Repeated dislocated shoulder?

[bertieg]

anyone else on here suffer from it?

i dislocated my shoulder 4 times before having surgery (bankart repair.) that sorted it for a couple of years, but over the last three or so years its been happening a lot. i think im up to 13 times now! the most recent being yesterday whilst kitesurfing. managed to get it back in on my own and get back to dry land okay, but its not the best thing to be happening out at sea in big swell! this time seems to be one of the more painful, with it still aching and feeling a bit unstable now

i've seen doctors and physios a few times since the operation and have been told every time that the joint is strong and stable, which is quite clearly not the case. giving up sport is not a solution, as it has happened at work, lying on the floor at home, whilst out sailing, sitting on a sofa etc

i'll almost certainly go and see the doc again, but i was wondering if anyone had any experiences that may help me? further surgeries that have helped, particular exercises etc. im currently wondering if conventional weight lifting to bulk up may help (i'm already very broad shouldered, but i haven't got particularly large shoulder and arm muscles)


cheers

[Centurion07]

I found really getting into weight training helped mine. "Luckily" mine exits out the back so the best muscles to strengthen are all out the front i.e. the bits you generally want bigger & stronger anyways.

[Slink]

I would say to build up all the muscles surrounding it as that would make a stronger base for it.

muscle doesnt really like to be stretched further than normal movement, and when it dislocates, that will of corse stretch the muscles, but with more muscle there, its less likley to pop out, as there is more muscle fighting it to keep it in its right place.

my sister used to dislocate her shoulder quite a bit when in secondary school. and she built up a bit of muscle in her shoulders (from hardly any) and she has not had it popping out in about 15 years now.

[bertieg]

i have done quite a lot of the poxy theraband exercises they give you, but i did wonder if doing weights might make all the difference. the thing is, inbetween dislocations the shoulder does still feel strong. before the operation i could wobble the bone around in the socket, which isnt the case now

[Centurion07]

TBH I did hardly any of what the physio told me to do but I know it wouldn't have come anywhere near what the weights have done for it.

[james0]

Used to get this myself allot, due to a muscle imbalance. one of my ex's used to like to sleep on a futon and I once woke up with both by shoulders dislocated with really bad pins and needles. Getting out of bed was an interesting problem. The therabands did nothing for me, I even had a machine with sticky pads to place on the correct muscles so it beeped when the right muscles were used. In reality mountain biking used just the right muscles (back of the shoulder blades) and I only get a dislocation these days if I crash and fall on a shoulder.

[goldblum]

bertieg said:

im currently wondering if conventional weight lifting to bulk up may help (i'm already very broad shouldered, but i haven't got particularly large shoulder and arm muscles)

No,it won't. It will make your shoulder muscles stronger but will have no/very little impact on the chances of future dislocations.

The top of the arm at the shoulder joint is held in place by an assortment of ligament and muscle called the rotator cuff. Every time the humeral head pops out of it's (not very good) socket (the glenoid) the ligaments which hold it in place are stretched, and it can take years for them to return their former tightness. Every the shoulder dislocates the ligament gets looser until dislocation becomes a common occurrence. You could have shoulder muscles the size of Schwarzennegger but if the socket is unstable it will dislocate at the slightest provocation. An operation can be performed to shorten and reattach some of the ligament, hopefully re-securing the humeral head in place. You can also strengthen the muscles of the rotator cuff by performing internal/external rotation exercises - youtube will show you these exercises and others.

[spikeyhead]

Mine used to fall out quite often. I physio I knew had a good look and found that my anterior deltoid was underdeveloped compared with the rest. Once I'd done some specific exercises to improve this then the problem went away.

If you have an imbalance then exercising to correct for it may help. If you don't and it's due to stretched ligaments then I believe you'll need surgery.

[Justin Cyder]

About 25-30 dislocations over the years. I had a Putti Platt repair aged 21, then this January, had Bankart after tearing something playing squash in 2012. I'm about six months in from the Bankart & now I have perspective it amounts to seeing clearly that my shoulder is fked for good.

First dislocation was playing cricket, then football and subsequent dislocations hang gliding, windsurfing, snowboarding, at work, watching tv - you name it.

I'm 42 now, so 've more or less put my sport days behind me, although I would happily have continued with squash had I been able to do so.

I don't really have any happy answers to offer. The surgeons will promise the earth but the joint is so free by design, they really can't lock it down 100% I think the best advice is to build muscle around it & avoid the planes of motion that are going to put you in trouble although I appreciate that's easier said than done.

Nowadays I'm cycling & swimming which are about the only avenues left open to me although thankfully, I do enjoy the cycling. Good luck with it & listen to your body.