CONDITION: Shoulder Dislocation

DESCRIPTION:

A shoulder dislocation has occurred when the top part of the arm bone (the humeral head) slips out of its socket as a result of an injury, such as a fall, or other tremendous force (see figure). Very few people dislocate their shoulder for the first time without the involvement of a significant force or injury. A shoulder dislocation is a common sports injury.

How does a shoulder dislocation develop?
The most common cause of a new shoulder dislocation is a fall. A dislocation can also occur when the arm is moved into an awkward position by a violent action, such as during a football tackle. If a partial or complete dislocation is the result of only a minor amount of force, a recurrent or multidirectional instability may be involved.

Although there is more than one type of shoulder dislocation, 95 percent of all cases are anterior, or forward, dislocations. This occurs when the anterior static shoulder stabilizers, including the anterior capsule and the inferior glenohumeral ligament, are torn away from the bone. Backward (posterior) and downward (inferior) shoulder dislocations can occur as well. If the individual if young and active in sports, there's a good chance that further dislocations will ocurr. Older individuals are less likely to experience dislocations because their tissues are less elastic.

What are the symptoms of shoulder dislocation?
An individual who has a history of a fall may experience subsequent pain around the shoulder. A deformity in the front of the shoulder may also be visible. If the pain becomes excessive, it may be difficult to move the shoulder.

Conventional medical treatments may help relieve the symptoms of a shoulder dislocation, but they do not address the root of the problem. By strengthening structural weaknesses in the body, as natural medicine treatments like Prolotherapy do, pain associated with a shoulder dislocation may be alleviated permanently.