Shoulder dislocation is the injury with the upper arm bone (humerus) popping out of its cup-shaped socket at the shoulder. The shoulder is prone to dislocations since it is the most mobile body joint. The shoulder can dislocate from:
- Front of the socket called Anterior Dislocation
- Behind the socket called Posterior Dislocation
- Below the socket called Inferior Dislocation
Recurrent Shoulder Dislocations is the condition where the dislocations take on a recurrent nature and hence is also called Shoulder Instability. The shoulder joints of such unstable shoulders tend to have a wider circumference than the socket and are shallow.
Treatment
The Recurrent Shoulder Dislocations can be treated by two main methods:
- Non-Surgical Treatment
- Surgical Treatment
The doctors would try to treat this condition initially with Non-Surgical Treatment options and would opt for Surgical Treatment only if these methods don’t relieve the pain and instability of the shoulder.
Surgical Treatment
The doctors resort to surgical treatment when the non-surgical treatment is not effective in relieving pain and in shoulder instability. Sometimes surgery turns out to be necessary to repair the torn and stretched ligaments so that the shoulder joint is held in place. The doctors might go for either of the two following methods of surgery.
- Arthroscopy or Key-hole surgery
This surgical procedure is usually a same-day or outpatient procedure. It is a minimally invasive surgery where the doctors make small incisions near the shoulder. They then use a tiny camera to view inside the shoulder and perform the procedure of repairing the soft tissues by using thin instruments. - Open Surgery
The doctors might recommend open surgery for some patients due to some factors. In this procedure, the doctor will make a large incision over the shoulder and perform the surgery and the repair of the tissues by viewing it directly.in todays practice open surgery is needed only when the bone loss in the shoulder is needed to reconstructed with a bone graft , even bone reconstruction procedures are also done arthroscopically now a days
Post Surgery
The patient’s shoulder might be immobilized temporarily using a sling, after the surgery. The doctor and the physical therapist will recommend exercises to rehabilitate the ligaments, once the sling is removed.
Rehabilitation will help in the improvement of the range of motion of the shoulder and prevent scars as they heal. The doctor will also advise exercises to strengthen the shoulder muscles.
