This article was published on: 11/16/21 7:41 AM
Subluxation of shoulder joint is a partial dislocation of the shoulder. The shoulder joint is made up of the ball of your arm bone which fits into a cup-like socket. When you dislocate your shoulder, the upper arm bone pulls out of its socket. But in a shoulder subluxation, the head of the arm bone only comes partway out of the socket.
The shoulder is the most easiest joints to dislocate as it is very mobile. In the case of a subluxation of a shoulder joint, the bone can shift forward, downward or backward. Sometimes the injury can also lead to tears in muscles, ligaments or tendons around the shoulder joint. A subluxed or dislocated shoulder can cause swelling, weakness, pain and numbness or a pins- and -needles feeling in your arm.
You must seek medical help if your shoulder fails to pop back into the joint by itself or if you think it might be dislocated. Your doctor will examine your condition and will advice you the treatment method accordingly. You should not try to put it back in place by yourself as you might end up damaging the ligaments, muscles and other structures around the shoulder joint.
You can put on a sling to hold the shoulder in place till the time you visit your doctor. You may require to go for a surgery if you keep having repeated episodes of subluxation. The surgery will fix any problems that are making your shoulder joint unstable. This may include rotator cuff tears, tears of the socket, ligament tears and fractures of the socket or head of the arm bone.
After the surgery, it might take about four to six weeks for your shoulder to recover. Your arm is going to be in a sling most or all of this time. Athletes might not be able to fully participate in sports after the surgery and they might have to wait for a few months to bounce back again.
