Dislocating shoulder

[colinl 0]

Hi,

I wondered whether jumping alone was hard on the arms (with the wind)? So far I only did a tandem so I had my arms on the harness until the TM told me I could ungrab it, and I'm wondering how much force you have to fight against when exiting the plane? I have a shoulder which is kind of easy to dislocate (and put back in place right after). When that happens (too fast movements usually, with something in the way of my hand), it hurts a bit, then I put it back in place, but I wouldn't want it to happen whenever I'd need to be concentrated -- like jumping planes.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Colin

[daniel_owen_uk 0]

Relative wind when exiting most planes is slower than terminal, so its easier on the arms than the actual free fall.

That said I am not a doctor or an instructor, so best to talk to both of them.

__________________

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[Andy9o8 2]

There are several threads on DZ.com discussing skydiving and shoulder dislocations that you may find helpful. You can use the Search function on this site to find them, then read what interests you. Hope this helps.

[tdog 0]

What Andy Said... I would really do a careful job reading and talking to people like doctors and instructors...

I know it is serious enough that tunnels have a big huge sign as you walk in that advises people not to use the tunnel if they have shoulder dislocation problems. So, I would not skydive based upon anything read on the internet, but instead seek solid advice from doctors and instructors...

BTW - the force on your arms in freefall with the tandem is the same for non-tandem jumps. But you will be doing flips and moving your arm to pull, and holding on the the plane and other people to launch, so there are many new forces your body has never experienced before.

But you should NOT give up now... Where there is a will, there is a way... You just need the will and others will give you the way.

[colinl 0]

Thanks all for your answers. I guess I'll ask my doctor and DZO when I'll get around going on with that. I guess I should also try to exercise a bit more physically - spending 8 hours a day in front of the computers and not doing much sport involving arms (the only sport I do now is rollerblading) probably doesn't help.

[chutem 0]

Check with doctors and instructors for sure. Is it your right or left shoulder that's a problem? Your going to need that right arm to deploy a "standard" BOC rig.
James

[colinl 0]

It's the right one. bad luck :)
Although I don't know if these are "real" dislocations: I can put it back in place without the other hand, just by using some muscles. It's just a bit painful.
I never bothered to ask a doctor about it as it happens since I'm a child and it comes back in place by itself...

[JohnMitchell 16]

It sounds like you've adjusted to it well, but it could be a real hazard in the air. I had a tandem passenger suffer a dislocated shoulder from just the wind pushing on it in freefall. She was unable to pop it back in under canopy. I landed her softly in the peas, then we sent her off to the ER.

See a doc about your shouder. See if physical therapy can strengthen it or if you need surgery.

[meltdown 0]

Sounds like your shoulder may be subluxing, not dislocating. Definitely talk to a doctor. I dislocated my left shoulder a year ago hanging from a skyvan, believe me that was not a fun landing. It's fine now, but it took months of rigorous therapy to get it "normal" again. If your shoulder is unstable it may need to be fixed before you can jump safely, especially since it's your right.

[LongWayToFall 0]

If it pops out and back in that easily, you should seriously consider surgery. I had my right shoulder dislocated from a motorcycle accident, and after that it would pop out if i threw something or put a load on it in a wierd angle. I would not think that just being in freefall will dislocate it, i mean, physics wise being in freefall is exactly the same as lying down on a really soft bed, the weight is distributed evenly. But if it DOES come out in freefall, you cannot expect yourself to be able to put it back in. Talk with a doctor, and figure out what exactly is torn. You will probably have the choice of micro surgery or the full blown one. Micro is better for range of movement, and is suggested to baseball players etc, however the more involved one (they actually open your shoulder up instead of using probes/narrow tools through small holes) is going to be your best bet for keeping it solidly in place. I recovered complete movement even with the full one. I got a bunch of dissolving clips and a single metal one, but i swear to you that my right shoulder now is LESS likely to dislocate than my left, they really tightened it down while they were in there. haha but yeah, get the surgery and in 9-12mo you will be able to jump without worrying about not being able to pull!

[sky-pimp 0]

Ouch dislocating is painfull ..
the best advice is see your doctor !!!! that should be true , i dislocated on my 4th jump under canopy . had it put back in then had 10 month till i could jump again .. i did quite a bit of phyciso and durring my rehab it did pop out very breifly a couple of time .. on going back to the doctor and asking if i was fit enofe to resume jumping , the reply i got was .. "do you think you are fit enofe" .. to be honest i was ok but his attitude made me nerves so i went in a wind tunnel first to check that it felt ok under near free fall condistions ...
in my extensive research on skydiving and dislocations , the most prominent thing that came out of it was , DO NOT get operated on unless you really have no choise .. so i concentrated on building strengh in my shoulder and cancelled my opperation (i was booked for an op because it was my second diclocation) .
hope this is of help

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YeHaaaaaaaaaaa

[cruzit 0]

Strongly recommend you have an orthopedic surgeon look at it and consider having it fixed. As an instructor, I have had three students dislocate. The last time it was a 6'3" 220 IAD student's right arm as he was hanging from a Cessna 182. Between the two of us, I got him back in the plane...but it wasn't pretty and scared the crap out of both of us. My concern is how are you going to pull you reserve in an emergency?...let alone land your canopy

Please, as a favor to your instructors, DZ, and friends...fix it first.

J

[LongWayToFall 0]

yeah, surgery is not fun, you will have your arm in a sling for 6mo and probably wont be able to jump for a solid 9mo or more. But do like everybody else is saying and go to the doctor. After I had an MRI they were able to show me exactly what tendons and ligiments were stretched/torn, once they know that they will tell you what needs to be done. However, the fact that you can pop it out and back in with such ease makes me think your stuff is damaged to the point that surgery will be the only option. If you had dislocated it once or twice and then did a whole bunch of physical therapy then you would probably be alright. But yeah, go see a doc

[flygirl1 0]

Hi Colinl, I am currently recovering from shoulder surgery, I sublocated my shoulder on my second jump but, I was able to pop it back in before I landed. I thought it was ok after 4 months of recovery. I did 3 tandems and 2 more AFF jumps with no problem. On my 3rd AFF jump back I dislocated it before pull time and wasn't able to pull my main. I ended up having to pull my reserve and go to the hospital to get it popped back in. After that I decided to have surgery to repair and strengthen my shoulder so I could keep jumping. I am now a month in to my recovery and looking forward to jumping again.

Fly like a girl

[bodypilot1 0]

A shoulder dislocation while in freefall, and then having to land your canopy with one arm, is NOT FUN.......
I speak from experience.

Seriously, if your having problems with shoulder dislocation before you jump, get doctors advice on how to eliminate this problem before you attempt to jump on your own.


Be safe
Ed

www.WestCoastWingsuits.com
www.PrecisionSkydiving.com