Shoulder Question - Which way does yours dislocate????

April 11, 2004

I have a question for all of you with unstable shoulders...

Which way or ways do your shoulder(s) dislocate/sublux????

Mine are pretty much ALL Anterior (frontwards) but they are called

Subclavicular as they go out the front but sit under my clavicle

(collar bone) so they actually sit medically (toward my sternum) this

is causing all sorts of problems with my collar bone and ribs and

neck and such, as it actually goes out the front (Anterior) and then

upwards (Superior) this is supposed to be pretty uncommon and

is " usually " the result of severe trauma.

A goos web site to see which way they ae out (i.e what the different

directions are called and how to tell from x-rays etc) is:

You will need to scroll down about 1/2 way (a little under 1/2 way)

to see the black and white image that shows the anterior dislcaotion

positions (i.e Sub coracoid (most common),Subglenoid, Subclavicular)

inthe images and the text above this it does try to explain how to

see thie relationship of the humerous and glenoid yourself and how to

work out which kind it is .

This starts out as a case study but has some useful information in it

(I think) it does also go into relocation methods but BE CAREFUL and

unless you know or have been shown how to do these correctly, I don't

recommend you try them.

Also if you do relocate your own shoulders (or any major joint

really) you should AWAYS check the blood supply below the dislocation

once you have relocated it to make sure the vessels haven't been

caught ( I was warned about this by a doc who showed us how to

relocate my shoulders as he said that if you do catch a vessel etc

you could get gangrene This did scare me a bit and i tend to

NOT relocate mine anyway as I have not found an easy way to relocate

these subclavicular ones myself. Also I find that the normal

strapping post dislocationa nd the braces to prevent or help with

dislocations etc don't seem to prevent subclavicular dislocations.

This is just what I have found as was interested to see if others

dislocate Subclavicularly as well or if most go out subcoracoid or

Inferior (downward) or posterior).

I use to go out Inferior and Anterior (Subcorocoid) before my thermal

shrinkage but now it is pretty much ALWAYS Subclavicular.

Sharon

Recommended Posts