United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

I believe my arm is dislocated. I think it happened a few months ago. I woke up in the most unbelievable pain and felt I couldn't move or even breath. After awhile the pain just eased up and I went about my life. Well, I have this round bone sticking out in front of my shoulder. I am not 100% sure its dislocated but I called Mayo and they want me to come Wed. for an x-ray. Has anyone seen Dr Steinmann, he's in the Ortho dept. Dr Bishop's dept said I wouldn't see him. Which I know its not a related problem for my BPI but it is a result of my injury and he is an Ortho. Anyway, I called and they said Dr Steinmann is book up over 2 months but I called my other doctor and they are getting me in Wed for an x-ray and if it is dislocated they will page Dr Steinmann, he is on call this week.
Has anyone else have experienced dislocation? If so, tell me what they do and how it goes??? PLEASE

I had my x-ray yesterday and it shows anterior subluxation. My arm is falling off, basically. Its hanging pretty far down from my shoulder and its tilted forward. Mayo wants me to come up as soon as possible but we are under winter storm watches, for the past 4 days! I am hoping it lets up and we can drive up-I'm on the border of WI in Illinois.
Has anyone been diagnosed with this? And if so, what did they do?
Kath

Many of us with OBPI have this. My shoulder is subluxated, nothing I can do about it.

What they tend to do for those with strokes, accidents... is make them use a sling or shoulder brace to stop it from happening or once it has happened to minimize further damage and reduce pain.

Marieke 33, LOBPI
RN

Has your shoulder always been like that? I had it developing a few yrs ago but now my arm bone is tilting forward. When I bend over and use my arm it hurts so bad-too much. Its hard for me to get worse every year and I'm going to 40 so after 20+ years of this things seem to get a little more worse with age. I was a cheerleader, a runner, played sports. I kept active when it happened (my injury) but now I can hardly do anything. I guess Mayo is concerned. They called today to get me in next week for tests, MRI's and other stuff. Would a sling help? Its hanging so far down that it needs pressure to push it back up and I thought about the sling but does that mean I have to wear that all my life? When I'm 65 I still be wearing a sling? I am so upset about this. Its seems to be so many problems and the are closer and more often in the past 2 years.
Kath

Hi Kath,

My shoulder has been subluxed right from the start (almost 12 years).

I have to say that staying active has helped with the pain. In the beginning, I was afraid of running because of the pressure it might put on my shoulder, but the opposite has happened.

Whenever it hurts, and I go for a run (or swim, bike, etc) it feels better afterwards. I don't know if it's the endorphins or just getting the blood moving, but it works.

I do wear a sling during activities, but not otherwise.

Letting my arm hang for long periods of time does seem to make it worse though. I try not to do things where I stand all day, and my husband holds my hand when we go for long walks, to help support it. It's really sweet, so a definite benefit

Heddi

That's interesting. I wonder why Mayo wants me up there asap..........I think mine has been hanging for a long time but my arm has tilted forward and my bone on top of my arm, closest to my shoulder, is sticking out. A round ball like in front. When I bend over it hurts bad. I just had the anniversary of my accident in Sept; 21 years. And it hurts now more than ever. I wonder if after a certain many years it gets worse? I'll find out what the docs say at Mayo????

It was gradual, over time/years, but fairly early on as a toddler it stopped. Once I started using the shoulder more I guess as I recovered some. I didn't recover much in the shoulder area, but keeping the muscles as active as possible kept it stronger or strong enough not to continue to dislocate completely I guess.

For TBPI, yes it can get worse over the yrs, as it can stay stable.. it happens because of the weight of the arm pulling down with the lack of muscle strength.

Wearing a sling can help, as for wearing one 24/7, no idea. As it has been said, maybe only during certain activities, but yes, the weight of the arm makes it painful without some type of support.

Even if they can "push it back up" it won't stay there. And it's not that it happened suddenly, though it may feel like that. It took awhile for it to happen, so there is likely some damage to tendons/ligaments/muscle, hence the pain...

I think us OBPI are lucky in that when it happens to us we don't usually have ongoing pain from it, maybe b/c it happens early on as babies/toddlers and our body just "gets used" to it.

Marieke 33, LOBPI

Kath,
Dustin's shoulder subluxed down and forward too. His was this way for several months following his accident. One of his therapists ordered a sling that slipped around the bicepts and snugged up with velcroe. It also had velcroe on the front, top and back that I could adjust to pull the arm back into place. This kept it from moving further and kept the weight off it. She also thought that having the arm in the more natural position would help if he became able to move it. He did say it felt better being pulled up to where it should be. This one could be worn under clothing and his arm that showed below his sleeve appeared to be hanging naturally. Eventually, as he did his exersizes the muscles became strong enough to hold his arm into the socket. I think the ones that helped the most were laying on his back and doing angel wings.
Sue

after reading all the replies-and thank you by the way-I am gathering exercise is the key. I have had 6 surgeries in 2 years for cosmetic reason up at Mayo. So I have had months of recovery and per the advice of my doctor and after each surgery I have to stay still, I guess my arm has weakened. I am a active person, taking care of 4 children (12-3 yrs old) but it must not be enough. I will talk to Dr Steinman, at Mayo, and ask if exercises or PT will help my pain. Last night I was hurting A LOT! But I think the temps here make me tense and hurt me more. Right now its Thurs morning and the temp is -15 and the wind chill makes it -35. No school! Thank you all again for your help. I will let you know what they say at Mayo. They want to do a MRI, x-rays and other tests. Do I go through that or just ask for PT? I don't want to waste my time, my husbands, leave my children and pay the co-pay of these tests. I still owe Mayo over 3K and I have been paying it down for 2 years!
Kath

Kath,

If this is a new development, they might want to make sure the nerve to the deltoid isn't being pinched or irritated somehow. It might be worth doing the tests at Mayo to make sure there isn't something they can do.

As long as the nerves are working, you can strengthen the muscles with exercise, but if the nerve connection is failing (and was good before), I'd want to know why.

Heddi