How to Set a Dislocated Shoulder
Dislocating a shoulder is too painful and it is a condition that needs to be corrected immediately to prevent long-term damage. This happens when the shoulder bone gets out of the socket which holds it in place. This injury is very much in need of medical aid but if medical attention is not available, you can do the treatment by yourself. Here’s a guide in fixing a dislocated shoulder.
Make sure that the patient is in a comfortable position. He may be experiencing excruciating pain but ask him to lie down and give the patient something to relieve the pain. You may offer pain killers or anything with caffeine.
Know the patient’s medical history. Do not attempt to do any procedure without knowing if this is his first time to encounter a joint dislocation. A shoulder dislocation might come along with breaks, fractions or other injuries. If you are not confident to do the procedure, rush the patient to the nearest hospital and just leave it to the doctors.
If it is not the first time that the patient’s shoulder was dislocated, you can set it back on your own. It is safe for you to perform the procedure as long as you are sure that there are no other severe conditions that came along with it.
Identify the type of dislocation. Figure out whether it is an anterior or posterior dislocation so you could perform the proper treatment. The most common is the anterior dislocation especially when it isn’t the first joint dislocation of the patient. Posterior shoulder dislocation, on the other hand, is usually caused by electrocution, seizure or other accident and resetting it needs a patient to be under anaesthesia. If this is the case, do not perform the relocation by yourself.
Do the manual shoulder relocation. Start by putting the upper part of the shoulder on a resting position. His hands should be facing down on the ground. You may also ask the patient to have his elbow bent at about 90 degrees in angle. Rotate the arm as if you are making a letter “L”. Keep the upper part of the arm as steady as possible as you slowly rotate his entire arm and shoulder outward. Hold on to the patient’s wrist and start pushing slowly. When the bottom part of his arm is already past 90 degrees from his chest, the shoulder will then fall back into the socket.
Expect that the patient will be in pain before, during and after the procedure. Other people tend to panic once the patient starts screaming and the pain starts to show on his face. This is normal so just bear with it and try to keep yourself calm while you’re doing the shoulder relocation. Immediate pain relief will be felt once the dislocation is fixed.
Right after the procedure, visit the doctor to have it checked. This is to ensure that the procedure was done correctly and also to see if there are other internal injuries that need medical attention.
