Shoulder sprain and shoulder instability

Shoulder sprain and shoulder instability

Shoulder dislocation is usually the result of some kind of trauma, and in the vast majority of cases it develops towards the front. Shoulder dislocation is the most common dislocation of the upper limb, usually resulting from an accident or sports injury. It can be partial or complete, depending on whether the humeral head leaves the articular socket completely or only partially. A doctor's help is often needed to reset the first dislocation. Afterwards, however, the younger the patient, the more easily the shoulder dislocates, and often at night, even during sleep. Even if the shoulder is not dislocated, the patient still feels as if his shoulder is going to “pop out” on certain movements, which is called a feeling of instability. Conservative treatment (e.g. physiotherapy) cannot prevent the recurrence of the dislocation, surgery may help. The optimal surgical solution is determined by the treating doctor, taking into account a number of factors.

Anterior instabilities include unstable, painful shoulder disease, in which repetitive movements (e.g. throwing athletes) cause weakening of the soft tissues that stabilise the joint. In this type of dislocation, the leading symptom is not a feeling of instability but pain in the front of the shoulder on certain movements, but the anatomical formula of the injury is the same as in traumatic dislocations, the solution being surgical reconstruction.

The other type of shoulder dislocation is instability of the shoulder joint with a congenitally increased range of motion without trauma. It is important to distinguish it from traumatic shoulder dislocations, as its treatment is more conservative.

Investigation: orthopaedic-traumatologist specialist

Therapy: orthopaedic-traumatologist specialist, physiotherapist-physiotherapist