Health & Fitness

Skiing injury to your shoulder may need surgery to repair it

By Harlan Selesnick, M.D. Special to the Miami Herald
Sindre Myklebust, of Norway, falls during the Alpine Skiing men’s Super-G at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games at Les Diablerets Alpine Centre in Les Diablerets, Switzerland. A shoulder injury from skiing often can lead to a labral tear or a rotator cuff injury, which may require surgery to repair.
Sindre Myklebust, of Norway, falls during the Alpine Skiing men’s Super-G at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games at Les Diablerets Alpine Centre in Les Diablerets, Switzerland. A shoulder injury from skiing often can lead to a labral tear or a rotator cuff injury, which may require surgery to repair. Joel Marklund for OIS AP

Q. I am 40 years old and while skiing last week, I injured my right shoulder. It was dislocated and it was put back in place in the emergency room. The ER physician said nothing was broken and the X-rays showed my shoulder was back in place.

I was given a sling to wear and I had an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon in Miami this week. He said to get an MRI and depending upon the result, I would likely need surgery. Does this sound right to you?

A. Patients under 35 who dislocate their shoulder usually injure a stabilizing structure called the labrum. The labrum is a cartilage that acts as a bumper to keep the ball part of your shoulder centered in the socket. The patient’s age, activity level and the degree of labral tear will help to determine the likelihood or repeat dislocations.

Older patients who dislocate their shoulder may injure their rotator cuff tendon. These tears tend to be large and if not fixed, can result in severe weakness in raising your arm as well as instability of the joint.

The MRI scan will help to determine which of these soft tissue structures are damaged as well as the possible need for surgery or rehabilitation.

Dr. Harlan Selesnick
Dr. Harlan Selesnick

Dr. Harlan Selesnick is team physician of the Miami Heat and director of Miami Sports Medicine Fellowship, Doctors Hospital. Send your questions to HarlanS@baptisthealth.net

This story was originally published January 20, 2022 at 2:58 PM.

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