How a dislocated shoulder is treated

You'll be assessed and examined when you get to A&E. You'll usually have an X-ray to check whether you've broken any bones and confirm the dislocation.

If you have a fracture, you may have further scans to investigate the area in more detail. Fractures with a shoulder dislocation require specialist orthopaedic care, and you may need surgery.

If you don't have any fractures, your arm will be gently manipulated back into its shoulder joint using a procedure known as reduction.

Reduction

You'll be given painkillers and may be offered medication to help you relax (a sedative).

Reduction is usually carried out in A&E, but sometimes it's done in the operating theatre under general anaesthetic (where you're unconscious) under the care of an orthopaedic team.

While you're sitting on the bed, the doctor will rotate your arm around the shoulder joint until it goes back in its socket. This may take a few minutes.

You'll usually have another X-ray to check your shoulder is in the correct position once your shoulder joint is back in place.

Repairing tears in the shoulder tissues

Some people tear ligaments, tendons and other tissueswhen they dislocate their shoulder.

If these tissues have been damaged, you may need surgery to repair them. This can significantly reducethe risk of dislocating the same shoulder again in the future for some people.

Surgery to repair shoulder tissues is carried out under general anaesthetic. It's often done using keyhole surgery, where small cuts (incisions) anda thin tube with a light and camera at one end (arthroscope) are used.

Sometimes it's necessary to have open surgery to move bones around in the shoulder to prevent further dislocations.

Surgery can sometimes be avoided by doing appropriate exercises to strengthen the shoulderif the tissues are overstretched but not torn.