Question:
Has anyone ever dislocated a bone?

hi last night in bed i went to roll over and for some unknown reason my kneebone jumped out of the socket and i had to get a oncall dr in to help me. at the surgery this morning when i went there for him to put it back in .he wouldnt do it straight away as he was freaking a bit about pain meds because of my wls and prior health issues..anyway the dr put it in and he said that it could of possibly gone out because the structure of my ligaments and tendons have shifted shape ....with the rapid weightloss maybe it hasnt had time to stabalise ??this was just a thought of his. i am seeing a bone surgeon on tuesday as it was a severe fracture. now the question....has anyone else dislocated a loint baone after wls that has been fine till postop... just curious as wonder if there could be a link...    — Rachel F. (posted on March 27, 2002)

March 26, 2002
I have heard the same explanation offered here. That our ligaments and tendons haven't adapted to the weight loss and the joints are loose. I asked a few months ago about the hip/leg socket as I was feeling like it was doing something strange. When I walked at a fast pace, I would get sharp pains at the joint and felt like it was dislocating. I assumed that my leg wasn't used to moving that far back when taking larger strides than what my leg was used to doing. It has adjusted somewhat, but I still get the pain every once in a while. Wow, and you had a fracture as well. Sorry this happened to you. Strange changes with WLS, huh? Hope your recovery goes well.
   — Cheri M.

March 27, 2002
I think there could be a link. I never broke a bone until after WLS! I fell broke a sliver of bone and fratured another all in my shoulder/arm joint. I've been in pain since it happened in Oct. (As of several months afterward the fracture has'nt healed). I've had 5 months of PT and surgery, now starting more PT. When I fell I did NOT hit my arm on anything... there was nothing for it to hit on. I still think I was weakened from the WLS, and all the changes that so rapidly take place.
   — Danmark

March 27, 2002
Interesting....I'm 6 months post-op and having the opposite problem of loose tendons & ligaments in my shoulder. I'm having lots of adhesive capilitus where we can't get the shoulder to loosen up and work properly---even with lots of aggressive therapy. One thing my physical theraphist pointed out was that surgery of any kind can cause joint problems---especially when because of the surgery you may be taking things easier and not being as active in the recovery phase, it is very easy to have a simple injury and then adjust to any pain by altering our motion to adapt, and over time the joint can freeze or have other problems. My biggest concern is that I'm in a lot of pain on certain movements, and that my insurance company requires so many weeks of PT before approving a specialist or MRI. As far as pain meds & WLS, my PCP was very concerned and limited my use of ibuprophen liquid to 5 days. His take and the physical theraphists too, was to use heat & ice and only take tylenol or ibuprophen if really necessary and not on a daily basis. At first I thoguth that I couldn't live with low grade constant aches & pains, but after 3 weeks, I'm beginning to enjoy icing down after streching. If after an MRI, additional pain medication is necessary, they have said that I won't be getting it orally, there are ways to have it electronically infused into the area---I've seen someone else at PT have this done to her ankle, and it is relatively painless and much better than shots with very long needles!
   — Sue F.