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Kettlebell Dislocated shoulder

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Marc

Marc

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Hey guys,

actually did not really feel like training today. It has been a lot of volume and intensity the last few weeks. However I decided to do some easy get ups. Since I can use 40kg for solid 5×1 with no more than 2 mins of rest between sets, I thought 32kg would be appropriate.
Long story short I ended up dislocating my left shoulder. Went to the hospital and had it relocated after some struggle...I now have to wear a gadget that fixes my shoulder in place for one week. The doc advices me to undergo an MRT to see if there is further damage. If there is no further injury he said I could start training again in 2weeks. Since I have not been taking any longer rest for years now, I will take one week completeley off. Once I start again I will resign to any overhead pressing and dips including get ups.
My main focus was on oapu (did 5x3 with dead stop yestersay)and pistols right now (obviously pistols should be not too much of a problem).

Could you guys give me any recommendation on how to proceed in order to get back on the oapu track?
 
Well first and foremost follow the advice of your doc. Get the scan done if he recommends it. There may even be prior underlying damage that allowed the dislocation in the first place. I wouldn't be rushing back in to activities that are stressful on the shoulders. (Like OAPU)
Maybe some physiotherapy might be in order, if the doc prescribes it.
 
what @offwidth said....I've seen a few people with dislocated shoulders become chronic and go through it several times. I knew a woman who learned how to reset hers herself after about the 5th time (very painful). Don't be like that! Do what you have to do to get full healing and structural integrity, then worry about what you can do with it. Good luck with it!
 
Marc said:
If there is no further injury he said I could start training again in 2weeks. Since I have not been taking any longer rest for years now, I will take one week completeley off.
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How did two weeks suddenly become one?

It is always, always, always better to be safe than sorry.

How about just doing some pistol squat training or such for a while?
 
Thanks so far, guys. Of course I will let it heal completeley and will not rush anything. After one week I will start with some pistol squats, but the first week I will take completeley off. Think that might be good...
As far as resuming training: I read Jody Beasley's article about high rep pushups and though, once I am allowed to train again, I might do something similar instead of jumping straight into oapu again
 
Another question: is there anybody in the community who also suffered a dislocated shoulder? How long did it take you to return to your normal training and how did you get there again?
 
Have you identified the cause of this injury? Could it be your TGU technique? It can be useful practising dropping the kB into a rack position at different stages of the move, as a drill.
 
@Marc I haven't had one, but, as I said, have known some who have. The shoulder has a wide range of movement because it's such an "open" joint. Much of the structural integrity of the shoulder comes from the soft tissue that wraps it, mainly tendons connecting the muscles to the bone across the joint. When it's packed, the larger muscles like the lats pull the humerus into the joint and give it structure. However, when it dislocates, the humerus finds a way out of the pocket, and when it does, it further stretches everything to "widen" the path out. It can take a long time for these to heal back to their original length and strength. If you dislocate it again, it can get looser and more grooved further problems. The woman I knew who got so many had the soft tissue stretched enough that it later popped out easily. The docs told her she'd need surgery to shorten a couple of tendons if she wanted it to stop. Check with your docs or a PT and see why yours dislocated and if there's any remaining soft tissue damage, but you might be in for some months of letting it get back to normal to be safe. Docs often assume you'll take it easy because of the pain, but they may not be used to dealing with athletes, so make sure you're clear.

p.s. depending on how they put it back, the docs can also cause more stretching and damage to the joint. Did they poke around a lot to put it back, or figure how to easily slide it back into place?
 
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Thanks! The Hippocratic method did not work because my shoulder is too muscular. The doc then tried a method called Arlt which got it relocated. The x ray scan looked pretty good after but I will go for an additional MRT to check if there is any further damage. Today the doc said I might start slowly moving and training my shoulder in 1 week but should take it slow and be cautious.
I thought crawling and rocking (Original Strength) would be a good option to resume training again since it strengthens the shoulders while being friendly on the joints. Plus it keeps and even adds strength
 
I had a friend who´s shoulder got so loose from consecutive dislocations that at the end he could take it out of position at will. It took him a long time to recover good functionality.

Good luck with that recovery!
 
I had a bad should dislocation and there were distinct phases to recovery. Straight out movements like push up were okay within a few weeks. Straight down movements like dips were okay within a couple of months. It was about six months before straight up movements like Arnold dumbbell presses were comfortable and a year or so before I could handle any weight overhead with the elbows away from the body, like overhead press. For about three years I experienced a sharp pain intermittently when reaching up and diagonally, like reaching for a cup in an overhead cupboard
 
Thanks so far guys! I will def forgo any overhead pressing moves and dips for the next 6 month or so. Once I can take off the sling I will do OS stuff like crawling and rocking for one month and slowly work towards push ups and oapu again
 
rickyw said:
What part of the get up were you at when this happened?
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It happened after the elbow to hand position. Neigther the bell nor I were moving. I pauses briefley and immediateley could not stabilize the bell anymore. This is kinda scary because I already owned get ups with 40kg and just wanted a light session that day with 32. I think it is due to the fact that I had too much volume/intensity in the last weeks coupled with a lot of non-training related stress. One week off will do me good and after that I will start OS/Resets to rehabilitate
 
I had a history of shoulder dislocations and my left shoulder would dislocate even at night while I was asleep. After I started doing TGU 3 years ago it stopped.
Marc, when you come back to TGU try the shoulder rotations from the "Kettlebells from the Ground Up" with a light weight. They work very well for stabilizing the joint.
 
Marc said:
It happened after the elbow to hand position. Neigther the bell nor I were moving. I pauses briefley and immediateley could not stabilize the bell anymore
Click to expand...

Very interesting mechanism of injury. Thank you Marc. I hope you get better soon. If I may, do you tend to have really mobile joints?
 
Thanks for your kind wishes guys! Really appreciate it!
I have very mobile shoulders. I normaly do shoulder dislocators with a resistance band or broom stick as part of my warm up. I can also easyly interlace my fingers behind my back.
 
Marc
Hate to hear about the injury

Was it the KB hand or the bottom hand?

If your shoulders are already that mobile your get-ups should be "slow motion" and "within" a "shortened range" etc...

Rest and heal up - consult with a Physical Therapist if you can
 
Marc said:
Thanks for your kind wishes guys! Really appreciate it!
I have very mobile shoulders. I normaly do shoulder dislocators with a resistance band or broom stick as part of my warm up. I can also easyly interlace my fingers behind my back.
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Having mobile shoulders myself, I was advised not to stretch them. Do you really need to perform dislocators?
 
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