Re: [Paddlewise] Dislocated Shoulder

I have not tried this method myself, but I do teach it as a NZ Mountain
Safety Council Outdoor First Aid instructor. It is our accepted protocol,
while other methods are not.

As such I have sought out "expert advice" and I have discussed the method
with two people who have used it.

One, a rafting guide, was in a party when one of the other guides popped his
shoulder. They tried this method on the river bank, without success. It was
cold, and the guide was in a lot of pain. It was his first shoulder
dislocation, and they carried little in the way of pain relief.

Once they got the whole party back to their base, which was still a distance
from higher medical care, they put the guide in a warm shower, dragged in a
table and tried again. His shoulder went in quickly.

The other person was an orthopaedic consultant, who was paddling in a group,
one of whom had a shoulder dislocation. With no access to drugs or X-rays,
the doc was not prepared to try a more invasive method of relocation, given
the risk of other injuries that he couldn't diagnose. He tried this method,
with the addition of massaging the muscles around the shoulder joint, which
relaxed to allow the joint to relocate. He said the massaging made the
difference.

Both patients were assessed afterwards for further injuries, which is very
important.

This seems like a good method to use by lay people, as attempting to
forcibly relocate a shoulder that has had a traumatic injury could be
catastrophic. Dislocations are often compounded by further injuries, and a
well-meaning application of force could wreak the joint.

My two cents, and please note the lack of medical expertise disclosed.

Cheers

JKA

-- 
John Kirk-Anderson
Banks Peninsula
NEW ZEALAND
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