Partial Shoulder Dislocation (Subluxation) - Is my short golf hobby over?

[GungaGalunga]

Hi All,

As I wrote in my welcome thread, I dislocated my left shoulder near the end of September, or what I thought was a dislocation.  

After speaking with my orthopedic doctor, he indicated that it was only a partial dislocation, sometimes referred to as a "shoulder subluxation", along with a torn labrum.  My doctor feels that I can recover with just physical therapy, but I'm not feeling so confident.  One thing he did say was, "As you get older, your muscles and tendons tighten up, so you will be less likely to dislocate or partial dislocate again".  But, I'm only 30, and have a history of shoulder dislocations with my right shoulder (which was fixed about 11 years ago now and hasn't fallen out since).  He also indicated that he could pull a handful of people off the street, run them through an arthrogram with an MRI, and you'd find that almost all of them have some kind of labrum tear. 

I did find several threads here about others with shoulder injuries, rotator cuff issues, and shoulder surgeries, but what I want to know is, if anyone else has had a "shoulder subluxation" and bounce back from it?  I'm really nervous that my short golf hobby will be over.  For me, it's a mental thing; I wish I was going to have surgery, because then mentally I'd "know" that my shoulder was fixed, and wouldn't fall out again.

Threads I found:

• Shoulder Injuries Anyone
• Broken Shoulder - New Start
• How Long Will I Be Out After Rotator Cuff Surgery
• Recovering From Shoulder Surgery

My first (of many) PT appointments starts next week, with a follow-up appointment with my doctor in early December.

I'm also open to exercises that can help strengthen both shoulders if anyone has any recommendations (links, etc).

In the mean time, I've subscribed to the Golf channel to help keep me sane while I can't golf.

Thanks for your help and insight in advance,
Ryan
 

[SavvySwede]

My left shoulder is plenty screwed up and it's never affected my golf. The golf swing just doesn't put either shoulder in the kinds of positions that would get you in trouble. Dislocating the shoulder swinging a club means you must've had some serious issues with it before taking about the game or there is something really weird going on. 

[GungaGalunga]

My left shoulder is plenty screwed up and it's never affected my golf. The golf swing just doesn't put either shoulder in the kinds of positions that would get you in trouble. Dislocating the shoulder swinging a club means you must've had some serious issues with it before taking about the game or there is something really weird going on. 

I'll add that I have been teaching myself how to golf via YouTube videos and reading.  Perhaps I don't have a proper golf swing which has added to this?

[rkim291968]

I don't know if this will help.   But in my 30s' playing soccer, I dislocated my left shoulder (broke 3 of 4 tendons holding shoulder & arm together), and broke my right collar bone.   The broken collar bone was too close to major artery and my doctor recommended to let it heal by itself.  The caveat was that the bone would not heal straight.  Both shoulder injuries took long time to heal but it didn't have much effect in picking up golf in my late 40s.  What I am trying to say ... time heals injuries but YMMV.   Good luck with your injury.

[GolfMichael]

Ryan,

What was the resolution to this.  did you have should surgery on your left shoulder.  I am going through the same thing right now.  Tried PT and it didn't work.  keeps popping out.  Now I know surgery is the only option.  If you did get it, is it working well?  How long after the surgery were you swinging a club again?

Michael

[woodzie264]

42 minutes ago, GolfMichael said:

Ryan,

What was the resolution to this.  did you have should surgery on your left shoulder.  I am going through the same thing right now.  Tried PT and it didn't work.  keeps popping out.  Now I know surgery is the only option.  If you did get it, is it working well?  How long after the surgery were you swinging a club again?

Michael

Assuming you have a labral repair +\- capsuloraphy, you’ll have about 6 months at the earliest before making full swings, taking divots, but more likely closer to 9months, but yeah, I expect you’ll be back to golf. If it’s your right shoulder, it may limit the length/height of your backswing, maybe not. 

Obviously everyone is different but that’s fairly “typical.” 

Edited April 10, 2020 by woodzie264

[David in FL]

49 minutes ago, GolfMichael said:

Ryan,

What was the resolution to this.  did you have should surgery on your left shoulder.  I am going through the same thing right now.  Tried PT and it didn't work.  keeps popping out.  Now I know surgery is the only option.  If you did get it, is it working well?  How long after the surgery were you swinging a club again?

Michael

It looks like a Ryan hasn’t been active on this site for over 2 years now, so I don’t expect that you’ll get a response from him...

Welcome though.  We hope you’ll stick around!