jumping after shoulder dislocation

[calledisrael 0]

just out of curiosity, wanted to see if anyone had experience with jumping after a dislocated right shoulder.

i dislocated it in my level 7 aff freefall (and landed fine because my instructor was a star.) i have applied myself faithfully to physical therapy and am improving alot, thinking about trying to go for it in 2 more weeks (4 weeks post injury.) focusing now on just strengthening shoulder and upper body in general.

doctor thinks he will give me green light to do "normal activities" at that point, although he has expressed his opinion about me (or anyone) jumping. and i am confident that my instructors who will have to recurrency me anyway will make me prove alot... but i wondered if anyone else had done this and how long they waited.
thanks.

life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.
(helen keller)

[carbonezone 0]

It is very likely that it might go out again and you should maybe use some additional support "just my 02"
I and several others who have the same problem use a shoulder brace that was modified by our rigger.
He sewed in webbing to creating a cross brace for additional support (front) that would not allow the shoulder to dislocate (attached to the red portion on the binding tape and to the under side of the bicep).
Go here to see more and of course consult a doctor.
NOTE: If you choose to have the mods made make sure you have full range of motion for ALL your handles and toggles
Go here to check out the brace.
http://www.supportsusa.com/arm/ottoboch/shoulder/shoulder1.htm
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Tami

[calledisrael 0]

yep.. the doctor has made me quite aware of the possibility of going out again... that's why i am so interested in what other jumpers have done, since i know lots of people have had this problem before...

and thanks, tami, that brace looks great, i will definitely look into it!

life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.
(helen keller)

[meltdown 0]

Hey
I dislocated mine about 4 months ago (left shoulder), and I waited almost 3 months before jumping. Even now it's not quite 100%. I have 36 jumps on it since the injury (including about 20 sitfly jumps), and I have not had any problems so far. I am wearing a brace, but the one I've got also has an extra strap on it so I can restrict movement as much as I choose to. HOWEVER, mine took a serious trauma to dislocate the 1st time. If yours came out in freefall I'd be a little more suspicious of it. I would SERIOUSLY consider giving it more time to heal, especially since it's the right shoulder. Good luck with it, shoulder injuries definately suck!

[tsisson 0]

Quote

Go here to check out the brace.
http://www.supportsusa.com/arm/ottoboch/shoulder/shoulder1.htm

Thank you, thank you, thank you, for that link...I suffered a severe posterior dislocation (came out the front) of my left shoulder about 4 years ago and it will come out from time to time when I'm doing anything athletically...generally it comes out on the ground when I'm putting my booties on...you should see the look on peoples faces when they see me put it back in!

[LongWayToFall 0]

I dislocated my shoulder a few years ago, in a dirt bike crash. You should be very careful, after i knocked it out the first time, the ligiments and tendons are stretched out and will NOT hold your shoulder in place as well as it used to. i ended up needing surgery to fix the problem, but now it is REALLY in there, not gunna happen again. you should definitly wear a brace, this will decrease the chance of it popping out allot. also, be careful when you deploy, that angle always tweaks my shoulder in a direction that makes it feel looser. best of luck!

[carbonezone 0]

No problem.....they are pretty common around here!
There is at least 2 of us here that have converted to lefty throw out because of shoulder issues
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Tami

[calledisrael 0]

thanks. will definitely wear a brace to keep it in there! have started several exercises to watch that particular motion. (deployment) i love my reserve... but would rather not use it again if i don't have to!

life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.
(helen keller)

[hookitt 0]

That brace looks pretty good as long as the mods are put on it.

I made my brace it's an arm band and a chest band with a strap between them. It works really well, I think I may order one of those though and fix it up.

I highly suggest NOT jumping until you get a brace. Depending on a few factors... how badly dislocated, how long it was dislocated, how old you are, .... it could easily come out again. You already know it sucks. 4 weeks is not very long for rehab and depending on your age, makes a huge difference on how soon you should be put it though rehab.

Mines been out in freefall a few times and on the ground many more. I gave up pursuit of being an instructor and was nearly ready to just hang it up.

A kayaker had a brace and loaned it to me. I jumped it and that's all it took. I used the principle of the design and made one and it hasn't come out since.

Get the brace and modify it. I'd consider creating a chest strap and adding an arm band to attch too as well. The part that covers the shoulder will hold it in place but the straps will keep it there in place of your own ligaments.

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

[calledisrael 0]

yeah, i am probably too ambitious and it won't happen this soon... but i am trying to be prepared.

i am 27 and pretty healthy... he doesn't think it was terribly badly dislocated, and it came back on the ground shortly after landing (when the ground crew was trying very gently to pick up my rig off my back so i could take it off, i felt that sideways thunk through my whole body as we rolled it back in...) the doctor said that based on what he saw i had a lower than normal chance of re-dislocation if i would work on upper body strength and getting more muscle to help... will order the brace and look into it.

but i want to jump long-term, not short term, and if that means waiting another month or even more, then i will do that for sure. thanks for sharing your experience.

life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.
(helen keller)

[HydroGuy 0]

Took a digger on my 250 dirt bike, dislocating my elbow and cracking the radial head in the process. The bone healed fast. The nerves, ligaments and tendons, as well as other soft tissue that gets screwed up from the inflamation healed much slower. I've hurt myself many other times on my dirt bike. It is my experience that a decent joint injury will take 1 year to be normal...at the minimum.

Go to a physical therapist. They will give you ROM as well as strength building exercises. They can also give you ultrasound, as can a lot of chiropractors. Ultrasound has been proven time and time again to heal joint injuries faster.

Just resting it is only going to atrophy the very muscles in which you need to build supportive strength.

And make sure you go to a Sports Medicine doctor, not some dude that does hip replacements on the elderly.

Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

[ScottMcC 0]

yeah...what everyone else said.

I dislocated my shoulder 3 times, 2 of them in freefall (just popped out while belly flying). yes, it was my right one, yes, I pulled with my left hand, yes, it was my main, not my reserve, yes I can reach my throwout with my left hand, even though it's on the right side.

but I got it fixed by a good surgeon, and now I'm good to go.

be sure you have a good sports med guy look at your shoulder, not just your primary care doc.