The Ref Stop

Dislocated Shoulder

M

Monotone Whistle

Well-Known Member
Damn....dislocated my shoulder at the gym on Thursday, not pleasant, and now in a sling.

Not knowing much about this type on injury I've spent a few days researching and I'm hoping to be out of the sling fairly quickly and will assume I can referee while rehab-ing, but will wait for the assessment next week before I know more. I not in any pain now, and am crossing fingers that I haven't caused too much damage.

Lesson for all you kids, concentrate at the gym. Lifting weights with your arm in the wrong position is not a good idea.

If anyone has any direct experience of timeframes I'd love to hear about it. I think I'll have more issues being a lino than I would being in the middle, given lining means lots of arm raising.
 
The Ref Stop
Ouch! I did mine twice; both in accidents at work. As you said, the pain goes as soon as it's put back in place but the joint needs looking after.
I was back refereeing just over 2 weeks after doing it and managed ok. In fact, my first game back was as an assistant on an contrib game and the first offside flag wasn't spotted for ages by the referee! I had to hold my arm up and it did begin to become uncomfortable. I'm sure our friend ASM didn't ignore me deliberately, but then again we'll have to see what he says!!!
Get some physio on it. You'll get some good exercises to help strengthen your shoulder again. Good luck with your recovery.
 
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I broke my wrist last year and managed to continue Reffing. Was tricky but do able. Like you say running lines will be a bit difficult Hope you feel better soon
 
PP62 said:
Ouch! I did mine twice; both in accidents at work. As you said, the pain goes as soon as it's put back in place but the joint needs looking after.
I was back refereeing just over weeks after doing it and managed ok. In fact, my first game back was as an assistant on a contrib game and the first offside flag wasn't spotted for ages by the referee! I had to hold my arm up and it did begin to become uncomfortable. I'm sure our friend ASM didn't ignore me deliberately, but then again we'll have to see what he says!!!
Get some physio on it. You'll get some good exercises to help strengthen your shoulder again. Good luck with your recovery.
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Pretty sure some would say I tried my best to ignore you as much as possible @PP62 but I couldn't possibly comment :p
 
I'm still assigned to middle on Saturday, and am playing a game of 'chicken' really as i'm not 100% i'll be fit, but i think i'll be ok. I'm still in the sling, but have had my arm out and i have some movement, but can't raise it above 45deg at the moment. I have a follow up at the hospital tomorrow so will find out the details then.

I will need to get everything loosened up otherwise i won't do the game, as my left arm signals will be non-existent, so fingers crossed. The damage to the arm is certainly not as bad as it could have been, but all of the resources on Google etc indicate this should be a much longer recovery time than i'm working towards - i'm either lucky or rushing it. Fingers crossed for the all-clear tomorrow.
 
Do yourself a favour and come off the game. See how it feels this time next week, the movement will have improved even more. If you're still in a sling now then that's telling you it's way too early.
Chin up mate, it will get better.
 
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True story here, I used to be a goalkeeper and dislocated my shoulder. Hospital said that I shouldn't play football for 3 months.

I was back in goal the week after :D

Not saying I was big or clever, just that I was still able to play so early after that kind of injury.
 
I don't get why you would risk it, just take a weekend off. Sods law says that you'll bump into a player and aggravate it, and I'm sure your RefsSec would appreciate as much notice as possible rather than being told on Friday.
 
To put this to bed and to advise anyone unfortunate enough to find themselves with a similar injury...

Got to Thursday pre-game and I couldn't raise my arm above shoulder height, and not particularly quickly. I had already advised the ref secretary of the injury and decided to come off of the game. This was 1 week post-injury, and despite feeling ok you just can't cheat these things. The final straw was the confirmation I was to be observed, and at Supply level in front of probably 100+ people it just wasn't worth it. I haven't refereed for a month and this was partly the reason why I was being so stubborn. I'd also lost 4 lino appointments (plus I've now cancelled 2 more).

Anyway, had a consultation on Friday and was told to always manage a dislocation very carefully, up to 2 weeks in a sling and a proper period of strengthening before doing anything (including just running). I told him about the refereeing and he said as long as you have pain free movement, and full extension (the important bit) then you can start to run and do the strengthening, but if you're not fully healed even waving the flag above your head or signalling for a corner could re-dislocate it.

Like a lot of things, it all depends on what damage has been done and I've been quite lucky in that I only tore two muscles in the shoulder. If anyone suffers similar in the future, think of it as at least 1month out of action, with the first 7 days in a sling, 1 week of range of motion work, then start on the strength and conditioning work.
 
In my opinion, everyone should give care to their health. If you are injured take proper treatments and rest for a while, it won't cause any harm to you. It would be better rather than pushing yourself into the gym with an injured shoulder.
Since your shoulder is dislocated it would be better if you undergo physiotherapy treatment after the shoulder restored to its normal position. One of my friends who is a therapist in Toronto said it will reduce the pain and also improves the movement and functionality of shoulder.
 
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