1
You can ‘pop’ a dislocated joint back in yourself
Fact – Depending on which joint you dislocate, you can put the joint back in place, however, this can be dangerous and cause damage to nerves, blood vessels or ligaments. The safest thing to do is to get treated by medical professionals.
2
The older you are, the more likely you are to dislocate a joint
Fiction – This changes with gender, in males the most common age to dislocate is 16-25, this is contrary to females whose average age for dislocations is 61-70.
3
Gender affects your likelihood of dislocating a joint
Fact – A study looking at shoulder dislocations between a 20 year period (1995-2015) found that the incidence of injury in women was 15 people per 100,000 whereas with men, this increased to 40 people per 100,0001.
4
Once you dislocate a joint, it will never be stable again
Fiction – Depending on the severity and joint that has been dislocated, it may be more prone to repeat dislocations (shoulder). However, with proper treatment, rehab, and strengthening can restore stability and strength back to the joint.
5
Every joint has the same likelihood to be dislocated
Fiction – Joints all have different likelihoods of being dislocated. In a 2017 study it was found that the most common joint dislocated are shallower joints such as the shoulder (50.6%), followed by fingers (10.1%). Whereas the much deeper joints such as the hip (7.3%) and the elbow (6.5%)2 are much less likely to dislocate.
6
Once you dislocate a joint, it will never be stable again
Fact – subluxations are a less severe version of a dislocation. Often referred to as a partial dislocation, this is where the bones are not completely separated with the bones being partially connected.
If you have continued trouble following a dislocation, we would be happy to provide an assessment for you – please book an initial consultation.
