Roglic and the shoulder, the expert: “Risky to fix it yourself. But if it’s not the first time …”

Primoz Roglic crashed during the 5th stage of the Tour de France. From his entourage they made it known that the consequence was a dislocation of the shoulders which the Slovenian would have remedied on his own. In practice, he himself would have put his shoulder back in place. We asked Loris Perticarini, practicing cyclist and orthopedic doctor of the Poliambulanza Foundation of Brescia, a department headed by Dr. Flavio Terragnoli.

Doctor, what is a shoulder dislocation?

“It is a loss of joint relations between the humerus and the scapula. In other words, the arm comes out of its seat. It follows that it is impossible to move the injured limb until the dislocation is reduced, that is, the limb is returned to its seat normal. In the case of a first dislocation, the injured person usually suffers from excruciating pain! “.

Is it possible to reduce the dislocation on your own?

“It is possible, but it depends on the laxity of the joint. If it is the first episode it is even more difficult both for the lack of practice and for the pain. Theoretically, or better following the correct procedure, the reduction should not even be done. without radiographic control. This is to avoid possible damage, therefore fractures, of the labrum or the humerus itself. But then in the field this rule is practically never respected “.

How is a shoulder dislocation treated?

“If we talk about the first episode, it would take three weeks of immobilization to allow the tissues to heal. There are functional bandages but their validity is relative. The immobilization should be with the arm adducted, that is, attached to the torso with the hand on the chest “.

Is it possible to ride a bicycle in this condition?

“Theoretically not, especially if we are talking about a race that lasts another two weeks, not a few hours. Driving on bumpy roads, braking, pulling and arms and getting up on the pedals become extremely difficult maneuvers. But always if we talk about the first dislocation. If instead it were a relapse, therefore with an already very loose capsule, or a subluxation, where there is no complete loss of joint relationships, imagine a ball coming out of a circle for a moment and then returning inside, things are different “.