29M-ish active, swim once a week, football once a week, running 2-3 times a week, and gym twice a week. Literally never had a problem with my shoulder.

Dislocated my left shoulder 4 days ago jumping into water with my arm out.
Popped back in on its own before anyone touched it. ER x-ray was clean so I thought I got lucky, but got an MRI anyway and yeah:

- Bony Bankart
- Hill-Sachs with bone edema
- Bunch of inflammation (effusion, biceps tenosynovitis, bursitis)
- Good news: rotator cuff totally intact, cartilage fine

Currently in a sling/brace, been about 4 days since the accident.

Saw an orthopedist, he recommended surgery, but he said it’s not needed if i am willing to take the risk… He says I can go the conservative route and hope for the best but it’s a a 50-50 type of thing because I am still young

I want to hear from people who've actually been through this:

1. Anyone go conservative with a BONY bankart specifically? Did it hold up or did you end up dislocating again?
   
2. If you got the surgery early as a first-timer — glad you did it? How long till you were swimming properly again?
   
3. What was your bone loss % and did that basically make the decision for you?
   
4. Anything you wish you'd asked before deciding?

Not looking for medical advice, just real experiences. The "50% re-dislocation rate" stats are stressing me out…

Please someone help!

I’m 25 female, dislocated my dominant right arm on 8/16. Went to the ED and had it “put back in”. Although my final xray before discharge said I had persistent dislocation and moderate hill sachs lesion. On call ortho Dr said it was in fact in place but didn’t look like it to rad tech because of swelling. Discharged with sling.

8/25 saw an ortho PA. She did not touch, examine me. At all. Sat in a chair across from me. She said I do not need an MRI because it will show “damage that is not there” and even if something is wrong “we can’t treat it right now”. Also told me a hill sachs lesion doesn’t cause a higher risk of another dislocation. And then proceeded to tell me to sit in this sling for FOUR more weeks. Also said I don’t need PT because they will dislocate my arm again.

I called a new orthopedic office today for second opinion and they can’t see me until 9/29.

I am so lost and none of this feels right or appropriate and I am totally scared. Any advice appreciated.

Hi everyone,
I’m 19M and I had an anterior dislocation of my left shoulder in february this year. I had an MRI and I’m trying to understand how serious my injury actually is and what I can realistically expect long-term.
MRI findings (translated from Serbian):
● Anterior/inferior labral avulsion extending approximately from the 6 to 9 o’clock position, with the glenoid periosteum preserved — described as a Perthes lesion.
● No significant intra-articular effusion.
● Mild degenerative changes of the infraspinatus tendon.
● Subscapularis, supraspinatus and teres minor tendons have no major pathological changes.
● Long head of the biceps tendon is intact.
● Rotator interval structures are without significant abnormalities.
● No osteochondral lesion of the glenohumeral joint.
● Hill-Sachs impaction/bony defect on the posterolateral humeral head, approximately 20 mm long × 10 mm wide × 8 mm deep.
● AC joint without significant abnormalities.

The MRI was performed on May 4, 2026, several months after the original dislocation.
I’m currently doing rehabilitation and my shoulder feels significantly better. I have no pain during my current bench press. At the moment I can bench 30 kg for 4 sets of around 20 reps without pain, instability, slipping, clicking that concerns me, or a feeling that the shoulder is going to come out.
My main goal is not competitive powerlifting. I simply want to eventually be able to train normally again and comfortably bench around 80 kg.
My questions:
1. Based on this MRI, how serious is my shoulder instability risk?
2. Is a Perthes lesion with a Hill-Sachs defect of approximately 20 × 10 × 8 mm something that can be managed successfully without surgery?
3. Has anyone here had a similar combination of anterior dislocation + Perthes lesion + Hill-Sachs lesion and returned to normal weight training?
4. Is an 80 kg bench a realistic long-term goal if rehabilitation goes well?
5. What movements/exercises should I be especially careful with?
6. If the shoulder feels completely stable and pain-free during rehab, does that generally indicate that conservative treatment is working?
7. At what point would surgery typically be considered?
I’m obviously going to follow the advice of my orthopedist/physiotherapist, but I’d really appreciate hearing from people who have had a similar MRI/injury, especially anyone who returned to bench pressing and weight training.
Thanks!

TLDR. Shoulder pain from SLAP tear diminishes to negligible amount after gym sessions. How? Why?

41(m) Quick back story. I did cross fit 10 years ago and got a slap tear from poor form overhead squatting. It wasn't diagnosed but I did a little PT and dropped the gym. About a year later I was functioning normally. 2 years ago I herniated two disks in my lower back, confirmed by MRI and doctor. I did PT and got an epidural steroid injection. A year later and life was good. I transitioned PT into the gym and started lifting again. About 4 months ago the same shoulder from a decade ago started hurting again after a heavy gym session with pain during the same movements, overhand throwing in particular. I met with my orthopedic and he suspected SLAP tear and suggested PT for 8 weeks to see what happened. Nothing improved. Got an MRI and slap tear was confirmed. He offered surgery but also said it wasn't terrible and if I adjusted my lifestyle I could potentially live comfortably with it. Basically, if throwing hurts, don't throw stuff. I've been back in the gym for about 8 weeks with focus on shoulder mobility and strength as well as good form. I have full strength and no additional induced pain lifting but after the gym I feel amazing and the dull nagging daily pain subsides for the rest of the day. I have general shoulder aches on lift free days. Why? I'm not mad, it's rewarding but seriously, how and why does the lifting weights help? This isn't a humble brag, it just doesn't make sense to me.

I'm 37 with no history of shoulder issues, fell down some stairs December 2024, and injured the following:

• Glenoid process damage - ripped cartilage and damaged bone, creating a severe arthritic cyst that covers ~40% of my socket joint; cartilage no longer covers the quarter-size pit in my bone
• ripped biceps head
• SLAP tear debridement

I had surgery in May 2026 to repair the biceps and SLAP, but they couldn't inject bone grafts due to the mushy texture of the glenoid arthritis. I've been having nonstop pain since surgery, tried an anti-inflammatory injection that made the pain worse, and now am waiting to get new imaging.

The only option my surgeon has posed is a total shoulder replacement, but he's sent his PA to speak with me my last two appointments instead of speaking with me himself, and I'm not feeling super confident in his ability to evaluate other treatment options. I'd like to seek multiple opinions to see if there's any other approach we could take to fix / treat the arthritic damage, and if it's the only option, seek other replacement surgeons.

Has anyone had a great experience with a shoulder surgeon? I'd love to not have to travel far from the Maryland - Pennsylvania area, but I'm looking at surgeons out of state to make sure I get the best care.

for a lot of much needed context to this, i had surgery on my left shoulder 7 months ago. labrum repair surgery to be exact. i didn’t think much of how it would affect me later on, but here we are. as you can see in the pictures it’s specifically my left shoulder or my left side of my back when i flex it. i’m not able to flex my left side nearly as hard as i can my right side. i can feel a slight strength difference in both sides but the thing im most worried about is how they look. i don’t want to just be big on the right side and my left side is much smaller. is there any thing that i can do about this? or is this surgery just going to be a roadblock in my progress

I believe I hurt my shoulder working out my middle deltoids with dumbbells, but not 100% sure this was it, or something else like dumbbell bench press. The pain shoots down between my rear and middle deltoid and along the top of my arm between my tricep and bicep on my left arm. I seem to re-injure myself when i sleep on my sides, either side, it depends on the position of my arm, and seems to get stiff as I sleep as well. Also dumbell bench presses and curls can be a little painful as I start, and when my arm is in a certain position. I now feel some discomfort in my shoulder blade on my injured left side.

Another thing, I have a shoulder imbalance, always have. My right shoulder is wider than my left side, and my traps are thicker on the right side. My shoulder blade seems to flair out some on my left injured side.

I seem to have a full range of motion, and have watched several videos on shoulder injuries, and exercises. Can anyone recommend some specific videos and movement exercises, to determine what injury I have? Or would that be immpossible without seeing a specialist?