Shoulder dislocation

[iradney]

Hey guys

So TTO (my husband) is very into his bodybuilding. Last week, he managed to dislocate his shoulder while benching :cry:

We got him to a physio who referred him to a very well respected orthapedic surgeon who specializes in shoulder injuries. Apparently he's pretty much torn all the ligaments and buggered up his rotator cuff, and the only thing keeping everything in place is his muscle. Which would explain why it keeps popping out again >.<

He's going for the op (they're going to use tiny cameras!) next week Thursday. Can anyone give tips for aftercare like how should he lie in bed (I'm already gearing up to sleep on the couch as I cuddle in my sleep and don't want to hurt him), should I get ice packs?

Also, happy healing thoughts please?

[dragon_wings]

No advise but hope he heals quickly. Cause ouch. :hug:

[Sparky]

I haven't had the same injury, but I had a broken shoulder and I had shoulder surgery (different occasions). Both times I found it much more comfortable to sleep in a recliner. It keeps the arm in a "neutral" position and prevents you from rolling over. Following surgery I only had to do this for a few days.

Ice packs? Are you kidding? YES. Good to have in any case.

Best of luck to him. And you.

[Elspeth]

Sounds a lot like what my Mom did to her shoulder. She got a reclining pillow from Amazon. it is a wedge, 45 degree angle I think. They told her sleep in a recliner also.

Good thoughts going your way.

[Sparky]

You know what? Call his doctor's office and ask to speak with a nurse. Ask the nurse these questions. Because she'll know what to tell you to expect.

Doctors never tell you. Doctors make surgery sound like a breeze. Nurses are the ones who will tell you what kind of aftercare to prepare for, but if you don't call them you won't have contact with them until the day before the surgery, if then.

When I had my shoulder surgery (bone spurs) my doctor made it sound so simple that I expected to have it on Thursday and be back to work on Monday. I called and asked to speak to his nurse, and I was told "Most people aren't off work more than two weeks." :jawdrop: I had to make arrangements to take time off. I would have been completely unprepared if I hadn't called.


Face it. Nurses rock.

[pitmonkey]

Make up your own ice packs. If you have a vacuum sealer all the better. mix water with alcohol (4 to 1) and put in bags and freeze. If you use ziplocs double bag, if you have a seal a meal just remove as much air as possible and seal.

[Sapphire Silk]

Ortho is not my specialty. Is the surgery outpatient or inpatient. If the latter, ask to speak to a physical therapist.

If the former, talk to the nurses at the surgery center. They should be able to tell you.

[iradney]

Thankfully we have a truly awesome physio literally 1 mile down the road from where we live, so he's sorted for that :) TTO is going in next week, so I'm sending him a list of questions, and if push comes to shove, I'm pretty much hanging out at the hospital the day of the op until he's out of the OR, so I can pick a nurse's brain then :)

[Seshat]

I was about to say 'ask for a referral to a rehabilitation service'. If you already have an awesome physio, make an appointment with him/her. Give him/her a copy of all the info you've been given about the surgery, including a note from yourselves with the info you got verbally. (If you can give it to him/her in advance of the appt, great)

Let the physio manipulate your husband's shoulder carefully, to assess the damage for him/herself. She'll then be able to discuss post-surgery recovery, and rehabilitation physiotherapy.

A shoulder dislocation this bad is not something you just 'get fixed' and walk away from. Your husband should expect to have specific exercises for some number of months - I'll let your Awesome Physio be the one to say how long. :)

Talk with the nursing staff from the surgery, and with your physio, about post-op recovery. Plan for the worse of the two estimates, hope for the best. You'll probably end up in between.

[AccountingDrone]

Make up your own ice packs. If you have a vacuum sealer all the better. mix water with alcohol (4 to 1) and put in bags and freeze. If you use ziplocs double bag, if you have a seal a meal just remove as much air as possible and seal.

Meh, use bags of frozen peas. Get 3 or 4 bags, mark them so they won't later be used as food, works just fine. Or any other frozen veggie, but peas seem to hold the temp best for the 15 to 20 minutes per hour that you apply the cold for. Though we haven't experimented with lima beans yet...

[for what it is worth, I prefer the bags of peas over my ice brace. The ice brace seems to peter out after about 7-9 minutes, while a bag of peas keeps roughly the right temperature for 15-17 minutes.]

[Sapphire Silk]

Meh, use bags of frozen peas. Get 3 or 4 bags, mark them so they won't later be used as food, works just fine. Or any other frozen veggie, but peas seem to hold the temp best for the 15 to 20 minutes per hour that you apply the cold for. Though we haven't experimented with lima beans yet...

[for what it is worth, I prefer the bags of peas over my ice brace. The ice brace seems to peter out after about 7-9 minutes, while a bag of peas keeps roughly the right temperature for 15-17 minutes.]

That's a bit expensive for an ice pack, however, I agree it is the sort of thing that works very well.

I have a heating pad/ice pack I bought at a craft fair that is cloth and filled with corn kernels that will not pop in a microwave (I am not sure if it is feed corn or what). It is awesome: pop it in the microwave for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes, and I have about 20 minutes of deep heat (in fact, I have to be careful not to burn myself). Put it in the freezer and I have about 20 minutes of deep cold (ditto frostburn).

I've had it about 10 years and use it often; it's taken quite the beating but still works great. And since it's not electric I don't have to worry about falling asleep and leaving it on too long.

[Seshat]

You can use almost any grain or legume (but not popping corn) for those.

Grab some cloth and make ones shaped just right for the places that ache on you. Small of your back, fitted to your favourite chair. Make one with a (microwave safe) belt, to wear on the small of your back when you're moving around. Make one for your neck and shoulders. Or one you can strap around your knee. Or ..

[iradney]

THanks guys. 3 more sleeps til he goes in. I'm nervous as the last op he had, he woke up (big guy - 6'10", 250 pounds and metabolism of a really really fast thing). I dunno if the anesthetist he had then was just a moron or what. So I'm staying at/near the hospital until the op is over. If he wakes up during that op, I will ruin that anesthetist. (Dad's an anesthetist with over 3 decades of experience. I KNOW people :lol: )

[kpzra]

Make sure he tells them about coming around during the surgery last time. Everyone is different in how the react, so there in no guarantee what will happen. I've woken up/been aware during all the surgeries I've had, but I have bad reactions and my heart likes to get wonky so they don't like to put me really deep.

[iradney]

Heya! The op went well - he told the anesthetist about his last experience, and this chap made sure he didn't wake up during :D Doc told him once he was in TTO's shoulder, it was one of the worst cases he'd seen in a while, but he fixed it up real good. He's home now with a very unwieldy sling, and some good meds.

[Kristev]

That's wonderful.

[Sapphire Silk]

Fabulous! Great news!

Here's to a quick and full recovery! :cheers:

[Seshat]

Yay!

Now make sure he keeps that arm in the sling until the good-physiotherapist tells him otherwise. <serious-face>

If there are any discharge papers giving information, instructions, etc, take them with you to an appt with your physio. I'd strongly recommend seeing the physio before doing any but the absolute gentlest of exercises.
And by that I don't mean 'exercises with only the weight of the arm'. I mean 'exercises where you/physio/whoever is supporting the weight of the arm'.

If he's torn the ligaments that badly, you want professional supervision throughout the rehab process.


Disclaimer: naturally, whatever the physio says absolutely and totally trumps whatever I say! I'm not a physio, I know nothing about this specific injury other than what's in this thread, yadda yadda yadda.

[iradney]

Ok, so it's just over 2 weeks since his op. The sling he's wearing is this:

http://http://www.supportsusa.com/donjoy/images/ultras9.jpg

Due to his bodybuilding, his arms are kind of bulky, so his upper arm is pretty much stuck against his side.

GROSS WARNING






So that armpit STINKS. I can just get my hand under there to wash it, and I use a large syringe to rinse it, but it's damn near impossible to dry as he can't lift it. It's also summer here...Doc says he's probably gonna get a fungal infection, so he's got a cream for that, but it doesn't help with the stink or drying it out...I've also MacGuyvered a kind of workaround, where I take two panty liners, stick them together and we slide it under his arm. But it's not doing enough. Any ideas or solutions? ANY? Please?

[AccountingDrone]

Let me ask ...

Is it that *he* can not lift his own arm due to pain, or it is medically forbidden for the arm to be moved at all [and if so why isn't it in a cast]

If it is the former, you can gently lift the arm for him and he can use his other hand to direct the water with a hand held shower at the pit while you gently wash it with your other hand. Just means tandem shower time. Conserve water, shower with a friend.

[I had a dislocated shoulder about 12 years back. I couldn't lift my arm myself for about a month, but the doc said as long as we were very careful and moved the arm only in the normal directions as minimal as needed to get to the pit to wash it we were ok. To dry off we sat me down with my arm propped so it was out a bit and after blotting it dry with towels, Rob aimed a blow dryer on low/cool into the area to dry it the rest of the way. Sort of jury-rigged but it worked.]

[iradney]

The aftercare instructions say he MUST keep his arm in a neutral position and for washing, he may not lift his arm. He can lean forward and let it hang to get to the pit, but once again, the big laterals and triceps get in the bloody way. I'm actually considering buying one of those hairdryers that has the cool setting, just to stick it under his arm and try and blowdry it!

[Seshat]

Talk to a pharmacist.

There are continence-care grade creams which protect the skin from moisture (designed for urine & fecal moisture, but damned effective for sweat as well).

The one I use is called Cavilon, it's made by 3M and the active ingredient is dimethicone. It works brilliantly for me - even better than Bephanthen (a nappy-rash cream) which is what I used to use.

This is, of course, a preventative. To cure existing fungal rashes, you'll need to talk to a doctor. My educated-guess would be one of the broad spectrum antifungal creams, supplemented with a topical pain-relief ointment.

With all of these, of course, you'll need to sort of .. somehow slide a hand or an applicator spatula in there. Good luck!

[Sapphire Silk]

Talk to a pharmacist.

There are continence-care grade creams which protect the skin from moisture (designed for urine & fecal moisture, but damned effective for sweat as well).

The one I use is called Cavilon, it's made by 3M and the active ingredient is dimethicone. It works brilliantly for me - even better than Bephanthen (a nappy-rash cream) which is what I used to use.

This is, of course, a preventative. To cure existing fungal rashes, you'll need to talk to a doctor. My educated-guess would be one of the broad spectrum antifungal creams, supplemented with a topical pain-relief ointment.

With all of these, of course, you'll need to sort of .. somehow slide a hand or an applicator spatula in there. Good luck!

Nystatin or Lotrimin would probably be the prescription product. I'd use care, and ask a pharmacist about anything OTC. In a case like this using the wrong product is worse than doing nothing.

Don't use cornstarch or talcum power. They retain moisture and encourage fungal growth.

For an applicator, try using tongue depressors. They're long enough, and flat enough that they should work fine. You can get them by the box fairly cheaply at any medical supply place.

[Seshat]

Oh gods no - no powders! As Panacea said, worse than nothing!

You def.. ahem. IANADoctor. However, I would strongly recommend, as an intertrigo patient, on a patient-to-patient basis (/end disclaimer) ....

Where was I? Oh yeah.

Skin-protective barrier creams are the best thing I've found to prevent fungal overgrowth in skin folds.

Treatment requires an antifungal: if it's difficult to get in there to use an anti-fungal cream, ask for a prescribed oral antifungal, and if needed, an oral painkiller.

I think you'll need to use a topical barrier cream, however. I don't think there's going to be a way to avoid that. :(

[iradney]

His doc prescribed Travocort for the fungal stuff. TTO says the pad does help somewhat and we do try and dry as well as we can after showering. I did get him Sudocream to help with the pressure sores he was getting on his shoulder (works like a charm!) but I don't think it will help with the armpit. We've got just over 3 weeks left (27 days left!) until the damn sling comes off, so I'm hoping the combo of panty liners, thorough washing, rinsing and the best drying we can do, plus the cream from the doc will help....and the second he can move that arm even 2 inches away from his side, I am in there with a towel!

Thanks guys :)

[dalesys]

....and the second he can move that arm even 2 inches away from his side, I am in there with a towel!
And a gas mask?:devil:

[wagegoth]

and the second he can move that arm even 2 inches away from his side, I am in there with a trowel!

There, fixed that for ya.

I'm glad to hear he's doing so well. There's nothing better than a good, long, thorough shower after being sick or injured, and I'm sure he can't wait for that day.