# Dislocated my shoulder



## dharmashred (Apr 16, 2009)

Well - i went and did it. i dislocated my fucking shoulder!!! never dislocated my shoulder before, but i felt a pop and heard a crack and i just knew, but in that moment i just didn't want to believe/accept it. i kept trying to move it but the pain just got worse and my shoulder was stuck in this gnarly forward position. for a brief moment, while still in denial i guess i thought i was be all hardcore mel gibson  and i asked my dude to just "pop it back in" for me. his response "are you high?" i must have been, no way in hell i'm that fucking gnarly  

the doc said to wear the sling for a week, that means it's fairly minor, right? he wants me to follow up in the ortho clinic in a week and stay off the board for a week. x-rays after reduction didn't show any additional strains or rotator cuff injuries

it happened yesterday (the first day of my vacation), i'm not in a major amount of pain, really not much at all, just stiff and annoyed (and fuuuucking pissed) with being stuck in the sling. i'd really like to get out there tomorrow, wearing the sling of course. all thing considered, i'm super lucky that i didn't kill my season and i wanna get right back out there.

_what has your experience been like with a dislocated shoulder? how quickly did you get back out there?_

i'm really disappointed and depressed to be in the house now knowing it's a slushy spring day out there.  if the likelihood of me re-dislocating my shoulder is fairly high, i'd fucking rather do it riding than picking my fucking nose or something....

any tips you got will be much appreciated!


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## Guest (Mar 17, 2010)

That really sucks, I hope you get better soon. I havent personally dislocated my shoulder, but my dad did when he slipped on some rocks. He was in a sling for a few weeks and couldnt drive or anything like that. I think he re-dislocated it about 2 months after it healed, but its been about 8 years since he has had any problems. I think it would be best to let it heal as much as that sucks, but you dont want to create more problems later.


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## mOnky (Feb 8, 2009)

sorry no tips here but +++vibes dharma


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## Milo303 (Apr 6, 2009)

I've done it.... I just didn't use it more then I had to and one day it clicked back in all by itself

However I did snowboard with it.... It hurt for several weeks until it finally clicked back in and then it was only a week or so before I didn't know it had happened.

Basically just listen to the dr and you will be fine quick like


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## ETM (Aug 11, 2009)

Welcome to the club, your shoulder will never be the same but it doesnt mean you wont be able to snowboard anymore, you just need to (and you will) become more aware of how you move your arm so you dont end up popping it out again. Once it has been out it tends to fall out pretty easily so take it very easy and always rest it up after an dislocation.
For your first dislocation you usually do maximum damage, the muscles get looser in time after more dislocations and it tends to not hurt as much and take less time to heal. If you board anytime in the next 2 weeks you are pretty silly, just admit that its over for the trip or you will get hurt I guarentee.

As for popping it back in it can be done easily with the help of 1 person. You need the other person to pull directly down on your arm from the wrist while you get calm and try to relax your muscles, this can take a few minutes but keep the downward pressure on, when you least expect it your arm will pop back in and be relatively pain free untill you wake up the next morning!


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## HUNT24/7 (Feb 8, 2010)

I did racing my bike, I didn't know what happened at first, then when I got my shoulder pads off & saw my shoulder I freaked & popped it back in somehow. 
I felt good in a couple days, I would take a day or two off then pop a handful of Tylenol 3's & your good to go. JOKING! Give it a couple days, see how it feels, if it's good, hit the slopes, just don't go to hard.


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## john doe (Nov 6, 2009)

As EMT said, welcome to the club. You'll never be the same. I injured my shoulder my first time trying snowboarding. Can't say if it was a dislocation since I never saw a doc but it sucked and now I can't throw a football right. Every now and then I'll move it in the wrong way and it will start hurting again. Good luck on your recovery.


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## Dano (Sep 16, 2009)

Hate to do this to ya bro, but I've dislocated my shoulder and it fucking sucks. It's worse than a break because it involves a tearing or stretching of a ligament, and they take a long time to heal (and once they have, it twice as likely still to have it happen again). I did mine in December and I'm still suffering (but still riding). I'd look into physio as soon as you're ready


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## arsenic0 (Nov 11, 2008)

I saw a guy with a cast and sling under his coat boarding up last Wednesday when i was up at Meadows...


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## bakesale (Nov 28, 2008)

make sure that you see a massage therapist in about 3, 4 and 6 months from now. Dislocated shoulders will build up a lot of scar tissue that needs to be worked out, otherwise it will be pain and easy to reinjure in the future.


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## Magnum626 (Dec 31, 2009)

Wait, so you dislocated your shoulder? But then who reduced it?

Avoid using that arm and rest it up. Get your physical therapy done once after a few months to restrengthen the muscles around the area. Usually after 3 dislocations surgery is recommended since the ligaments would be stretched out by then with an increased chance of dislocating a lot easier. I wouldn't risk riding the slush to reinjur the shoulder to ruin it for next season.

I've dislocated my elbow snowboarding before and I didn't wanna wait 2.5 hours for an ambulance and then have to drive another 2.5 hours to the nearest hospital. I had the docs in the first aid reduce it after the xrays. It took like 4 tries before I could really mentally and physically relax my arm so they could pull it in place. 6 weeks of a splint and sling then lots of PT afterwards.

My biggest recommendation though is to do the PT once your healed up well. It's the most important thing to get back to your pre-injured state. 

I guess the toenail thing ain't a big deal now huh?


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