injuries and poisoning
Overview of Dislocations
Rehabilitation and Prognosis for Dislocations
Many dislocations and related injuries heal well and result in few problems. However, some do not completely heal even though they are diagnosed and treated appropriately. How long an injury takes to heal varies from weeks to months depending on Type of injury Location of the injury The person's age Other disorders present For example, children heal much faster than adults, and certain disorders (including those that cause problems with circulation, such as diabetes and peripheral vascular disease) slow healing. People usually feel some discomfort during activities even after injuries have healed enough to allow them to put their full weight on the injured part. Some people also notice that the injured part is more painful and stiffer when the weather is cold. Being immobilized makes joints stiff, and muscles weaken and shrink because they are not used. If a limb is immobilized in a cast, the affected joint becomes stiffer each week, and eventually people become unable to fully extend and flex their limb. Such problems can develop quickly and become permanent, usually in older people. To prevent or minimize stiffness and to help people maintain muscle strength, doctors or physical therapists may recommend daily exercise, including Range-of-motion exercises and After the injury has healed sufficiently and the joint is no longer immobilized, people can start exercising the injured limb. When exercising, they should pay attention to how the injured limb feels and avoid exercising too forcefully. If the muscles are too weak for people to exercise them, a therapist moves their limbs for them (called Increasing the Shoulder's Range of Motion ). However, ultimately, to regain full strength of an injured limb, people must move their own muscles (called active exercise). Exercises to improve range of motion and muscle strength and to strengthen and stabilize the injured joint can help prevent dislocations from recurring and help prevent long-term problems. People who are over 65 are more likely to dislocate a joint, partly because they are more likely to Falls in Older Adults —a common cause of dislocations. Older people are more likely to fall for the following reasons: Some Changes in the Body With Aging impair balance, vision, sensation (mainly in the feet), and muscle strength, making falls more likely. These changes also make it harder for older people to protect themselves when they fall. Some older people, feel Dizziness or Light-Headedness When Standing Up because their blood pressure drops excessively. They are more likely to have side effects of drugs (such as drowsiness, loss of balance, and dizziness), which can make falls more likely. Other injuries tend to accompany a dislocation more often in older people. For example, a shoulder dislocation is more likely to cause a Rotator Cuff Injury/Subacromial Bursitis in older people than in younger people. In older people, recovery is often more complicated and slower than it is in younger people because Older people typically have less overall strength, less flexibility, and poorer balance than younger people. Thus, compensating for the limitations caused by a dislocation is harder, and returning to daily activities is more difficult. When older people are inactive or immobilized (by casts or splints), they lose muscle tissue more quickly than younger adults, Thus, immobilization can lead to muscle weakness. Sometimes muscles become permanently shorter, and scar tissue forms in tissues around the joint such as ligaments and tendons. This condition (called joint contractures) limits movement of the joint. Older people are more likely to have other disorders (such as arthritis or poor circulation), which can interfere with recovery or slow healing. Even minor injuries can greatly interfere with older people’s ability to do normal daily activities, such as eating, dressing, bathing, and even walking, especially if they used a walker before the injury. Immobilization:Being immobilized (for example, when bed rest is necessary) is a particular problem in older people. In older people, being immobilized is more likely to cause Blood clots, usually in the legs (as occurs in Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) ) Pressure Sores None Muscles and Body Fat None Deterioration in physical conditioning Pressure soresdevelop when blood flow to an area is cut off or greatly reduced. In older people, blood flow to a limb may already be reduced. When the weight of an injured limb rests on a cast, blood flow is reduced even more, and pressure sores may form. If bed rest is required, pressure sores can develop on areas of skin that touch the bed. These areas should be diligently inspected for any sign that the skin is breaking down. Because immobilization is more likely to cause problems in older people, treatment of dislocations and other musculoskeletal injuries focuses on helping older people return to daily activities as quickly as possible. 