Post: #1

Hey,
Doctor is trying to push me to get surgery on my shoulder. I dislocated it 5 times. He is recommending me to get surgery. I really want to get back to the gym. Its been 5 weeks since I dislocated it last. Any one have any experience with dislocated shoulders? Im thinking of just doing pt and trying to get back into the gym fast as possible.
Thanks

Post: #2

What caused your previous shoulder dislocations?

Were you lifting or playing sports?

Post: #3

Most people don't have shoulder dislocations.

Whatever the anatomical reason is, you need to fix it. This may be a physical deformity or a muscle weakness. You might be able to fix it with strength training or you may need corrective surgery. Nobody here can determine that.

Only a FOOL pays for a doctor and then doesn't heed his advice, and that is a fact.

Post: #4

I dislocated my shoulder skateboarding when I was 18, couldn't get it back into the socket and had to sit in a hospital with it dislocated for 5 hours before they could see me and put it back in place, took a lot of drugs and about 5 nurses.

I had no health insurance at the time and couldn't get the surgery, but if I stayed at the shitty job I had at the time for 6 more months I could get health insurance and then the surgery.

Over those next 6 months I must have dislocated it 30+ times, it kept getting worse, there were a few times it came out when I was just lifting my arm up to put on a shirt. I remember I would panic because I knew if I didn't wrestle it back into place within 10 minutes I'd have to go to the hospital and have them do it which happened 3 times and was always a horrible experience. The worst experience was when I went to a remote cliff jump with some friends and when I jumped off the cliff into the water it dislocated in mid air, I had to swim one armed to shore and then get hauled off to the hospital to have it put back in, it was a beautiful day that turned into a shit sandwich.

Eventually I got insurance, could have got the orthoscopic where they just go in with a tiny tube, but the surgeon suggested in my case I go for the more extensive surgery where they make about a 3 inch incision, cut a piece of donor bone (don't know what the right term is) and use that secured with a titanium screw to fill the gap in the socket that is causing the dislocations.

I don't remember the surgery at all, I was knocked out, but I remember being laid up in a big air cast eating perks for a week or two after. After that I went to physical therapy for about a month where they had me doing mobility and strengthening excersizes and they gave me stretches to do at home.

It was a slow recovery, I'm not going to lie, it was depressingly slow, I remember thinking I'd never gain full range of motion with my arm again, but eventually about 6 months later when it had stopped weighing on my mind so much, I realized holy shit, my arm is pretty much back to normal!

I'm 31 now, I'd say my right arm (I should also mention that I broke that collar bone two years before the dislocations, so that sides been through a lot) has the exact same mobility and range of motion as my left arm. I do shoulder press and handstand push-ups with no discomfort, it clicks sometimes when I do side lateral raises, its whatever. I still do some rotator cuff work with a resistance band before most workouts.

Get the surgery, I can't even imagine what life would be like if I never had it done or had pushed it off for longer. It just gets worse and worse.

Post: #5

Had about 20 or so dislocations in the course of 5 years. Was able to get it back in every time...sometimes it took slamming it into a wall a few times though.

Getting surgery was the best thing I did. It's a long road to recovery though. Mine was supposed to be microscopic, ended up being full open wound. 5 screws in there somewhere. Took 6 months of rehabbing (at a NCAA Division I facility with top-notch trainers) before I was back to normal.

Post: #6

(07-10-2017 01:32 AM)This Is Trouble Wrote:  Had about 20 or so dislocations in the course of 5 years. Was able to get it back in every time...sometimes it took slamming it into a wall a few times though.

Getting surgery was the best thing I did. It's a long road to recovery though. Mine was supposed to be microscopic, ended up being full open wound. 5 screws in there somewhere. Took 6 months of rehabbing (at a NCAA Division I facility with top-notch trainers) before I was back to normal.

How'd you dislocate it initially?

Post: #7

(07-10-2017 01:43 AM)Spaniard88 Wrote:  

(07-10-2017 01:32 AM)This Is Trouble Wrote:  Had about 20 or so dislocations in the course of 5 years. Was able to get it back in every time...sometimes it took slamming it into a wall a few times though.

Getting surgery was the best thing I did. It's a long road to recovery though. Mine was supposed to be microscopic, ended up being full open wound. 5 screws in there somewhere. Took 6 months of rehabbing (at a NCAA Division I facility with top-notch trainers) before I was back to normal.

How'd you dislocate it initially?

Dirt bike accident.

Post: #8

I'm not a doctor or anything but the problem is probably related to your connective tissue, not muscle, and that's not something that just gets better with training. The surgery will stabilize the joint by fixing whatever the problem is. If you try to push on without surgery, maybe you'll be able to compensate by stabilizing the joint with muscle power--the body does adapt--but you'll still have the weak point just waiting to fail.

Eventually it will fail, probably at a shitty time that might lead to a pretty bad injury. And then you'll end up getting surgery anyway, but you'll be older and recovery will be harder and slower.

Get it fixed now, you'll be glad you did.

Post: #9

I got my first dislocation, and only one so far in January. Was running to catch a bus simply because I didn't want to wait 5 minutes for the next one, and instead I caught a patch of ice.

I'll not be running in Winter again I assure you.

This happened in Poland too so communication was an issue, and because I had problems relaxing my arm to force it back I had to be put under. It was a pretty traumatic experience. They didn't have any slings left in the hospital so they casted me, saying I had to go to a doctor in 10-14 days. That thing was itchy as hell, and as it was solid I could barely sleep either. I had to scratch myself, including in between sleep with an incense stick holder as it was the only thing that was long and flexible enough that I had.

In the end I had to change from this hospital to a clinic because free appointments were months away and it "wasn't a major dislocation", fortunately my girlfriend at the time did all the leg work.

I assumed that after the cast was removed I'd have good mobility because I had a decent amount of movement in the cast, man was I wrong. It was a humbling experience not being able to raise my arm.

Week by week the ROM returned, it probably took about 2.5-3 months, and an extra month just to scratch my opposite shoulder blade without pain. In the clinic they found out I had damage with a bicep tendon which didn't match the impact of the injury so it must be from a previous accident and this one exasperated it to the point of actually having an effect.

Either way I've had no dislocations since, I do get a fair amount of clicking though when raising my hand. Push ups cause no grief and I can do pull ups, haven't tried handstands since and I did some monkey bars which hurt but I've probably lost a lot of strength and flexibility. It'll see how things go further down the line.

It's a shame because I love rock climbing and I don't know if I can ever do it again outside of surgery, which I don't think will be possible here.

Post: #10

(07-10-2017 02:30 AM)weambulance Wrote:  I'm not a doctor or anything but the problem is probably related to your connective tissue, not muscle, and that's not something that just gets better with training. The surgery will stabilize the joint by fixing whatever the problem is. If you try to push on without surgery, maybe you'll be able to compensate by stabilizing the joint with muscle power--the body does adapt--but you'll still have the weak point just waiting to fail.

Eventually it will fail, probably at a shitty time that might lead to a pretty bad injury. And then you'll end up getting surgery anyway, but you'll be older and recovery will be harder and slower.

Get it fixed now, you'll be glad you did.

I agree that there could be an underlying problem here, considering multiple dislocations at such a young age. Was Ehlers-Danlos syndrome ever mentioned?

Post: #11

I decided to wait on the surgery. I will be leaving to collage soon and don't want to be in a sling for the first couple of weeks. I'm going to try to do pt then strengthen it in the gym. It doesn't hurt as much now.

Post: #12

Do whatever the Doctors say, and follow everything to 100%.
Advice from someone who has been to two knee surgeries and other two arm surgeries.

10 years ago I had surgery on a rupture of the cruciate ligament of the knee, along with a meniscus rupture, soccer incident..

Due to some other unfortunate circumstances, a few months ago I saw the doctor who made the surgery...and gave him a hug! What a hell of a job he has done, no problems whatsoever since the surgery, and I do kickboxing 2-3 times a week in the last couple of years, and before did BJJ.
Recovery was far from easy, physiotherapy was hard, and I gained a lot of weight in the meanwhilw... But doing it was a major decision that I do not regret. I am fully fit.

Post: #13

Do everything the doctor says. This will likely be an injury that you'll have to deal with and work around for a long time.

When you get back to the gym after your treatment, I'd recommend sticking to pressing exercises that are closed chain. Stuff like machine presses, dips and pushups will help prevent your shoulder from fucking up too much. Give it time to get back to other things.

Regular flat bench is something you should stay away from until you get your shoulder 100% sorted out. Since you're young and working on your bench is probably your first, second, and third goal in the gym, I figured I'd tell you this now.

All the guys I know who have dislocated their shoulders, torn their knees or whatever who decided to throw caution to the winds and hit the gym anyway are still paying the price years later.

The majority of them now are fat drunks who don't lift anymore and complain about chronic pain all the time. If you want to be part of the has-been beer swilling crowd, be my guest. The choice is yours to make.

Post: #14

Update:
I did physical therapy for 6 weeks and have strengthened my shoulder so it will not pop out. This seems to be the way to go, I have no pain and it is back to its full strength. Even got to start going to the gym again!

Post: #15

I have a problem that is somewhat similar to the OP.

Once in a while, I'll be sitting down, minding my own business, normally with my arms crossed, when my shoulder joint feels as though it's trying to pop out of the socket. Just before it strikes, it feels like my shoulder is completely relaxed and has lost all tension. During the episode, I'll feel mild discomforting pain and my body tenses up as the bone feels like it is trying to force itself from the socket. After about 10 seconds, it will pop back in. Depending on how bad it was, the tendons and muscles around the joint will be sore for a day or two, though it sometimes causes no short term pain at all. Any idea what is causing this? It only really affects my right shoulder, rarely the left.

Post: #16

(08-09-2017 05:14 PM)_nick_ Wrote:  Update:
I did physical therapy for 6 weeks and have strengthened my shoulder so it will not pop out. This seems to be the way to go, I have no pain and it is back to its full strength. Even got to start going to the gym again!

Glad to hear that you're feeling better, but a word of caution: be extremely careful with your activities and range of motion. Depending on what the issue was initially (an MRI will show it clearly), surgery may be the only option for long-term recovery.

You're only 18, but younger guys who dislocate it have a higher chance of recurrent dislocation than older men. The last thing you want is a dislocation to happen when you're in the gym, rock climbing, hiking, or in a place where the damage could be severe to both your shoulder and also other parts of your body. Simply put: if you don't know what you're doing, see a doctor.

Also, re: other posters recommending popping it back in by running into a wall (, please don't), partial dislocations may generally be shrugged back in, but if trauma knocks it out again (such as a fall, car crash, or something else), you must see a doctor to get it back in. Forcing it back in when you don't know what you're doing can result in permanent physical or nerve damage.

Seriously consider surgery if your doctor has suggested it, and definitely get a 2nd opinion from another doctor, not an anonymous online forum.

Post: #17

(08-09-2017 05:14 PM)_nick_ Wrote:  Update:
I did physical therapy for 6 weeks and have strengthened my shoulder so it will not pop out. This seems to be the way to go, I have no pain and it is back to its full strength. Even got to start going to the gym again!

I was going the same route but took it abit further. From what I understood from my therapist, I needed to strengthen muscles that were involved in stabilization. Doing powerlifting I had dislocated my shoulder 3 times, however none were during lifts (thank god).

I started doing hand balance exercises on the side to supplement powerlifting, started with basic frog stands and eventually I took it way more seriously and enrolled in some weekend adult gymnastics classes at a local circus school. Started practicing hand stands, partner acro as a base, flexibility and rings gymnastics, and then over time before I knew it I had stopped dislocating my shoulder. All things considering this could have made it worse (surely) but it didn't, I just dropped powerlifting in favor of this kind of training because ultimately I think powerlifting was really fucking my body up long term.