Dislocating your shoulder

     Your shoulder is the body's most mobile joint. It's no wonder that people dislocate their shoulder pretty easily. But for a runner? How in the world do you do that?
      The answer is simple. Falling down. I had no idea what I was in for when I took quite a fall about three weeks ago. I didn't even feel my shoulder pop on out of it's socket. In fact, I was more focussed on my knees than anything and didn't even feel pain until the next day. When I woke up in the middle of the night from extreme pain coming from my shoulder and not being able to sleep on it, I became concerned that I had done something to it, but what?
     Originally I thought I had torn my rotator cuff, seeing that I was not able to even pick up plate with my left arm (the one that I hurt). But could I really have torn something in my shoulder just from a simple fall? There was no way. Immediately I went to go see my trainer to have it looked at, and what I found out shocked me!
     I dislocated my shoulder. Wouldn't you be able to tell though if it was clearly out of its socket? You would think, but my trainer told me that I had dislocated it, but somehow landing on it popped it back in. This scares me more than anything, especially because doctors are the ones who are supposed to put your shoulder back into its socket, not you yourself falling on it to put it back in!
     So how I was having so much difficulty moving my arm then? I couldn't lift anything, drive, or even put on a shirt without help. What happened, my trainer told me, is that when my joint was corrected during my fall, all the muscles and tendons in my shoulder moved around.
     I was told to do basic movement exercises to work on getting mobility back, and of course, not to do any lifting for my workouts. Who knew a runner could suffer from such a strange injury? Next time you're out and about, consider your shoulder's safety and watch your step so you don't fall! (372)