Dislocated Shoulder Treatment and Management in Milton

Regarding pain, dislocated shoulders are practically in a category of their own. If you’ve ever dislocated your shoulder, you know the pain is unbearably intense and gets worse whenever you try to move your arm.

Dislocated Shoulder Causes and Symptoms

The top of your upper arm bone sits inside a socket, forming a ball and socket joint. Tendons and muscles keep the joint stable, so you can freely use your shoulder and arm without pain. If the bone is forced out of the socket, you’ll have a dislocated shoulder.

Most often, people dislocate their shoulders due to traumatic injuries, such as falls on outstretched hands and motor vehicle accidents. Also, athletes are prone to shoulder dislocation when playing contact sports.

You don’t need to take a traumatic blow to your shoulder to end up with a dislocation, though. Some people have chronic shoulder instability due to genetics or repeated dislocations. Without a stable joint, they can dislocate their shoulders without much trauma to the joint.

The symptoms of a dislocated shoulder are intense and include significant pain, bruising, swelling, weakness, and mobility issues. Depending on the severity of your injury, you also might notice weakness, numbness, and tingling. These symptoms are associated with nerve damage that can occur when dislocating the shoulder.

Shoulder Dislocation Treatment – What to Expect

You can start treatment quickly when you go to the ER or urgent care for a dislocated shoulder. After you’re diagnosed, the doctor can give you a sedative and pain medicine before manually placing the upper arm bone back into the socket. The medical term for this is a “closed reduction,” and the severe pain stops once it’s completed. Still, it’s normal to feel some lingering discomfort from associated injuries, such as overstretched and torn ligaments.

Your joint needs time to heal and stabilize, so you’ll wear a sling or a splint for days or weeks. It takes some time to adjust to wearing a splint or sling when sleeping, but many people find relief by sleeping on high pillows.

Most people don’t need surgery after dislocating their shoulders and move on to physical therapy once the joint heals. However, if you have chronic shoulder instability, bone fractures, or other complications, surgery might be recommended. Then, you’ll immobilize the joint once again before starting physical therapy.

At-Home Shoulder Dislocation Treatment – Managing Your Symptoms

You should always go to the ER or urgent care for dislocated shoulder treatment. Still, you’ll also need to manage your symptoms at home once your shoulder has been reset and is immobilized.

Icing the joint and taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can help you manage the discomfort. You can ice the injury up to four times daily, but make sure you put the ice in a towel before placing it on your joint.

You’ll also need to do some gentle exercises as part of your shoulder dislocation treatment plan. These exercises will strengthen the shoulder and improve stability in the joint. Make sure you get the exercise plan from your doctor instead of making one yourself. If you choose your own exercises, you risk putting too much stress on the joint.

Also, move your fingers and wrist regularly to prevent stiffness. Keep your shoulder still while doing this so you don’t damage the joint or surrounding tissue.

Milton Shoulder Dislocation Treatment

At Bayhealth Total Care’s Emergency and Urgent Care Center, our primary goal is to provide the residents of Sussex County with exceptional service and the proper billing for the care they need. Our combined emergency room and urgent care in Milton are fully equipped to handle everything from allergies to chest pain 24/7 with on-site labs, X-ray, ultrasound and CT.

Every patient at our ER and urgent care walk-in clinic is seen by an ER-trained physician at every visit, regardless of the level of care they need. Our approach makes care more affordable by avoiding the higher cost of the emergency room if patients only require urgent care services. Our ER and urgent care clinic is open 24/7.

Bayhealth Total Care’s Emergency and Urgent Care Center is located at 18383 Hudson Road, Milton, DE 19968.