Dislocated shoulder

[Winston]

I seem to have dislocated my left shoulder this morning. I was about to scale a loading ramp about a metre in height, when I kind of tripped and lost my balance. I fell forward, no big deal, but somehow in there trying to avert the fall I must've twisted the shoulder in such a way as to cause a dislocation.

It seemed "alright" after a short while, and I went on and completed my mail route, not without severe bouts of pain mind you, whenever I carelessly made any sudden movements of my left arm.

Now as long as I keep it still, there's no pain. But I can't really use the arm for anything. I am of course going to have my doctor take a look at it tomorrow.

I was just wondering what I'm likely to be looking at, if indeed it turns out to be dislocated. Is it days or weeks of rest for the arm and shoulder do you think? Chiropractic treatment? Amputation?

I have no less than five weeks' vacation coming up in three days (actually it's accumulated overtime I have to forego, don't know the proper term in English), so it's a bit of a drag. I was planning a trip to the U.S...

[BeBMan]

No idea, but http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dislocated_shoulder

[giblets]

You lost your shoulder? Try retracing your steps.

[SlowwHand]

Chiropractic treatment, no doubt, at least for an exam. Hopefully it's a strain.

[BlackCat]

[Darius871]

Damn, BC beat me to it

[Winston]

So where's my pool of $5 bills?

After some thought, I think the title and OP may be misleading. It's probably not dislocated as such; a severe strain is probably what it is, otherwise there'd be visible disfigurement, right?

I still need it looked at though. I hope the doctor will have time for me tomorrow.

[Winston]

Ok, it's not a dislocation. Stupid me for not knowing the proper terms when starting this thread. I saw the doctor this morning, and she did not like the looks of it - and more importantly the sound of it.

The joint gives off an horrible crushing sound when I try to lift the arm above 40 degrees away from the side of the body. And the pain is intense, it's like something is going out of place.

So she sent me to the emergency room at the hospital for an evaluation, where I got queued for an MR-scan sometime next week with the experts at the clinical sports medicine wing of the hospital. The prevailing thought is that it's a strained or torn overlying muscle and I have to keep it at rest so the gave me a sling to wear.

Could have been worse I suppose. I'm not in pain as long as I keep it still, but I can't really do anything aside from looking miserable wearing my sling and not being of much help to anyone.

The trip to the U.S. is off, at least until after the scan. But already, it's moved out of my mind to the extent that I know I'm not going this year. Darn it, it was to be my first real vacation in five years.

[Japher]

The US is safe for at least another year. Thank you moving loading ramp

Get better soon Winston, I hope it is nothing too bad.

[Winston]

Thanks.

[Ben Kenobi]

Damn that sucks. Hope you get well soon, winston!

[Wiglaf]

Yes, go see a chiropractor. They are real professionals and not at all Chinese immigrants without the ability to hack it in a real medical school.

[SlowwHand]

Actually, orthopedic would be the place to go.

[Winston]

An unexpected thing happened this morning. My boss called and said that after consideration, he thought it best that I stayed on sick leave instead of switching over to forego my overtime as of next Monday, as had been planned for months.

Basically what this means is I get to keep my overtime for use at a later date, instead of letting it waste away trying to get my shoulder to heal.

That was a nice move I thought, even if it is possibly based in my employer getting some sort of refund for my pay, since it was a work-related accident.

Also, he was devasted to hear that I'd had to cancel my trip to the States. I almost had to comfort him to help him get over it..

[Tiamat]

You do need to see an orthopedic doctor. Worked for them for about 8 years and it sounds a bit like a torn rotater cuff which can require surgery. That's why on something like this it's always good to go see someone who specializes in that particular injury. Good Luck and get well soon.