Dislocated shoulder on AFF level 6

[rvmnw 0]

I started my jump with a front loop out of the plane and regained stability rather good and fast so as I prepare for the back loop my left shoulder pops out and I am like WTF?? But I eventually executed the loop and all went well. Did not do the delta and pulled a bit higher than I should have for obvious reasons.

So now under canopy screaming of pain I try to pop it back in and nothing so I start to steer with my good hand and thinking what I read on this forum about a one handed flare. Landed perfectly at the DZ with a one handed flare so thanks dropzone.com.

Unfortunately I had to go to the hospital to get it back in so no skydiving for for a while but I will be back.

Thought I'll share my story for the fellow students and seasoned skydivers to learn and to understand always stay calm and think clearly when something like this happen.

Sharp

[DocPop 1]

Good work on keeping your head and executing a good landing.

Heal fast, tjom.

"The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls."

~ CanuckInUSA

[Freeflaw 0]

knowing does not guarantee your survival but it sure raises the odds...keep on researching fella....great job btw!

[popsjumper 2]

Excellent!

Heads up,cool, calm, collected...THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[Para5-0 0]

You executed a dam hard manuever, good job. Could've ended a lot worse. Maybe freestyle canopy competition is in your future.

[jamester28 0]

See an orthopedist. I dislocated my shoulder on one of my 10 second delays and also had to go to the ER to have it put back in. 3 months later I felt great and started jumping again. All seemed well. Then a small slip at work and pop... Out it went again. 1 dislocation under 30 years of age equals an 80% chance of a repeat dislocation. I went to an ortho and he informed me that after a minor outpatient procedure and some recovery it would improve that statistic to a 1% chance. I'm on my 2nd week of physical therapy and won't be jumping for a total of 6 months but it will be worth it. I've broken bones but for me the dislocated shoulder was so much more painful. Hopefully it won't happen again.

[mutumbo 0]

dude! congrats! if you can keep a clear head through that at level 6, and land it safely, then DAMN.
good luck in the future!

Thanatos340(on landing rounds)--
Landing procedure: Hand all the way up, Feet and Knees Together and PLF soon as you get bitch slapped by a planet.

[rvmnw 0]

Quote

See an orthopedist. I dislocated my shoulder on one of my 10 second delays and also had to go to the ER to have it put back in. 3 months later I felt great and started jumping again. All seemed well. Then a small slip at work and pop... Out it went again. 1 dislocation under 30 years of age equals an 80% chance of a repeat dislocation. I went to an ortho and he informed me that after a minor outpatient procedure and some recovery it would improve that statistic to a 1% chance. I'm on my 2nd week of physical therapy and won't be jumping for a total of 6 months but it will be worth it. I've broken bones but for me the dislocated shoulder was so much more painful. Hopefully it won't happen again.

I will have it checked out but I really dont want to be out for 6 months. I thought it will be more like 6 weeks. What kind of procedure did the ortho perform.

I torn my ligaments in my right knee and the ortho fixed it via an arthroscopic procedure and was playing rugby again in under 6 weeks and I understand they can do the same with a shoulder. But I will be seeing an ortho asap

[sniper1rfa 0]

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I will have it checked out but I really dont want to be out for 6 months. I thought it will be more like 6 weeks.

You might be out of luck. Don't jump again until you have it checked out. Dislocating a shoulder almost guarantees you will do it again, probably sooner rather than later.

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What kind of procedure did the ortho perform.

He had arthroscopic surgery to correct a bankart lesion; thread here: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3996382

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... I understand they can do the same with a shoulder. But I will be seeing an ortho asap

Depends on the damage done. I had a bankart lesion which was corrected arthroscopically and was back in business in fairly short order. I've also had open surgery to fix a shattered socket which left me useless for months.

[jamester28 0]

It was about as minor of a repair that can be done on the shoulder. My ortho said the shoulder has the widest range of motion of any joint in the body and also has the most inherent instability. After the outpatient arthroscopy its 6 weeks in an immobilzer (a sling on steroids) and PT 3 times a week for a month. No serious strain (push-ups or pull-ups, etc) for about 12 weeks. After that I'm not sure but he said expect a minimum of 4 months down but 6 would be on the safer side. I intend to follow his advice to the letter and do my PT religiously. Hopefully this will be the end of my shoulder problems and I can finish my training without having to go back to PRCPs again. (I'm aware I will be this time but it will be the 3rd time due to my shoulder and hopefully the last!)

[rvmnw 0]

Holy shit! This is so not what I wanted to hear! 6 months without jumping is going to be a hell of a long time.

But yes rather get it sorted because it will happen again and maybe I wont be so lucky as I were this time.

Will see a ortho and hear what he has to say. Hopefully the damage is not too bad.

Thanks for the info guys

[jamester28 0]

Oh I know how you feel. I've got 16 jumps and practically gone nowhere. After I recover and go back I'll pretty much be back to square one doing SLs and PRCPs. My operated shoulder is pretty stiff. I'm hoping I get full range of motion because I'm a little concerned over the possibility of having a new built in turn to have to correct on top of everything. Oh well. At least I'll have a lot of canopy experience by the time I get my A. LOL Good luck.

Oh and remember to keep in mind that not all aspects of skydiving are learned aloft. I got the book "The Parachute and Its Pilot" by Brian Germain and I can't wait to apply what I've learned to flying a more accurate pattern. I also got the Skydiver's Handbook and a book called Mental Training for Skydiving And Life. Reading isn't as fun as jumping but at least it keeps your head in the game better than my original plan of moping. LOL

[mrbiceps 0]

Well done on the one handed flare mate , u did better than me

[virgin-burner 1]

careful, we've had a jumper at the dz with the same problems, 3 months later he came back, did one jump and made another ride to the ER.. same problems!

“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

[sniper1rfa 0]

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I'm hoping I get full range of motion because I'm a little concerned over the possibility of having a new built in turn to have to correct on top of everything.

I have no where near full motion in my shoulder, but the position needed for stable belly flying is not a problem for me. FWIW, I don't think you'll have any problems.

[rvmnw 0]

Well I dont mind doing AFF over again but if I get an op it better be successful because I never want to go trough this pain again.

Good luck with the recovery mate and let me know if everything is successful.

And trust me I will be reading a lot as reading saved my butt

[erdnarob 1]

I really don't want to discourage you but maybe you are prone for easy shoulder dislocation when doing unusual move. The fact that your dislocation happened while doing a back loop means your shoulder is sensitive to an effort or force applied upward when your arm is extended (your body being horizontal belly toward the Earth). However all I say is highly speculative. You have to find out with a physiatrist or/and physiotherapist.
A friend of mine had to quit skydiving after his shoulder dislocated twice in freefall even when he was wearing an elastic shoulder support. He was told later on that he was prone to shoulder dislocation because he was born with loose ligaments. Personally, I dislocated a shoulder when at landing I fell forward and tried to protect myself presenting my elbow (the worst mistake to do). Not only my shoulder popped out but at the MRI scan imagery they discovered I had 3 ligaments torn off and another one out of its grove. Doctors put back my shoulder in place (I was under morphine) then two months later I had a two hours surgery under total anaesthesia. That was followed by six months of physiotherapy. My goal was just to be able to reach for my toggles. I was back to jumping soon enough, and now everything seems OK.
All of this to say that surgeons can make miracles but you have to believe in the technique. Physiotherapy plays an important role as well to recover, flexibility and amplitude and as much as possible force in the corresponding arm. Take it seriously and deal only with specialists. I wish you good luck. Tell us how you will be recovering.

Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

[johnmatrix 21]

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Well done on the one handed flare mate , u did better than me

But you got video.

[LongWayToFall 0]

I had a similar situation with my shoulder (not jumping though) and it kept becoming easier and easier to pop out. First time was a dirt bike crash, second was throwing a baseball...... It will get worse unless you do major exercises, and even then it will be about the same. Get the surgery. It was the best thing I ever did. You will be down for 6 months, but time will pass quickly, especially in the winter. Do it now, and you will be back this summer!

For the record, I recovered more mobility than my doctor predicted, I am back to 100% range.

Do your physical therapy!!!!!!!!

Nice work on the landing, hopefully you will be healed up and back in the sky soon.

[rvmnw 0]

Well about 5 years ago I had like a partial dislocation when I was playing rugby in high school. My arm was twisted when I made a tackle and I felt the shoulder pulling out but got my arm out of the strange position before it was completely dislocated. I only did basic exercises to strengthen the shoulder so this dislocation could be the result of the damage I sustained back then

[rvmnw 0]

I dont have video but at least I got a logbook entry from my instructor stating that I steered and landed on my feet with one hand! Better than nothing I guess

[furbo 0]

I dislocated my right shoulder in freefall one year ago (jump 16).

It took me 5 weeks of immobilization of my right arm; then I have done a lot PT, with an extreme implication (+100 push up every day + swiming 3 miles/week).

No surgery.

3 months later I was back on air (but I had tested before my shoulder in the tunnel and it was ok).

Now I ve done +50 jumps and everything is cool :)

This is just my personnal case, but I just wanted to testify that in some cases, everything fall into places.

Heal good & be patient

I wish you courage, luck and bluesky

[hookitt 0]

From someone who's had multiple dislocations and had to stop doing many things because of it, get it fixed.

Screw skydiving for now. It's not going anywhere. Fix it then be diligent with rehab and continuing to keep it strong. Not just the big muscles either, all the tiny stabilizers. Do all the micro exercises and do them religiously.

You will be happy forever if you fix it now and keep it strong. You'll kick yourself in 10 years if you don't.

Good luck!

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[erdnarob 1]

It is very possible that your injury from playing rugby has kept the shoulder ligaments loose. Get a MRI scan and ask the advise from an orthopedist doctor. You will have maybe to get a surgery in case of loose ligament if you want to safely kept on jumping.

Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

[rthreeone 0]

Hey people; new around here...

Back in 2007 i began my AFF course in Australia following 3 shoulder dislocations and an arthroscope.

Stage one went fine; JM1 had a hand mount cam so was not holding on to my left shoulder. Shoulder had rigid taping.

Stage 2, no cam; on exit he pulled my shoulder out (shoulder was still taped up). They had no idea it was out, and with all the adrenalin I had mistaken the dislocation for a temporary "out then back in" occurence.
Regardless, i had no intentions of proceeding with the stage 2 drills. The JMs on the other hand had no idea it was dislocated and began bringing my arms back for the delta position thinking if i won't do it myself, they'll do it for me; not fun!
4000 came around, deployed, and nearly fainted out of pain (easily the worst dislocation i've had). Ended up using both arms to steer and flare, resulting in a torn bicep tendon too.

Three years and a full open surgery later, and i'm back starting my AFF again; at stage 5 now and so far no problems. Still tape it every jump though!