For the past couple of months, my shoulder has been feeling "loose" or instable. I have some moderate pain and mostly the very odd feeling that it just is about to fall out of its socket. It usually feels okay while swimming but very bad afterwards. I've taken the past week off from swimming in the hopes that things would feel better, but no dice. I do have a call in to my doctor, but I've done some Googling around and it seems like it might be multi-directional instability of the shoulder. Does anyone have any experience with this? I am physically unable to participate in most other cardio (running, step aerobics, anything with any level of impact) so the idea of not being able to swim is very depressing.
Agree with others, sounds like some PT is in order. If you shoulder is just loose and you haven't actually dislocated it before, then you have a good chance with PT. An MRI might help to determine if it truly is multi-directional and the extent of the looseness, ie, if you have fraying or small to large tears in the labrum. Several years ago I fell and dislocated my shoulder, but unfortunately the damage was severe enough that multiple rounds of PT could not help. My shoulder kept popping out doing random daily things like putting on a shirt or reaching out to close my car door. Finally I got sick of constantly dealing with the painful aftermath so I went through with the surgery 5 months ago. But PT first, for sure!
Agree with others, sounds like some PT is in order. If you shoulder is just loose and you haven't actually dislocated it before, then you have a good chance with PT. An MRI might help to determine if it truly is multi-directional and the extent of the looseness, ie, if you have fraying or small to large tears in the labrum. Several years ago I fell and dislocated my shoulder, but unfortunately the damage was severe enough that multiple rounds of PT could not help. My shoulder kept popping out doing random daily things like putting on a shirt or reaching out to close my car door. Finally I got sick of constantly dealing with the painful aftermath so I went through with the surgery 5 months ago. But PT first, for sure!
