but in a year, you won't notice at all. The Doc was correct in saying it can be 100% as strong as it was. PT is critical in getting your range/strenght back though, and it sucked worse than the surgery.

Best wishes, whatever you choose

Redrodent said:

I. . . PT is critical in getting your range/strenght back though, and it sucked worse than the surgery.

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I think all physical therapists channel Torquemada and use his "skills" from the Inquisition for "theraputic" means . . .

I was a pretty strong weight lifter at the time, benching 325+ before the moon shot.

You should have seen me 4 weeks post op. Shaking and sweating, working that pink 1.5lb dumbell :whoa:

Wow I must have been pretty lucky, I popped my shoulder out a few years back being towed behing my boad on a surf board.
I was signed off work for 8 weeks, 4 weeks in a sling and 4 weeks phisio.
The doc said if I look after it it should be ok but if it pops again I will need surgery.
They sew the pectorial muscle to the bicept I think and you loose around 5% movement.
I have not had and major probs since unless I really put it through some work then it might ache a bit.
Hope it never comes out again as it was the worst pain ever and good old british national health service ment I was sat in hospital for 2 hours before they put it back in for me.

Hey all.I am new here to dirtrider.net.As I sit here and type I am resting my shoulder.I recently strained might scapula for the 3rd time now.I was doing a lil research on web and found evs makes 2 different neoprene shoulder braces to help your shoulder stay in place.Seems like once you injure a shoulder it haunts ya for a good while.Thanks Wec