Shoulder Immobilizer: Self Care

Here are a few tips for all those people who have had a shoulder injury and are wearing a shoulder immobilizer to support the injured area and to provide protection.

Tips for self-care

1. It is essential to wear the sling and immobilizer at all times except bathing and exercising. The surgery must have been done to treat a muscle, tendon, ligament or cartilage but the surgery can just remove the damage tissue i.e. do the repair but the healing stage comes later. If you take proper care of the injured part, the healing process will be faster and much less painful; also there won’t be any repercussions.
2. Do not show a casual approach towards your injury, not taking proper care of the injury will not only slow down the healing process, it may also result in further damage or future problem that might reoccur and become a permanent health issue.
3. Contrary to what most of the people believe, you can /should exercise and work on the movement of the injured arm or wrist or shoulder because if you rely heavily on the shoulder immobilizer and restrain from doing any movement of any sort, you will get psychologically dependent on the device. Prolonged use of any medical aid will restrict the body’s natural healing process.
4. Wear the sling or the shoulder immobilizer The arm should be at 90° angle from the elbow. The sling is meant to shoulder support the wrist and hand, so do not extend the arm or try to straighten it past the sling.
5. Although, you should move the arm in a restricted manner, it is perfectly all right for you to straighten your arm below your elbow. It will be best to move the arm as little as possible but you can still move your wrist and hand.
6. If the injury is on the shoulder or the arm, you should try moving your fingers, hand and wrist 3-4 times every day. Moving the fingers, hand and wrist will ensure that there is no lack of blood flow, which might ultimately cause the healing process to slow down. It is necessary to prevent immobilization.
7. Everybody wants to sleep in a free manner, with hand lying loosely next to the body or above the head but if you have a shoulder immobilizer on, make sure that you do not remove it while you are sleeping. In fact, it is necessary for you to wear it as you sleep, as it is then that you are most likely to move the injured area in an unrestricted manner.
8. Only wear the sling or the shoulder immobilizer for as long as your doctor advices you to. You may feel that the shoulder immobilizer is being the perfect knee support partner and is helping you heal better but the truth is that the sling is only meant to be worn for the first couple of days. If you want to stretch it, you may wear it for a week or 10 days but do not prolong the use. Loosen the wrist strap and straighten the arm when you feel like, however keep the shoulder still, even as you move the wrist, hand or fingers.

The prolonged use of immobilizer is bad; similarly, taking off the immobilizer without consulting the doctor first is a bad idea. Take note of these self-care tips and you will soon be well past the healing stage.