Shoulder dislocation: mechanism, symptoms, and treatment
- Mar 30
- 8 min read
Updated: Apr 8
The shoulder joint is the joint with the widest range of motion in the human body . Many movements, such as raising, extending, rotating, or moving our arm backward, are possible thanks to this joint. However, this great freedom of movement also makes the shoulder joint more unstable , meaning it is more prone to dislocation.
Therefore, shoulder dislocation is the most common type of dislocation among all joint dislocations .
Medically, a dislocated shoulder means that the head of the humerus , the rounded structure at the top of the arm bone, completely separates from the glenoid cavity (shoulder socket) above the scapula .
Shoulder dislocations can occur in different directions, but the most common form is traumatic anterior shoulder dislocation . In this case, the head of the humerus dislocates forward from the joint socket . Traumatic anterior dislocations account for approximately 80–90% of all shoulder dislocations .
This injury typically results from traumatic events such as impacts during sports, excessive external rotation, falls, and traffic accidents.
Epidemiological data indicate that the annual incidence of traumatic anterior shoulder dislocation is approximately 11–29 cases per 100,000 people .
