A shoulder dislocation is an injury that usually occurs after trauma with the arm separated from the body and dislocates the head of the humerus from the glenoid socket. Anterior glenohumeral instability (the most common) of the shoulder is a relatively common problem.
The main cause of post-traumatic shoulder dislocation, more frequent in contact sports. There are also other less frequent causes, such as electric shocks or epileptic seizures.
At the moment a patient suffers a dislocation, he/she suffers sudden severe pain and manifest functional impotence that usually forces him/her to hold the shoulder with the contralateral arm. Occasionally the shoulder may reduce itself, but it is necessary to go to the emergency room to confirm the diagnosis with an X-ray to rule out associated fractures and for the orthopedic surgeons to reduce it to its place. Once the shoulder is reduced to its place the patient notices a significant relief of pain.
Treatment of shoulder dislocation
For the treatment, each particular case is analyzed after a first dislocation, and the patient is clinically evaluated, completing, if necessary, the study by means of arthro-MRI that allows to objectify more specifically the degree of injury, which generally affects a disinsertion of the inferior glenohumeral ligament (LGHI), key as the main stabilizer of the shoulder.
In many cases, conservative treatment by immobilization in a sling for 4 weeks, followed by rehabilitation treatment, is established. In cases with involvement and disinsertion of only the LGHI, arthroscopy is usually performed to retension the entire ligament and capsulolabral complex, which is called a Bankart repair. In more complex or recurrent cases, another type of technique is required. Our method of choice is the arthroscopic Latarjet technique, which allows, through small incisions to provide a graft to the anterior glenoid rim that stabilizes the shoulder, being our center of reference as pioneers in this technique nationwide.