By: Emily Zhang
When we talk about dislocation, most of the time we referring to joint dislocation. While dislocations are rare throughout the US, arm dislocation can be more common for children, especially when they play or fight.
Dislocation is fairly easy to self-diagnose. When someone dislocates a limb, the patient usually finds it difficult to move it. Also, since the limb would be out of its normal position, it would be out of place or dangling around, which can look quite alarming and is fairly easy to identify.
Even though it looks scary, the fix is simple. Professionals who know how to put the back limb back in place can easily snap the limb back into its proper position. Though the process is painful, most of the time no medicine is needed afterward. The patient will feel as normal as before almost immediately, though it is necessary to ice and rest the joint for a few weeks. However, despite this easy fix, it is crucial that the patient goes to a hospital or clinic to see formal medical health.
An important factor about dislocation, especially for kids, is to avoid dislocating in the same joint again. After dislocating a joint, it is extremely important to not overuse it to prevent it from sustaining further damage. For example, when playing in sports, try to avoid colliding into the same area to avoid dislocation from happening again. If you repeatedly dislocate the same limb, the joint will get looser, which can make it even easier to dislocate. This is the main reason for the patient to rest for a couple of weeks after dislocation happens, even though the patient themselves will often feel normal.
