Introduction

A dislocated shoulder happens when your upper arm pops out of your shoulder socket.

The shoulder is one of the easiest joints to dislocate because the ball joint of your upper arm sits in a very shallow socket.

This makes the arm extremely mobile and able to move in many directions, but also means it isn't very stable.

In some cases, the surrounding tissues supporting the shoulder joint may also be overstretched or torn.

A dislocated shoulder takes between 12 and 16 weeks to heal after the shoulder has been put back into place.

This page covers:

Shoulder dislocation

Have I dislocated my shoulder?

What to do

Treatment

Recovery

Dislocating your shoulder again

Content supplied by the NHS Website

Medically Reviewed by a doctor on 24 Jan 2017