Habitual dislocation of the shoulder joint

  Shoulder dislocation is the most frequent of all joint dislocations, and it is easy for shoulder dislocation to occur again after one dislocation. Why does this habitual shoulder dislocation occur?  Shoulder dislocations often occur during contact sports such as soccer, basketball, judo, wrestling, etc.; they are also common in traffic accidents. The vast majority of traumatic shoulder dislocations occur in people between the ages of 14 and 34, and because this population is more active, there is a high recurrence rate after the first dislocation. Foreign reports show that 90% of patients have “habitual dislocation or instability”, which means that the dislocation is triggered when the patient’s shoulder is in a specific position, such as the “shot” in basketball, the “dunk” in volleyball, and the “serve” in tennis. “The dislocation may occur when the patient is in a specific position, such as in basketball, volleyball, tennis, backstroke, etc.; or when the patient is on a bus and the hand pulls the lever and encounters an emergency brake. “Habitual shoulder dislocation” seriously affects the function of the affected limb and seriously hinders the quality of life of patients. Many patients have certain psychological barriers due to the fear of dislocation, and they are afraid to exercise and raise their hands above their heads.  The development of modern medicine has confirmed that the cause of “habitual shoulder dislocation” caused by trauma is the tearing of the shoulder capsule ligament and glenoid lip caused by the dislocation, which is difficult to heal by conservative treatment, thus the dislocation occurs repeatedly and becomes “habitual”. “The dislocation becomes a habit.  If the shoulder joint dislocation is not effectively treated for a long time after the dislocation, the recurrence of shoulder joint dislocation, in addition to the aforementioned avulsion injury, will also cause damage to the related cartilage and bony structures, making treatment more difficult. Repeated dislocations can also significantly aggravate the degenerative changes of the affected shoulder, leading to the early appearance of osteoarthritis of the shoulder joint. Therefore, the international sports medicine community and the Shoulder Joint Specialists Society are calling for early surgical repair of torn shoulder capsule ligaments and glenoid labrum in patients who have suffered a shoulder dislocation due to trauma before the age of 25, in order to effectively prevent “habitual dislocation” from occurring.  The surgical treatment of shoulder dislocation includes “traditional open surgery” and “minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery”. Of course, not all cases of “habitual shoulder dislocation” can be treated with arthroscopic surgery, but for patients with bony glenoid labrum injuries, open surgery may be more appropriate.