Hatrack River Writers Workshop: dislocated shoulder?

This is topic dislocated shoulder? in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by annepin (Member # 5952) on :

Has anyone ever dislocated a shoulder before? I'd like a description of the pain! And how long it hurt afterwards, how much it restricted your movement, that kind of thing.

Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :

:wincing: Yes!

Think of the worst sprained ankle you have ever had. I couldn't do anything but rock back and forward in pain. When the doctor wrenched it back in place I fainted (I was 12). There was a great sense of relief when I realized it was back in place. Hurt for several weeks, mostly as a dull ache.

Other injuries included some breaks:

Upper left arm bone (football)
Left hand (girlfriend with NO sense of humor)
Right pinky (football)
Right lowermost rib (son)
Left collarbone (motorcycle accident)
Left shoulder socket (same motorcycle accident)
Left shoulder blade (ditto motorcycle accident)
Fractured skull (as above, motorcycle accident)
Right knee (Taekwondo tournament)
Left lower leg (twice, being generally stupid)
and 25+ fractures in the right foot (sandcastle competition)

Blunt trauma:

Horse kick to upper thigh
Horse bite to upper arm

Hmmm. What else? Several snake bites (non-poisonous). Knocked clean over a fence by a bull one time. Knife-fight cut to right hand. Knocked out by fumes in a chemical accident one time. Knocked out by smoke in a fire one time. Flash-blinded when a lightning bolt grounded through my car (at 60 mph, of course).

Posted by BenM (Member # 8329) on :

Now there's evidence of a life lived

Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :

It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings!

Posted by KayTi (Member # 5137) on :

My DH dislocated a shoulder when he was a young teen, which led to paralysis in that arm for a period of time. Wrestling tournament (he didn't go on to lead quite as exciting a life as Mike, but has his share of nicks and dings.) Ping me via FB if you want me to get him to cough up some more of the juicy details.

I gather that the paralysis was quite freaky. It went away on its own a month or two later. He's suffered no ill effects.

Posted by Kitti (Member # 7277) on :

I was out in the woods once with a student who dislocated his shoulder. Apparently he'd permanently damaged some of the ligaments (or whatever they're called) that hold the shoulder in place because it happened all the time and he popped it back in again on his own. Can't say how much pain he was in - we didn't let him finish the ropes course, just to be safe - but letting you know some people can be ridiculously matter-of-fact about it.

mikemunsil's got most of your injuries covered for you (man, you make me feel like a slacker! although if it weren't for that motorcycle accident, I'd so have you beat...)

Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :

I was lucky on the dislocated shoulder. I've heard of quite a few people who have had long-term or permanent effects from a dislocation.

Posted by Owasm (Member # 8501) on :

My son fully dislocated his shoulder in a skiing accident last winter. He said it was the most excruciating pain he had ever felt, even more than childbirth. (Just kidding about the childbirth thing

) The doctor agreed and backed that up with his medical opinion.

The key thing is to make sure not to stint on rehabilitation. There is scar tissue generated that can inhibit movement long term. A lot of that can be avoided by good rehab right after the injury. Motion is Lotion.

I had an inoperable broken shoulder five years ago. Same thing. I had to be in a sling for four weeks and it took eight weeks of rehab to get all my motion back.

Posted by annepin (Member # 5952) on :

Mike, you broke bones in a sandcastle competition???

Thanks for all your input, guys. I'm thinking a dislocated shoulder might be too severe an injury for my purposes. It sounds like that student you encountered, Kitti, is something of an exception--maybe because it happened so frequently to him.

I'm looking for an injury that's shocking and perhaps painful at first doesn't require an immediate trip to the hospital and wouldn't prohibit daily activity too much (i.e. you could still host a BBQ). I might have to just settle for a sprain or a bruise.

[This message has been edited by annepin (edited May 06, 2009).]

Posted by extrinsic (Member # 8019) on :

Perhaps not quite as traumatic as a dislocated shoulder, but similar enough is bursitis. Mild to moderate cases might not require immediate treatment, or only outpatient treatment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subacromial_bursitis

Posted by KayTi (Member # 5137) on :

Well, nursemaid's elbow is shocking looking, but once it's dislocated (it's a partial dislocation of the elbow joint, happens most often to kids, called nursemaid's elbow because it happens sometimes when someone yanks on a child's arm from above, pulling the elbow partially out of joint.) it doesn't actually hurt if you don't move it.

It's also really simple to put back into place, it's just a matter of rotating the arm a certain way and then folding it up on itself.

My doctor's office was gaga excited when I brought my then-4 year old in with this. It had happened in the gym playroom while I was working out. She was upset, but nobody could tell why because she said she was fine and was mostly just mad about something that had happened earlier (when she's mad, she's a force of nature, LOL) and she was just being really careful to not move that arm. It was winter, long sleeves, coat, etc. I didn't really notice it, until an hour later I decided she hadn't really moved that arm at all.

So the doc's office was excited because usually kids with this go to the ER, where the ER docs pop the joint back into place quickly. But since we had already delayed seeking treatment, I just went to the doc office to avoid the upcharges of the ER, and they were able to see it and then to do the twisting and folding that needed to be done. I think I have a picture of her with the funky arm somewhere if you want me to dig it out.

For her, it was only painful when it was moved (after the event that caused the partial dislocation) - the arm looked really funny, but didn't hurt her if she kept it still.

Hope this helps! Enjoy putting your characters through some torture.

Posted by Kitti (Member # 7277) on :

You could consider your character cutting themselves on glass. That's pretty shocking, and painful, but doesn't require a trip to the hospital.

I accidentally put my hand and arm through a glass door once; my parents pulled out all the glass, bandaged up my arm, and gave me a popsicle. Life went on. I probably wouldn't have all the scarring if we'd gone to the hospital and gotten stitches, but it would have been a two-hour drive to get there so they decided not to bother.

Posted by Unwritten (Member # 7960) on :

I want to hear the sandcastle story.

Posted by Owasm (Member # 8501) on :

A broken or bruised rib would do the trick. A bruised rib is painful to touch and when you breathe, but you are ambulatory to the extent you can take the pain.

Posted by annepin (Member # 5952) on :

KayTi, I'm intrigued by the nursemaid's elbow thing.

My character is 36, and athletic--he works out a lot, lifts weight, runs, etc. But he's never really been injured. He needs a somewhat frightening injury that happens quickly, frightening and painful enough to make him feel vulnerable and enable an epiphany, but not serious enough that he needs to go to the hospital right away or stops him from hosting a BBQ later, and one that his brother (former EMT) can help him with. I initially had him falling from the attic stairs and dislocating his shoulder. He freaks out thinking his arm is broken until his brother pops it back into place. He can't really move it, but he can still flip burgers later.

I'll look into the nursemaid's elbow thing--that will let his brother laugh at him a little, too--and think about the bruised ribs.

Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :

My husband has a friend with whom he takes people on hiking and rappelling trips every so often in the summer. This friend is very wiry and athletic (as in marathon runner, etc), and has dislocated his shoulder, and popped it back into place, a few times.

If I remember correctly, one of the times (after the first time) was while he was rappelling down a cliff to assist his son who had a tangled rope problem. He just popped the thing back in and went on with helping his son (who had forgotten to take ascenders down with him which would have given him the slack he needed to untangle the rope).

I don't know how bad the first time was, but I could probably ask him--if he isn't off on some rappelling trip this weekend (my husband doesn't always go with him--he wasn't on the above-mentioned trip, or--so he says--he would have made sure they were using ascenders on the rappel).

Posted by philocinemas (Member # 8108) on :

Annepin, I'm not sure what part of the shoulder to which you are referring. I have been quite athletic in my past, running and working out with weights. About five years ago, I was playing softball and tripped. When I went down, I put out my right arm to catch myself. As I did my right arm, along the humerus, popped out of its socket. Is this what you are talking about?

If it is, may I just tell you that it is excrutiating. I could best describe it as hitting a funny bone, but one that covers an entire side of your torso. I lay there for about five minutes and asked for no one to touch me. I finally got up with some help and walked back to the dugout. I was still in about the same amount of pain as when it first popped out. I lifted it at the elbow over my head and it popped back in. The pain started to decrease significantly.

I have always liked the Lethal Weapon movies, but they are wrong about one thing - it hurts a whole lot more coming out than it does going back in.

It's interesting that you mentioned weight-lifting. The softball game was not the first time I'd ever had trouble with this. Back in college I used to lift a fairly significant amount of weight. On several occassions I had what I would call minor slippages while doing an exercise called "flies". In this exercise you lie on a bench and you have 2 dumb-bells. You take them from spread (cross-like) position and bring them together abover your chest. Occassionally, my arm would slip for a second and I'd drop the dumb-bell. I eventually went to using a machine for that particular exercise.

Posted by skadder (Member # 6757) on :

A strain to the rotator cuff (shoulder) would make use of the arm painful for a few days, but you would still be able to use it in a limited way.

Some people (me) have something called a unstable shoulder, this means if I play something like squash, tennis, raquet ball or throwing sports then my shoulder CAN (not always) play up. By playing up I mean causing me agony for 24 hours. I usually wear a sling and immobilise it--take some painkillers--and it improves to a painful but useable within 24 hours. Idon't see a doctor or anything...

When I stick the sling on and stop using it the pain almost dissapears.

Hope this helps.

EDITED TO ADD: Why not have him choke, that could give you an epiphany. He could eat something and choke and then somehow (or someone) he clears it (at the last moment). Near-death is where epiphanies are found. Plus he will be able to flip burgers no problems.

[This message has been edited by skadder (edited May 07, 2009).]

Posted by rich (Member # 8140) on :

I think Skadder's got the right idea about the choking thing. Can be scary as one realizes what's happening, but is unable to do anything about it. I think having something like this happen to your very athletic character would be a lot more frightening than an accident caused by his athleticism.

And if your character passes out, that'd be even better. He would actually think he's dead.

Posted by annepin (Member # 5952) on :

Hm, choking has its merits. But it would be a little tricky to work food into the scene in question (and no, it can't happen in another scene!)

Posted by Kitti (Member # 7277) on :

Well, if you're looking for a similar experience, you could always go with an asthma attack or allergic reaction. Darn scary for all involved, but many asthmatics are pretty stubborn about not going to the hospital afterwards (in my personal experience, anyway). Ditto allergic reactions that fall short of actually having to use an epi-pen.

Edited to add: fyi, an asthma attack can require anything from just the use of an inhaler up to the use of a nebulizer, which is what usually happens in the hospital. Asthmatics who've had enough attacks that their insurance companies have thoughtfully provided a nebulizer for home use are usually doubly stubborn about self-medicating and then continuing whatever they were doing before their attack.

[This message has been edited by Kitti (edited May 07, 2009).]

Posted by skadder (Member # 6757) on :

Bee-sting, you could pretty much get that in any scene---damn bugs! If he knew he was allergic he could give himself the shot.

Of course it could be struggle for him to find the shot and give to himself--enough for an epiphany to occur.

Adam

Posted by bemused (Member # 8465) on :

Depending on how your dislocate your shoulder its possible that it can pop right back in without assistance. I have dislocated both of my shoulders multiple times (unfortunatley doing it repeatedly makes it more likely to hapen again as you wear down the socket). One time my shoulder didn't stay dislocated but poped back in resulting in a brief moment of excruciating pain followed by sever soreness and the onset of shock. You wouldn't want to be using that arm for awhile, but you could probably go on to host a BBQ if you were careful.

Having suffered a fair mount of trauma, of both the stitches and casts variety, the thing that makes dislocation stand out is not the severity of the pain. It is what comes along with the pain. A gut wrenching sense that your own body is out of wack and that you yourself are wrong. Its a terrifying tickle in the back of the mind that makes the experience far worse than the pain alone. (The same sort of sensation comes with a compound fracture, but that probably wouldn't suit your purposes here). Hope that helps.

Posted by philocinemas (Member # 8108) on :

I once choked on some popcorn. That was more frightening, though not as painful, than the dislocated shoulder. However, I was alone and that's why I was frightened. I ran outside and did the Heimlich on myself against a concrete wall.

Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :

Sandcastles... argh! No more sandcastles for me, thank you!

Kinda off-topic here, so I'll post it elsewhere.

Note: Elsewhere being Grist for the Mill

[This message has been edited by mikemunsil (edited May 07, 2009).]

Posted by extrinsic (Member # 8019) on :

I suppose the underlying meaning of the epiphany is more significant than the cause. The epiphanies I have resulting from interactions with other people invariably are revelations of what I mean to those others. From self-induced accidental injuries, my epiphanies are more personal revelations than about my standing to the cosmos and its other inhabitants.

[This message has been edited by extrinsic (edited May 07, 2009).]