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Causes

By Mayo Clinic staff

Causes of dislocations include:

  • Sports injuries. Dislocations can occur in contact sports, such as football and hockey, and in sports that may involve falls, such as downhill skiing, gymnastics and volleyball. Basketball players and football players also commonly dislocate joints in their fingers and hands by accidentally striking the ball, the ground or another player.
  • Trauma not related to sports. A hard blow to a joint during a motor vehicle accident is a common cause of dislocation.
  • Falls. You may dislocate a joint during a fall.
References
  1. Questions and answers about shoulder problems. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Shoulder_Problems/default.asp. Accessed Oct. 5, 2008.
  2. Hip dislocation. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00352. Accessed Oct. 6, 2008.
  3. Siliski JM. Dislocations and soft tissue injuries of the knee. In: Browner BD, et al. Skeletal Trauma: Basic Science, Management, and Reconstruction. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2003. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/106725364-3/756329918/1217/497.html#4-u1.0-B0-7216-9175-7..50060-3_2736. Accessed Oct. 6, 2008.
  4. Elbow dislocations and fracture dislocations. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00029. Accessed Oct. 6, 2008.
  5. Handout on health: Sports injuries. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Sports_Injuries/default.asp. Accessed Oct. 6, 2008.
  6. Preventing falls among seniors. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/duip/spotlite/falltips.htm. Accessed Oct. 6, 2008.

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Dec. 30, 2008

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