How to Fix a Dislocated Shoulder

Knowing how to fix a dislocated shoulder can save a timely and costly trip to the hospital. 90% of shoulder dislocation are anterior i.e. the shoulder has slipped to the front of the body. If the dislocation is posterior (to the back- this is easy to see), the patient will require professional medical aid in the form of surgery or manual relocation by general anaesthetic. Perform these procedures at your own risk; MGTE Ltd accept no responsibility for personal injury caused by people following this guide. 

Photo Credit: Designlazy.com

Steps

1- Act fast! The earlier you can relocate a shoulder the less pain and discomfort you will cause the patient; both the muscles would yet to have swollen and tightened up, and they will still be feeling the numbing effects of adrenalin and natural endorphins.

2- Move the patient as little as possible. Try and relocate the shoulder as close to where the incident took place as possible. Moving the patient will cause further discomfort and cause the muscles to tighten.

3- Checkthat the dislocation is anterior (forward), and that there are no signs of internal bleeding. Should there be indications of either, take the patient to the hospital as soon as possible. 

4- Try the rotating approach. This is the only approach that can be adopted by yourself, and should also be the first approach attempted by a second party. Live the patient down or in a reclined sitting position. Let the arms hang loose and bend at the elbow to a right angle. Move the forearm and therefor shoulder across to rest on the front of the body. Holding onto the wrist of the injured arm, rotate outwards very slowly (should you be performing this procedure for someone else, use your spare arm to support the elbow) allowing the muscles spasms to relax moving outwards further. Rotate outwards to a further 35 degrees passed a right angle from the torso. By this point the shoulder should have reset. This process may have to be repeated 3-5 times.

5- Use the pull method. Should you have attempted the rotate method 5 times to no success, use the pull method. Lay the patient on their back, and place cushioning in the arm pit. Place your foot into the injured arm pit, and sit with your leg running down the side of the patient’s body (top to tail). Hold onto the patients’ wrist and gently, smoothly and slowly begin to lean back, pulling the patient’s arm downwards. The shoulder should pop back into place.

6- Know that once the shoulder is reset the patient should feel immediate relief. Gently place the forearm back across the body. Should repeated attempts fail, seek medical advice. 

7- Place the arm in a sling/triangle bandage. There will still be mild discomfort and pain although it should not be anywhere near as painful as it was before. The injury may take up to 8 weeks to heal, but contact sports or other aggressive exercise should not be attempted for 12 weeks. 

Tips

Taking ibuprofen once the shoulder is reset will reduce swelling and therefore the amount of pain that the patient is suffering from.

Act quickly for better and less painful results.

Be brave! Getting it ‘over and done with’ is far more preferable than the long drawn out painful process of repeated half arsed attempts and then the trip to the hospital.