After dislocating the shoulder, which muscles should I strenghthen?

Question

I've dislocated my shoulder but my shoulder strangely went back on its own..... Now Im feeling ok....so I was wondering which muscles should I strengthen. Should I do rotator cuff strengthening exercises??

Answer 1

It would be best to strengthen all your upper body muscles, as they all work together in keeping joints in place. In particular, I would focus on the muscles around your shoulders, including the pectoral (chest,) and back muscles.

I would recommend rotator cuff exercises, also, but start out very with light resistance and slowly work your way up.

Answer 2

I'm not surprised that physical therapy has not worked. Given the number of dislocations over your life and the recent run of them over the past 18 months, you are definitely a candidate for surgery. If sounds as if your ligaments and possibly tendons as well have stretched to the point of no return. I would have to assume that you will end up with surgery that will remove some ligament and then the ends will be reattached. This process will shorten the ligaments, resulting in a tighter joint that will keep the joint in place. The level of work you need done will dictate the surgery you get. If at all possible, the orthopedic surgeon will operate with scopes, where a few small incisions will be made and the repair can be done through those small incisions. Healing time is reduced, though you will still be disabled for a long time, even up to 6 months or more. If too much damage exists, the doctor may have to open up your shoulder to repair it. This results in a longer healing time, which pushes back the rehab time, making for a longer time with disability. I'm guessing, since you've seen doctors already, that you have some sort of health insurance. Insurance almost always requires that your GP (or PCP) send you to a specialist in order to receive insurance benefit. That being said, I recommend you make an appointment with your GP as soon as possible. I'm sure he'll send you to an orthopedist and/or an orthopedic surgeon and they'll let you know what your options are. Then you can work with them to fit the surgery into your schedule.

Answer 3

based on your statement I know you just skipped medical. If your shoulder went back to normal position, ofcourse disregarding an xray, I would say immobilize the joint for one month. After the joint is recovered and there is no edema you should start theraphy of the joint. One exercise is rotation of the shoulder for a couple of weeks until there is no pain. After that you should start muscle trrain with weights. just use no more that 5 lbs. good luck.

Answer 4

teres minor, subscapularis, supraspinatus, infraspinatus