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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffTreatment of the dislocation depends on the site and severity of your injury. Your doctor may try some gentle maneuvers to help your bones back into position — a process called reduction. Depending on the amount of pain and swelling, you may need a local anesthetic or even a general anesthetic before manipulation of your bones.
After your bones are back in place, any severe pain should improve. But your doctor may immobilize your joint with a splint or sling for several weeks. How long you wear the splint or sling depends on the nature and location of your dislocation. Your doctor may also prescribe a pain reliever or a muscle relaxant.
A gradual healing
After your splint or sling is removed, you'll begin a gradual rehabilitation program designed to restore your joint's range of motion and strength. Avoid strenuous activity with your injured joint until it has regained full movement and normal strength and stability.
Some dislocations, such as the hip, may need up to several months to heal.
If you've had a fairly simple dislocation without major nerve or tissue damage, your joint likely will return to a near-normal or fully normal condition. But trying to return to your pre-injury state too soon from such an injury may cause you to re-injure the joint or to dislocate it again.
When surgery is needed
You may need surgery if your blood vessels or nerves are damaged or if your doctor can't move your dislocated bones back into their correct positions. Surgery may also be necessary if you have had recurring dislocations, especially of the shoulder.
- 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.
- Hip dislocation. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00352. Accessed Oct. 6, 2008.
- 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.
- Elbow dislocations and fracture dislocations. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00029. Accessed Oct. 6, 2008.
- 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.
- 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.
