Shoulder Dislocation

Imagine yourself exercising or playing, and suddenly your arm slipping out of its place. What would be your first thought? If shoulder dislocation is your problem, you have to be careful when you do any kind of physical work with your hands that exerts stress on your shoulder. You need to take proper care of your shoulder, especially when it's hurting.

In simple words, a shoulder dislocation occurs when the arm gets separated from the shoulder joint. In such a situation, only the bone gets dislocated and not the flesh; resulting in severe pain, and the hand that is dislocated becoming longer than the other hand. Such accidents can happen when there is a substantial amount of strain or pressure on the shoulder, mostly during sports activities and exercises. If shoulder dislocation occurs at a younger age, there are more chances of frequent dislocations later in life. It does not only happen if you put excessive force on the joint, but can even occur if your shoulder ligaments are loose. The shoulder bone mechanism is one of the most complex mechanism in the human body.

Structure of Shoulder Joint

The shoulder joint is an important part of the arm in relation to shoulder dislocations. It consists of three bones, namely humerus (arm bone), scapula (shoulder blade), and the clavicle (collarbone), that come together at the shoulder joint. The humerus and scapula have a ball and socket connection between them, with the humerus acting as the ball and the scapula acting as the socket. The Supraspinatus tendon is present between the ball and the socket.

How Shoulder Dislocation Occurs

The shoulder gets dislocated when the top of the humerus separates from the scapula. The two are joined together directly, hence any injury or rapid movement between them can be dangerous to the arm.

Types of Shoulder Dislocation

1. Anterior: More than 95% of the cases that are registered are of Anterior (forward) dislocations, and more than 40% of such cases are those that have been repeated in a person's life. It mostly happens in case of younger people. In this case, the top of the bone slips out and comes in front of the shoulder blade. If the bone slips slightly in front, it is called subluxation. In this type of dislocation, you may feel that your arm is going to come out of the socket. An X-ray would be required to diagnose the exact problem.
2. Posterior: This type of dislocation is rare. Here, the top of the bone slips and goes behind the shoulder blade. It can happen occasionally, if an accident related to electric shock is involved. It is also known as backward dislocation.
3. Inferior: Inferior or downward dislocation is the rarest of all types. It is also known as Luxatio Erecta. However, it is the most fatal among all types of dislocations, as it can lead to many complications that may include severe injuries of ligaments, tendons, and muscles.

Symptoms:

1. Severe pain in the shoulder or the arm.
2. The shoulder seems out of place or the dislocated arm longer than the other.
3. Numbness in the arm.
4. The shoulder or the arm cannot be moved or stretched even slightly.
5. Touching the top of the arm and shoulder, gives the feeling like there is no bone attached internally.

Treatment:

Reduction is an initial treatment that can be given to a person with a dislocated shoulder. It relieves pain and stress on the nerves and ligaments around the shoulder. The earlier it is done, less are the chances of other complications cropping up later on. If the dislocation is severe, it has to be treated as a medical emergency. Putting the dislocated shoulder back into its place is a very painful task for the patient. Anesthesia is given to the patient before the treatment, but the level of anesthesia depends upon the type and duration of dislocation, position up to which the arm can be moved, and reason for dislocation. Once the shoulder is adjusted in its place, there is a need for periodic X-rays to analyze and ensure that the correct position of the arm bone is maintained. If there are frequent dislocations, a surgery would be necessary to correct the problem once and for all.

Shoulder dislocation is a critical injury that can lead to many related complications, and one should always consult a doctor before taking any other steps towards rectifying the problem.