Drift Reality

About seven years ago I was playing intramural football on a damp astroturf field at Georgetown. I was running with the ball when I planted my foot in the ground to make a cut and lost my balance. I thrust out my left arm to brace against the fall and upon impact my shoulder popped out of its socket. As the rest of my body landed on the ground I instantly knew that something was seriously wrong.

It took about 10-minutes for Georgetown medical services to strap me up and take me off the field and to the emergency room. That’s when the real fun started. I sat in one waiting room for about an hour with no pain medication before being taken for x-rays, where a technician asked me to drop my limp, dislocated arm on an x-ray while he snapped away. Then back to the waiting room where I sat for another 30-minutes or so (with no pain medication) until a doctor cam in and in one quick move, raised my arm so it was perpendicular to my body and in slipped my shoulder.

After seeing how easy it was to pop the shoulder back into place I decided to pass on the hospital experience the next two times my shoulder popped out of place while playing basketball. Finally, after the forth time it slipped out I decided to have surgery done to replace it.

Over the past seven years I’ve learned a few things about the whole process and so I’m going to sum up my top-line recommendations when separating your shoulder. Just as a disclaimer, I have no medical background and you should probably consult with a doctor before deciding what to do with your shoulder. Just make sure the doctor isn’t at Georgetown Medical Center because you will end up sitting on your ass waiting for 3 hours before anyone sees you.

1. Don’t bang your shoulder against anything to get it back in
It is sad that Lethal Weapon has probably informed the majority of Americans on how to reset a dislocated shoulder. Banging your dislocated shoulder against something to get it back in is probably the stupidest thing you can possibly do. You are probably going to do permanent damage to your shoulder that will only be reparable through surgery if you start banging it against things. Your shoulder actually wants to get back in its socket. Raising your arm so that it is perpendicular to your body is how I managed to get my shoulder back in after that first time.

This man is not an orthopedic surgeon

2. The first time it pops out you can probably rehab it back to near-full strength
You probably don’t need surgery after the first time you dislocate your shoulder. Most studies seem to indicate that through physical rehabilitation you will be able to rehab your shoulder to near-full strength. If you don’t participate in many high-impact sports it won’t be an issue. If you do want to continue participating in active sports then you will have to work shoulder exercises into your workout regimen. If you participate in high-impact sports and don’t have any sort of workout regimen then you probably aren’t that good and maybe you should stop participating in high-impact sports.

3. If it pops out again, talk to an orthopedic surgeon about surgery
After the second time, the probability of a repeat incident will increase substantially so you will face a decision: stop participating in high-impact sports or get surgery. I waited four dislocations before finally having the surgery and that was probably too long because I play basketball on a pretty consistent basis.

4. Surgery sucks
There are basically two options when it comes to surgery: arthroscopy or open surgery.  Arthroscopic surgery can be done on an outpatient basis.  As a matter-of-fact, a couple hours after my surgery I was happily sitting on my couch watching the Bourne Supremecy, doped up to high-hell on pain killers.  The pain is less intense with arthroscopic surgery as well.  I’m on day 3 and I’m basically off pain meds already with very little discomfort (besides the fact that I haven’t had a proper shower since my operation).

Whichever option you choose, you’ll probably be facing a long path to recovery that is going to involve some physical therapy but you will be pretty functional after just a few days.  The good news is that within a few months I’ll be back to full strength in my shoulder and will be back on the court awaiting my next major injury.