dislocated shoulder while in freefall

[oldschoolkyle 0]

My jump this weekend was a little crazy, as I dislocated my shoulder right as I was pulling my main on jump number 6 in AFF. I had to fly down with one arm and land using one arm (both toggles in my right hand) and landed standing up... Was a good experience actually, and glad everything ended up OK. Anyone else have this happen?

I did have to go to the Z-Hills emergency room to get it put back in, as we couldnt get it in at the dropzone...

OSK

[skydiverton2 0]

Quote

My jump this weekend was a little crazy, as I dislocated my shoulder right as I was pulling my main on jump number 6 in AFF. I had to fly down with one arm and land using one arm (both toggles in my right hand) and landed standing up... Was a good experience actually, and glad everything ended up OK. Anyone else have this happen?

I did have to go to the Z-Hills emergency room to get it put back in, as we couldnt get it in at the dropzone...

OSK

No, but be aware that once your shoulder has been dislocated once it is very likely to happen a second time. Especially in freefall which is a very unnatural position for your arms. Please consult a doctor (preferaly a skydiving doctor) before entering a jump plane again.
Sorry I have to tell you that 2 of my fellow skydivers were forced to give up the sport because of this.

I had a tandempassenger 1 month ago who had his shoulder dislocated in freefall. He already had his shoulder dislocated 2 times this year in other non-skydiving activities and his doctor told him it was ok to do a tandem (doctors in general know very little about skydiving)

Using your droque to gain stability is a bad habid.
.
.
Also in case you jump a sport rig!!!

[normiss 620]

You did an amazing and awesome job with that landing.
We were all VERY impressed.
Damn nice job landing one-handed!


I hope you can get your shoulder sorted out and continue to jump.

[oldschoolkyle 0]

I went to the doctor today... he has me working my shoulder right now and said I should not have a problem getting in the plane again actually really soon. I have a nice wrap too that will assist for the next few months in preventing it again...

Soon I will be back there!

[HellFreak 0]

I know of two people that this has happened to. One just two weeks ago, the jumper has been sidelined by his Dr so he can rehab the shoulder so as to minimize the chances of it happening again. The second had it happed two or three times during RW that she had to quit the sport.
I suggest you listen to the dr and follow their suggestions on time away and rehab. You can complete AFF once your body is ready.

Two words that get you in trouble, ALWAYS and NEVER

[oldschoolkyle 0]

of course... when my doc says cool... then im down!

[I3uller 0]

Quote

of course... when my doc says cool... then im down!

Well hey at least you already know you can land it with one arm haha. Good job on the stand up one armed landing.

[BUBLHED 0]

I had it happen if freefall once. Two other jumpers were chasing me as I flopped around trying to get it back in. Lets just say that'll get your heart rate up!! I was able to get it in and pull without incident.

You should do a google search for rotator cuff exercises. These are special moves that most people don't know that will strengthen the shoulder and increase stability. Any good fitness trainer will know these and be able to teach you. Also not all physical therepists know these exercises. I work in medicine and trust me do these exercises they will make a tremendous differance, in a fairly short amount of time.

BSBD

ATTACK LIFE ! IT'S GOING TO KILL YOU ANYWAY!!!!

[PeregrineFalcon 0]

Dude, I wouldn't have even THOUGHT to stand it up in that situation. You got balls. Was it the sort of thing where you were preparing to PLF and it just happened to be a perfect flare, or were you planning to stand it up the whole time?

To the people who mentioned that it's happened to friends before, did any of them go straight to silver because they couldn't throw out the PC?

[BUBLHED 0]

I was 500' from silver when I got squared away.
It was all I could do to reach my pilotchute but I was above my hard deck so I gave it all I had. When it happened I was flying into a formation, got big to slow down and BAM right shoulder just popped out. Scares the shit out of you.

ATTACK LIFE ! IT'S GOING TO KILL YOU ANYWAY!!!!

[ck29 0]

I've had partial dislocations on my left and only during loops (student/solo stuff). First time it took a couple weeks before I felt good enough to attempt frontloop again and all was well the first loop but the second one(same freefall) I think I may have heard a pop and it hurt even more than the first.

Ahead 6 weeks before trying loops again, first backloop ok.. then last attempt before tracking and my arm locked in sort of a delta position but with a bit of twisting I was able to unlock it and it was sore but not as bad as the previous one. I had been doing rotator cuff exercises for 3 of the 6 weeks (first 3 just to let soreness subside fully). I didn't have issues with shoulder during backloops prior to the first incident.

I cradled my arm against my body at first(sling position) which didn't do much for stability but WAS able to get into a box, stabilize, and pull at the right altitude even though my left arm was very weak and shoulder in pain.

It scared the hell out of me flopping around in the air and it also disheartened me because I love this sport and this could end it for me before it even really begins.

It's been about 3-4 weeks since that last skydive and there are still certain movements or positions that cause pain for a moment, I have new clicks and small pops when I rotate and move my arm all around, but I basically have full strength back. Doctor I saw didn't really care since it wasn't acute pain and I had full movement so didn't get to have it scanned, physio therapist thought it may not have been a full dislocation at any time since I had full, albeit slow, movement and good strength after only 3-4 days.

It's not so much how strong your shoulder is but how quickly things happen in the air that your strength may not help with in time.. such as catching the relative wind in box position while coming out of a loop. Sure it's not a strong force if I'm prepared for it but it just threw my arm quicker than I expected it to.

I'll be doing strength/flexibility exercises for the winter and hope all is well for next season, even considering a brace of some sort.

There are many shoulder posts on this forum, I recommend going through them.

[JCulver 0]

I had a non-skydiving shoulder injury on September 20th. Sat around for 5 weeks before I decided to go see a Orthopedic surgeon. Got a MRI done 2 weeks ago and the results show a labral tear from a partial dislocation. Currently, I don't have full motion in my shoulder. Surgery is scheduled for February 6th. I hear it's painful...with a 4-6 month recovery process. The Doc says the surgery will give me my range of motion back plus tighten the muscle/tendon group for better stability. I hope he's right!

Edited to add that you also may want to try a tunnel too before you get back in the air. I know I will go to a tunnel after my surgery.

[squarecanopy 0]

You should do a google search for rotator cuff exercises. These are special moves that most people don't know that will strengthen the shoulder and increase stability. Any good fitness trainer will know these and be able to teach you. Also not all physical therepists know these exercises. I work in medicine and trust me do these exercises they will make a tremendous differance, in a fairly short amount of time.

BSBD

[BUBLHED 0]

That's true no amount of exercise is going to fix or make up for a tear. It is very possible for the shoulder to partially dislocate w/o having a tear. I in fact have a partial labral tear and keeping the surrounding muscles strong and flexible has controlled any dislocation problems.


the op said he had followed up with a physician who implied he would be good to go soon. I only have to believe that his physician does not think that he has any significant tear. Therefore my original advice stands.

This is based on 25 years of working closely with neuro and orthopedic physicians in surgical, trauma and out-patient situations.

ATTACK LIFE ! IT'S GOING TO KILL YOU ANYWAY!!!!

[Broke 0]

I jumped with a guy who after botching an exit his shoulder dislocated. He managed to work if back in while in freefall, all before pulltime. I was impressed.

Divot your source for all things Hillbilly.
Anvil Brother 84
SCR 14192

[carbonezone 0]

Hello fellow ZHills jumper
I dislocated mine in freefall several years ago. Spent 4 months on the ground and lots of PT and PAIN .
I finally resorted to going to left hand throwout and I also jumped with a modified shoulder harness to prevent it from dislocating again. I can fill you in on the details of the modified shoulder harness (I am sure Sally H. can help with it). Feel free to PM me and I will give you the details. I gave mine to Pops Jumper but it’s an easy mod. Maybe we can hookup at the Hills (my little 3 legged side kick Hercules is usually close by).
Heal Fast and welcome aboard!!
>
Tami C

[headcase 0]

The shoulder joint is arguably the most complex joint in the human body. Skydiving puts odd pressure on the joint. A dislocation in the air can be very problematic. Most shoulder joint injuries are correctable but there are many types and the optimal management of one type of injury versus another varies. Often times medicine suggests conservative management as this will render many with a functional shoulder until it is not. The problem with shoulders in skydiving is they are essentially mission critical and therefore good till there not is not safe. I would say a better approach would be as good as possible and then if not stable move on to a different sport.

Short answer see a shoulder specialist and outline your activity as a skydiver this will yield the safest and best long term results IMHO. Remember most injuries are correctable but some require surgery to obtain adequate stability. The sky will be there when you're better.

Blues

[Skydivesg 6]

Once you get your shoulder figured out and you get deeper into the sport you should consider getting a rig set up with a "left hand pull".

There are quite a few people in our sport who have done this.

It's a simple thing to make a left hand pouch for the throw out pilot chute.

Good luck.

Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

[Jin2Kazama 0]

Quote

My jump this weekend was a little crazy, as I dislocated my shoulder right as I was pulling my main on jump number 6 in AFF. I had to fly down with one arm and land using one arm (both toggles in my right hand) and landed standing up... Was a good experience actually, and glad everything ended up OK. Anyone else have this happen?

I did have to go to the Z-Hills emergency room to get it put back in, as we couldnt get it in at the dropzone...

OSK

I have just returned from Sebastian a few weeks ago having completed my AFF and and a further 12 skydives. I would have done more but could feel my shoulder starting to come out on my last jump on deployment. What actually made yours come out - was it the force of the wind during your throwaway phase?
You may find this thread I started about shoulder supports useful
http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3316884;page=unread#unread

Lawrence

[popsjumper 2]

Yo! Tami, my love!
Thanks again for the use of the shoulder brace! It worked wonders for me getting back into the air. I still have it and will gladly pass it on if need be.

I'll be there for Turkey Day. See you then!

Andy

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

[FestivalFox 0]

My friend dislocated his shoulder loads of times, The first was in bedford wind tunnel. then it happened every time he jumped. He ended up having to have surgery on his shoulder. A hook was placed in the ball of his joint so it would give more support. We are both going to Empuria next week and he is going to have his 1st jump after surgery! Fingers crossed!!!!

[jimmytavino 16]

silver here.....

right shoulder got yanked,,, as a pre gripped 6 way. left the tailgate of a casa @ 14 grand...
one of the 6, had a legstrap which "hung Up" on something, ( Later found to be a static line , cable connection point ) , just as we squeezed in the door... it caused the entire 6 way to tumble . some did NOT drop grips....

the ball of the humerus was laying against my ribcage, and the hand and arm were flapping around over my head....... figured out by about 8 thousand feet,, that i would not be able to deploy my main... opened my reserve at 3 grand or so, after a "one handed wave off"....E R Nurses and ortho Doc. reset it for me.....
surgery 3 months later,,, was not as effective or helpful as we had hoped, the R Cuff had been torn, and hurt a few times prior....it was and IS a real mess....
STILL do stretches and excersizes,,,, the arm is strong, but my reach and range is limited,,,
Now use left side Main deployment...made about 60 jumps that way,,, this year..


to the O P ... sounds like your left arm dislocated????... HOW did that happen???
go slow, recover, get back into the air, when you can...

jt

[virgin-burner 1]

we had a student last/this year just like that. he went up after about a six months layoff with physio and everything, shoulder popped back out.. dont think he will continue. another jumperfriend also has shoulderproblems. he quit completely this year..

hope your story turns out better! take the exercises they give you very serious!

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

[oldschoolkyle 0]

should brace... I would love some help on this if you can! Thanks a ton for the feedback on this! My doctor said there were no tares in the tissue... and he also gave me rotary cuff exercises, etc... I have the rubber band stuff too... already working it...

Any onfo on the brace would be appreciated!

[carbonezone 0]

Hi Kyle,
I will just post this here in case anyone else will get some use of it.
I dislocated mine coming out of the Casa. As soon as I exited I heard a giant POP then realized my right “pull arm” was dangling behind me in freefall. Instinctively, I reached for my arm and pulled it down….another big POP (I must have put it back in place “”eeek””)! Thanks to adrenaline I was able to plug my slot on the 20way , pull and land safely. I wasn’t aware of the damage until the next morning “I couldn’t freaking move…SO MUCH PAIN”. I toughed it out for close to a month with no real improvements. I finally went to a Sports Med Doc (no medical benefits mind you). He checked it out, and as soon as he heard and felt the crunching / grinding going on in there he told me I would need surgery. Surgery was not an option for me not having benefits. He gave me home physical therapy treatment (rubber band) exercises. After more than 3 months passed I felt it might be ok to get back in the air with the help of a modified shoulder brace and left hand throw out.
I did a tandem wearing the brace for support and had the TM “Thanks Kevin K.” hold (support) my arm in freefall. When I gave him a big head nod, he would release my arm slightly to see if it could withstand the wind resistance. I also flew and flared the tandem canopy to make sure the brace allowed for enough reaching range (slider collapse, brake release and landing flare). All went well!!
We landed and I RAN to my locker swooped up my rig and had Mike G. modify my BOC to Left Hand Throw. Have been jumping lefty ever since!!
Here is the link to the brace I used http://supportsusa.com/arm/ottoboch/shoulder/shoulder1.htm. The mod’s were carefully measured webbing sewn to the front under the arm to prevent over extension backwards. (See attached picture). Andy (Pops Jumper) said he will bring my old brace down to the Hills this weekend so I will hold on to it so you can check it out!!! THANKS ANDY CANT WAIT TO SEE YOU!
Good Luck
>
Tami