Dislocated shoulder - how much time off riding?

Nancykitt

Nancykitt

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First of all, it's not me with the dislocated shoulder. My OH was trying to administer a worming solution to some sheep three weeks ago when he slipped and dislocated it. He had it in a sling for about two weeks and is now doing daily exercises as recommended by the physio but he isn't overdoing it. Just wondered if anyone here has dislocated a shoulder and roughly how much time you had off riding? Apparently the pain is incredible so I can see why anyone would be keen to avoid a repeat injury!
 
I was told to take a month off and then stick to sensible horses for a while. Think I gave it three weeks.

Delighted someone else found the pain incredible, thought I had been a bit of a wimp.

Mind you, the relief when it popped back in was great. Add Oramorph and it ended up being a VERY mellow evening!

Seriously, he should have it looked at to see if he was just unlucky or if there is instability which needs to be addressed.
 
My shoulder used to partially dislocate itself fairly regularly - it would come out then the head of the bone would get stuck on the edge of the socket.

Not painful at the time but /#&*$;*& painful as it went back in!

I would just wait a couple of days until the pain subsided and the strength came back
 
I've dislocated my shoulder several times. I used to get back on or go to work the next day, but with hindsight I think I was absolutely stupid! Give it more time than you think to rest, do the physio. Don't rush. You need the surrounding ligaments and tendons that have been yanked more than they should to strengthen up or it will reoccur. And its blinking painful as hell, so you don't want that.
 
I did mine once, about 5 years ago - tripped over a kerb, protecting a tree,and failed to roll properly as one arm was full of shopping. Totally unable to get back on the yacht I was helping deliver at the time, as I needed to climb down a ladder to get back on board. Had to fly home asap from Malaga. An experience not to be reccommended.
It was probably 6 weeks before I could ride safely again, but when 6 months later I resumed long distance sailing, I realised that I was still a liability on a yacht in a storm and gave up sailing entirely.
Good news is that my dislocated side is now stronger than my naturally dominant one I.e. left arm is stronger than the right.
 
I rode after a week, and race rode after just under 2 weeks. Mine wasn't too bad though, a friend did hers very badly, and there were complications, she was off for months!
 
Cheers everyone - apparently it was a very straightforward one, I was there when it was reduced and it took about 3 seconds with OH under sedation.
I think he is being very cautious because he's so worried about it coming out again! But he's doing the exercises recommended by the physio. I really hope he'll be back riding soon.
 
I was in a body bandage for six weeks the first time I dislocated mine and was told I had to keep it like that to prevent future problems. I was about 18 at the time. I dislocated it again three years later and was just put in a sling for a month. Ten years later I had the first of two operations for impingement problems so I'm not sure the cautious approach really paid off. I would still err on the side of caution and give it time to heal properly rather than risk the chance of dislocating it again.
 
They told me mine was straight forward the first few times, even tried to say it hadn't really dislocated (you KNOW when it dislocates!). Then they did an MRI and ended up operating three times. I've still issues with it now 18 years on.
 
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