Can you play sports after a shoulder dislocation?

If you suffer a traumatic shoulder injury during sports, you certainly want to recover quickly so that you can play again. When could your injury need surgery? If you can get better without surgery, is there a risk of reinjuring it or never getting back to 100%? In this Ask Dr. Geier video, I discuss the challenges young athletes have after suffering a shoulder dislocation.

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Anil asks:
Recently I got my shoulder dislocated while fighting, so I want to know how long it will take to get completely strong. Is there any worry about another shoulder dislocation in the future? Am I eligible to fight again in the future or not?

A shoulder dislocation – popping the ball out of the socket, so to speak – might not seem like a serious injury. You go to an emergency room and have a physician put it back into place. Can you go right back to sports?

Young athletes often have recurrent shoulder dislocations or feelings of instability after a first-time shoulder dislocation. They often tear the labrum and stretch out the capsule that surrounds the shoulder. As orthopedic surgeons, we are more likely to at least offer surgical treatment to repair the labrum and tighten the capsule to stabilize the shoulder.

In this video, I explain the options for an athlete after a shoulder dislocation and the process of returning to sports.

Please remember, while I appreciate your questions, I cannot and will not offer specific medical advice by email, online, on my show, or in the comments at the end of these posts. My responses are meant to provide general medical information and education. Please consult your physician or health care provider for your specific medical concerns.

[DrDavidGeier]

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[ranitpaul]

I've cancelled surgery and started shoulder muscle building after recovery and the muscles after getting stronger holds the shoulder in place 💪👍

[OGvibes-tqzl]

Ive been training hard for the army, untill i played rugby grand final and popped out me shoulder, now it keeps happening. Life fucking sucks

[therealoc]

Just want to let people know I had dislocated both my shoulders, my left one first got surgery and then my right shoulder. Currently recovering from surgery and heading into the 12th week. Surgery was the best option as once it dislocates, usually never the same after. But surgery has helped a lot and my left shoulder feels stronger than my right. Just easing my way back and plan on lifting again, maybe even wrestle once I’m 100% again.

[benjaminlawrence]

Since I was 11 I have dislocated my shoulder almost 30 times mostly playing sports. You can play sports, but without physical therapy and strengthening your shoulder for the rest of your life it will continue. My shoulder feels better now that I do physical therapy but it still feels like it'll slip out. I even learned to relocate my shoulder by myself ( do not listen to the movies). Also if you still want to play sports perfect form, intelligence, and technique will be your injuries best friend.

[ExTiixZ]

Don’t know who needs to hear this I do muai Thai and workout regurlarly iv had dislocations in the past, multiple. And I usually take 2 weeks to recover then always do low weight high reps, always stretch. If you box or fight no over hands trust. I will take therapy next week

[gerardmopassantos]

Im on my 6th dislocation, I feel like surgery is a no brainer at this point

[lucasfunkt]

Thanks for the backing music, reminded me of the early 90s

[lukahudorovic]

It's literaly 3 in the morning and my shoulder disslocated i was completely alone and i just got it back after a lot of pain

[captaincurve]

My experience has been 5 shoulder dislocations and two surgeries, your health is first and making decisions can be tough but you gotta do what's best for you

[Kruz.Lee]

Got into a car accident over the weekend and dislocated my shoulder and fractured a bone in my shoulder. I’ve never felt this pain before and I just want to be normal again. I came to the comment section on this video and everyone is saying that they’re having multiple dislocations and I’m scared that that’s gonna happen to me too. I don’t want to go through this again..

[punkmnky]

I am 19 and dislocated my shoulder learning break dancing when i was 16. Accidentally popped it back into place myself hopped on my bike and went home. Threw some ice on it and never got it looked at. Now i do parkour and recently weight lifting and my shoulder doesn’t bother me too much other than its a little out of alignment with my other shoulder and lost some flexibility

[DQureshi]

I had shoulder dislocation, I am 36 and not undergone surgery but I do feel a hanging shoulder but as I started a physiotherapy after 2 years, I started to feel better..

[nikkimousiex]

i got both shoulders dislocated during fighting (MMA) then continued to train and get injuries about 1.2 times per day on average for 6 months. now it is difficult to keep my shoulder in the joint, but it always returns to the joint after sliding out on it's own.

[greiinnn]

2days ago I got my dislocated shoulder from a car accident i got rush to the er and doctors put my shoulder in place they told me that I don't need any surgery and today i still got a arm sling and need to heal it by itself..i hope it heals quickly 🙏😢

[finessekid]

I can sneeze and throw my shoulder out! Lol hopefully this surgery helps out

[morganwebster]

Great information. Thank you for that. So my situation is that I dislocated my shoulder many years ago when I was a child playing AYSO soccer and that was like when I was maybe 10 years old. Well, it never happened again and mind you. I grew up as a surfer, competing and very active and quite reckless in regards with skateboarding and snowboarding, but never really injured myself. Thank God. so about I’d say 10 years ago it did happen again and then the frequency of the dislocation wasn’t very much it. It didn’t start happening until I would say about two years ago where the orthopedic surgeon that I talk to said it’s definitely instability which makes sense after watching your video. so the work that I do to make a living is very physical and I love it. The problem is since this was a prior injury insurance will not cover it. Now the frequency of this shoulder dislocation me going down to hoag hospital here in Newport Beach is maybe once a month. And it’s funny they know me by name now and every time I go down there I let them try to reset it without anesthetic or any meds at all which out of the many times that’s happened I would say 60 or 70. They’ve only been able to get it in without anesthetic two times. So it is an issue and to cover the cost of having this repaired is almost impossible through my insurance as I’m on Medi-Cal. But I am working with my primary to get approval and it’s been about a year and a half now since we’ve been doing this. The thing is is the company that I work for is a true nonprofit organization which I love and I love the physical aspect of the work and it has happened on the job. I think it’s 15 times now. Typically I’ll be back to work the very next day . And I know that sounds insane because it is but for them my work it doesn’t seem to matter to them I’m not angry at them. I just know that they need to have me there for the business to work properly. So what is your suggestion to me about treatment, options, and what really is a good amount of time for myself to be safe without worrying about it dislocating again recovery time wise? This thing is starting to make my quality life not the the best or the same. That’s my inquiry and I appreciate your video and made a lot sense to me. Thank you .

[doublea]

i dislocated my shoulder playing basketball and doctor said it will recover on its own within 3 mons of rest. I went back to sports after a few weeks and after a hard rotation i had a subluxation and after that i was always careful with rotating my shoulder. It's been a year and yesterday i tried to do a full motion spike in volleyball and my right hand just twisted and i could feel my shoulder joint twisted inside, i then rotated again as per experiience but now i cant move my hand by little and it pains. Doctors said its not worth it to have a surgery at this age of 16 since the success rate is very less and its more likely to dislocate again. So once you have a dislocation, life's a mess and theres no coming back to 100%. I had a huge flexibility and i could throw balls very high and smash in badminton very, now i cant even rotate my hand and i can feel my bones slide.

[JustTravelous]

I’m 41 and I have Seizures and my right shoulder was dislocated and in time it’s getting worse. I went through pt for at least 10 weeks it hasn’t got any better I went to a orthodontist doctor and I’m getting a MRI done. Doctor said I may have several tears in my labrum and arthritis setting in. I’m waiting on the MRI appointment I hope I don’t need surgery

[MegasAnthos]

4 months ago while sparring I fell with my opponent on my shoulder and it popped out, my coach put it back on the moment and after a bit of physio I felt as strong as before. 2 weeks ago it happened again and the doctor said that if it will occur again in a year I should have surgery. Im planning to do physio and train everyday my rotator cuff for the rest of my life. Im 16 and Im really afraid of not being able to fight and train like before even if everyone tell me to not worry.