Managing your Shoulder Dislocation

Physiotherapy Management

- Acute Phase (7 days post-injury): Immobilization with a sling for the first few days to promote healing of the shoulder joint. Avoid vulnerable movements.

- Phase 1 - Early Rehab (weeks 2-3): Manual therapy to address muscular tightness and pain. Active assisted shoulder range exercises and muscle activation and strengthening.

- Phase 2 -Strength Phase (weeks 4-6): Mobility exercises, upper body strength program, stability and perturbation exercises, aerobic endurance activities, Manual therapy for muscle tightness.

- Phase 3 – Functional Strengthening (weeks 7-12): advanced proprioception/perturbation exercises, advanced shoulder strengthening, sports specific drills.

- Phase 4 – Dynamic Strength and Stability (5month – 1 year): Manual therapy, graded strengthening program, fitness maintenance, biomechanical retraining, plyometrics, proprioception training.

Shoulder dislocations in young athletes under 25 years old have a high rate of recurrence, leading to chronic shoulder instability. Because of this high incidence of recurrent dislocation, an arthroscopy should be considered after shoulder dislocation as it reduces risk of recurrent instability.  

Prognosis: Once the shoulder joint has been restored to its optimal position after a shoulder dislocation, it can take up to a year for the rehabilitation to be completed (although most people return to sport after 12 weeks if non-surgical and 6-months if surgical).