--- title: "Shoulder Dislocation Pain | Sutter Health" description: "I dislocated my shoulder last year. I kept it in a sling for a few weeks, and then went through physical therapy. It has started to hurt again. I exercise regularly, but try to be careful of not reinjuring it. Anything I can do to prevent this pain?" url: "/ask-an-expert/answers/shoulder-dislocation-pain-1051061328" --- 1. Home / 2. Shoulder Dislocation Pain # Shoulder Dislocation Pain * * * Medically reviewed by - James D. Kelly, M.D. ## Question I dislocated my shoulder last year. I kept it in a sling for a few weeks, and then went through physical therapy. It has started to hurt again. I exercise regularly, but try to be careful of not reinjuring it. Anything I can do to prevent this pain? ## Answer A shoulder dislocation can create long-term problems due to recurrent instability, either in the form of recurrent dislocations or recurrent subluxations. It sounds like your problem is more one of pain, however. A shoulder dislocation can also create long-term pain issues due to tears in the structures of the shoulder, including the labrum and rotator cuff, and damage to the articular cartilage. Since you are still having difficulty, it would be wise to see an orthopaedic surgeon who can evaluate your particular situation to determine what is causing the pain and what can be done to address it. ## Explore related topics ShoulderBones, joints and muscles ## Meet our care team James D. Kelly, M.D. Orthopedic Surgery ## Related questions View all questions - Health Q&A ### Rotator Cuff Injury and Treatment My left arm at the shoulder hurts all the time (including lifting things and even when I'm sleeping and turn on that side). I don't recall hurting it in any way. It started hurting several months ago. 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View all questions ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"MedicalOrganization","name":"Sutter Health","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/#medicalorganization","url":"https://www.sutterhealth.org","logo":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/static/images/sutter-health-logo.svg","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"2200 River Plaza Drive","addressLocality":"Sacramento","addressRegion":"CA","postalCode":"95833","addressCountry":"US"},"areaServed":{"@type":"AdministrativeArea","name":"California"},"sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/SutterHealth","https://www.instagram.com/sutterhealth/","https://x.com/SutterHealth","https://www.youtube.com/sutterhealth","https://www.linkedin.com/company/sutter-health","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutter_Health"]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/shoulder-dislocation-pain-1051061328#breadcrumblist","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Shoulder Dislocation Pain"}]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"MedicalWebPage","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/shoulder-dislocation-pain-1051061328#medicalwebpage","url":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/shoulder-dislocation-pain-1051061328","name":"Shoulder Dislocation Pain","description":"A shoulder dislocation can create long-term problems due to recurrent instability, either in the form of recurrent dislocations or recurrent subluxations.","inLanguage":"en-US","medicalAudience":{"@type":"MedicalAudience","audienceType":"Patient"},"isPartOf":{"@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/shoulder-dislocation-pain-1051061328#breadcrumblist"},"mainEntity":{"@type":"Question","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/shoulder-dislocation-pain-1051061328#question","name":"Shoulder Dislocation Pain","text":"I dislocated my shoulder last year. I kept it in a sling for a few weeks, and then went through physical therapy. It has started to hurt again. I exercise regularly, but try to be careful of not reinjuring it. Anything I can do to prevent this pain?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/shoulder-dislocation-pain-1051061328#answer","text":"A shoulder dislocation can create long-term problems due to recurrent instability, either in the form of recurrent dislocations or recurrent subluxations. It sounds like your problem is more one of pain, however. A shoulder dislocation can also create long-term pain issues due to tears in the structures of the shoulder, including the labrum and rotator cuff, and damage to the articular cartilage. Since you are still having difficulty, it would be wise to see an orthopaedic surgeon who can evaluate your particular situation to determine what is causing the pain and what can be done to address it.","url":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/shoulder-dislocation-pain-1051061328","author":{"@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/shoulder-dislocation-pain-1051061328#expert"}}},"publisher":{"@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/#medicalorganization"},"reviewedBy":{"@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/shoulder-dislocation-pain-1051061328#expert"}} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Person","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/shoulder-dislocation-pain-1051061328#expert","name":"James D. Kelly","honorificSuffix":"M.D."} ```