“My son has dislocated his shoulder twice from playing baseball. Will this have an effect on him in the future?”
My son has dislocated his right shoulder twice in the past year from playing baseball. I am worried he will need surgery one day. Will this have an effect on him in the future?
13 Answers
Unfortunately 100%. The amount of trauma and energy it takes to dislocated shoulder leads to lifelong shoulder changes. The shoulder is a ball and socket joint, and the labrum holds the ball into the socket. When you dislocated your shoulder, you tear that labrum, and it never heals. This leads to instability, muscle compensation, and eventually redislocation and arthritis.
Physical therapy is vital, as is an MRI. There are two options for treatment one is surgery and the other is a bone marrow injection to stabilize the joint. I specialize in his bone marrow injections.
Physical therapy is vital, as is an MRI. There are two options for treatment one is surgery and the other is a bone marrow injection to stabilize the joint. I specialize in his bone marrow injections.
It certainly can. Having 2 dislocations is a sign that his shoulder is unstable to the point that this can become a recurrent problem. Should dislocation is traumatic to the cartilage and supporting tissue. I recommend that he be seen by an experience sports medicine physician or orthopedist.
Shoulder instability, particularly in younger athletes, tends to recur at a very high rate. Basically, this means his shoulder will likely continue to periodically dislocate when in the vulnerable position. Therefore, a surgery that stabilizes the shoulder is typically recommended. This could be done in the offseason if he can and desires to complete his current season. How this affects him in the future is indeterminate. The shoulder is more likely to continue to be problematic if this is his dominant shoulder, especially if he's still throwing. However, some patients have stabilizing surgery, have excellent outcomes and return to their previous level of function. Rehab after the surgery is very important. Regarding long-term shoulder issues, it's not easy to predict. Those with recurrent dislocations are more likely to develop osteoarthritis of the joint decades later, but not all patients go on to have arthritis.
In the short answer, Yes he will an increased laxity in the joint capsule and be prone to future dislocations. The good news is this can easily be managed with a good sports and/or orthopedic physical therapist. There a some exercises that can help strengthen the supporting muscles of the shoulder (glenohumeral) joint to help decrease the chances of the shoulder dislocating in the future. There are plenty of exercises online you can look up but know those won't be enough because you will be targeting big, power muscles. You need to dive deeper and strengthen the other supporting muscles as well. Reach out to me and we can do a telehealth visit.
I am assuming your son is like teens or early 20s. If he has had to dislocations in the past year, he more than likely needs surgery now. He needs to see your shoulder specialist and make sure he’s not into the bone already.
He needs surgery now. Post-traumatic arthritis of the shoulder may occur later in life.
Once the shoulder dislocates, there is a high likelihood of recurrent shoulder dislocations in the future, especially in young individuals. If he had two dislocations, I would advise considering a shoulder stabilization surgery, so he can return to sports.
It's so important that your son maintains really good strength guided by a physical therapist - it's not just the kind of strengthening he does at the gym. The rehab exercises focus on stabilizing the shoulder using very targeted strength and neuromuscular retraining.
He most likely will need surgery to tighten the ligaments to prevent further dislocations. This is very successful surgery and is usually done arthroscopically. With successful surgery it is unlikely that it will affect his baseball unless he is a right handed pitcher.
It depends on the type of dislocation, how much bone loss has occurred, and your son’s physiology and ability and rehabilitation discipline afterwards. You need to have an overall Godly relationship all around - the surgeon, the family, and the patient.
Best regards,
Dr. Doug Duncan, MD
Best regards,
Dr. Doug Duncan, MD
This can certainly be an issue. Studies indicate that individuals who dislocate their shoulder and are under the age of 20 have a 90% chance of recurrent dislocation, meaning it will come out again. Once someone has dislocated more than once they fall into a category of recurrent dislocator. If left untreated most of the time this becomes a quality-of-life issue in that with each subsequent dislocation it happens with less and less trauma. These are cases that should be indicated initially with physical therapy but often after obtaining an MRI scan and revealing a tear of what is referred to as the labrum surgery should be contemplated to restore stability
The primary determinant of recurrence is age at the time of the first dislocation since he has already had a 2nd dislocation. I would recommend an appointment with a sports medicine fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon for discussion regarding surgery.
Likely. An athlete with two shoulder dislocations should be evaluated by a sports medicine specialist.
