Anterior dislocation of the shoulder: a local study - abstract

ABSTRACT

Anterior dislocation of the shoulder joint is still a common injury following trauma. In this study, we encountered 130 cases over a two-year period. Only cases of first dislocation were included, and patients with epilepsy and neurological deficit were excluded. All were treated by closed reduction and a supervised pro-epilepsy and neurological deficit were excluded. All were treated by closed reduction and a supervised programme of physiotherapy after immobilization and were followed up for 2 years. The type of immobilization varied from collar and cuff for 2-3 weeks (60 patients), collar and cuff for 4-6 weeks (40 patients) and body bandage for 4 - 6 weeks (30 patients). There were 18 (14 percent) females and the 3 main cause of dislocation were sports injurues (78 percent), interpersonal conflicts and road traffic accidents (14 percent) and home injuries (6 percent). The rate of recurrence was not related to the period or type of immobilization and was 15.6 percent in the 18 - 30 years age group after 2 years which is much lower than other reported studies. We believe that a supervised period of physiotherapy following a short period of immobilization after closed reduction reduced the risk of recurrence (AU)