Acromio-clavicular joint dislocation is a widely common shoulder injury.
While surgery remains one of the top choices to remedy this type of dislocation, patients who opt for non-surgical treatments often experience fewer complications than those who do go in for surgery, experts from St. Michael's Hospital in Canada point out.
According to a new report, shoulder dislocation might not need surgery. In fact, a shoulder might heal just as well without surgery following a shoulder dislocation.
Causes of Injury
The Acromio-clavicular joint, or the AC joint, is found near the top of the shoulder, between the shoulder blade and collarbone. The joint is often injured during sports, but falls and car accidents can also cause damage to the joint.
In the joint, the head of the humerus, or the bone in the upper arm, sits in a depression in the shoulder blade. This depression is shallow, so the shoulder makes use of other structures, such as cartilage, muscles and tendons, to stabilize the joint.
Because of this, when a significant blow is dealt to the area and the humerus is displaced from the depression in the shoulder blade, a shoulder may be prone to further injuries.
Surgical versus Non-surgical Treatments
As part of the research, patients with moderate to severe dislocations were assigned to receive treatment: 40 individuals underwent surgery and another 43 received treatment through non-surgical practices.
These patients were followed by researchers for two years, with things such as complications, level of disability, and so on tracked by the researchers.
Those who did not get surgery were more mobile at six weeks. They also continued to do better three months after the injury.
"Three months after the initial injury, more than 75 percent of the patients who did not have AC joint surgical repair were able to return to work, whereas only 43 percent of those who underwent surgery were back at work," said Dr. Michael McKee, an orthopedic surgeon with St. Michael’s Hospital.
There weren't any differences between the two groups at six months, one year and two years.
Not only that, but seven of the 40 patients who received surgery suffered from major complications. Only two patients who did not get surgery suffered from complications, with both of those being a result of a fall after the injury.
Despite this, surgery can often make the joint look more symmetrical, and one year after the injury, only 5 percent of surgery patients reported being dissatisfied with the appearance of their joint compared to 16 percent of non-surgery patients.
Source: St. Michael's Hospital
