EDS and a Dislocated Shoulder: What to Log

Updated 29 Oct 2026

With EDS, many joint slips settle at home. A shoulder that comes fully out of place is different, and the weeks after it are easy to lose track of.

This guide covers what to log about a dislocated shoulder with EDS: getting help, the event, the hospital visit, the sling weeks, and physiotherapy. Your hospital team and physiotherapist decide the plan.

Get help first, then log

The NHS says to get medical help as soon as possible if you think you have dislocated your shoulder, and to go to A&E if you cannot move your arm, your shoulder looks out of place or has changed shape, or it is painful, bruised, or swollen (NHS dislocated shoulder guidance). It says to call 999 for an ambulance if you cannot get to A&E by yourself, not to drive, and to bring any medicines you take (NHS dislocated shoulder guidance). In the US, call 911 or go to the ER for these signs, and use urgent care or your primary care doctor where the NHS mentions a GP.

While waiting, it suggests gently holding an ice pack to the shoulder for up to 20 minutes every 2 to 3 hours, supporting the arm in a sling or with a towel, and taking paracetamol following the dosage advice on the packet (NHS dislocated shoulder guidance). It says not to move your upper arm and not to try to put it back in yourself (NHS dislocated shoulder guidance).

These steps come before the log. Write the time down once someone is helping you.

In Ehlers-Danlos Journey, My Care Team keeps the numbers you may need.

Log the event itself

The NHS lists loose, unstable joints that dislocate easily, joint hypermobility, and joint pain and clicking joints among EDS symptoms (NHS EDS guidance). It notes that some people may be advised to avoid some activities entirely, such as heavy lifting and contact sports (NHS EDS guidance).

Once things are calmer, log the date and time, which shoulder, what you were doing, and whether it was a fall, a reach, a lift, or nothing at all. Note whether that shoulder had slipped before and how often.

Those details help the team judge the risk of it happening again, and tell a physiotherapist which movements to work on first.

For smaller slips, see what to log on EDS subluxation days.

In Ehlers-Danlos Journey, the Flare Tracker marks the event.

Log the hospital visit

The NHS says you will usually have an X-ray to check your shoulder is dislocated, and if it is, a doctor will rotate your arm back into place, with a local anesthetic or a sedative so you do not feel any pain (NHS dislocated shoulder guidance). It says you will then be given a sling, and sometimes surgery may be needed to reduce the risk of dislocating the same shoulder again (NHS dislocated shoulder guidance).

Before you leave, log what was done, what you were given, how long to wear the sling, and any follow-up booked. Ask for a copy or photo of the discharge advice.

Tell the hospital team you have EDS, and log that you did. Write down any advice they gave about it.

In Ehlers-Danlos Journey, My Labs can hold the X-ray date and result as you are told it.

Log the sling weeks

The NHS says it usually takes 6 to 12 weeks to recover from a dislocated shoulder, that it may take up to 16 weeks to return to some sports, and that for some, recovery can take longer (NHS dislocated shoulder guidance). It says you will need to wear a sling for the first few weeks (NHS dislocated shoulder guidance).

It says your doctor or physiotherapist will advise you on when you can return to daily tasks like driving or playing sport (NHS dislocated shoulder guidance). For EDS more widely, it says an occupational therapist can help you manage daily activities and advise on equipment (NHS EDS guidance).

Each day, log a pain score from 0 to 10, stiffness, sleep, and one daily task you managed or could not do, such as dressing or washing hair. Note any pain medicine with its time.

In Ehlers-Danlos Journey, the Daily check-in holds the scores and My Meds keeps the times.

Log physiotherapy and any repeat event

The NHS says a physiotherapist may recommend regular shoulder exercises to help reduce pain and stiffness, and the hospital may recommend regular physiotherapy to help make your shoulder muscles stronger and reduce the risk of dislocating your shoulder again (NHS dislocated shoulder guidance). It says you may be offered a scan to check if your shoulder has been damaged (NHS dislocated shoulder guidance).

For EDS, it says a physiotherapist can teach you exercises to help strengthen your joints, avoid injuries, and manage pain (NHS EDS guidance).

Log each session, the exercises set, and how often you did them. If the shoulder slips again, log it at once with the same detail as the first. For exercise planning, see exercising with EDS without triggering a subluxation day; for visits, see a short EDS visit.

In Ehlers-Danlos Journey, Weekly Goals holds the exercise plan and the Doctor Report brings it together.

How Ehlers-Danlos Journey can help

A notebook can hold one bad day. The harder part is keeping joint events, sling weeks, and physiotherapy in one dated record.

Ehlers-Danlos Journey is a personal EDS tracker from Health Journey Labs on the App Store and Google Play. It records symptoms, medicines, test dates, and visits in one dated history. For a side-by-side look at EDS trackers, see the best Ehlers-Danlos apps in 2026. Below is what you can use and how each part helps:

• My Meds — Medicine names and timing, including pain relief and supplements, so you can see how a start date lines up with joint weeks.
• Daily check-in — A short guided pass across symptoms, mood, nutrition, sleep, exercise, meds, and external factors, including joint pain, instability, fatigue, and activity.
• Flare Tracker — Mark a subluxation, dislocation, pain flare, or bruising episode, with its intensity and duration.
• Daily Journal — Freer notes, including voice when typing or gripping is sore, such as what the day limited or physiotherapy homework.
• Weekly Goals — Set one small aim, such as a 10-minute rest between chores or three short physiotherapy sessions, and see whether it held.
• My Labs — Result dates for blood counts, imaging, genetic tests, or other workups, so each result sits next to how you felt that month.
• AI companions — Clara and specialist companions already see your logged history, which helps with visit wording or pacing ideas.
• Doctor Report — Two views: the Appointment Planning Report, a list of questions to prepare before a visit, and Generate Report, a dated summary of your recent progress to show a doctor saved in My Care Team.
• Learn — Short education topics on pacing, instability, fatigue, visit preparation, and invisible pain.
• My Assessments — Structured check-ins that add context about you across weeks.
• My Care Team — A profile for each clinician, plus visit notes used before, during, and after appointments.
• Food Tracker — Meal or drink lines when food comes with worse pain, energy, or gut days.
• Weight Tracker — Weight entries when weight is part of what you and your clinician are watching.
• Period Tracker — Cycle dates and flow, so you can line up cycle timing with pain, instability, or energy.

Everything you log builds one history. Guided forms include the key questions, and you can add custom symptoms when you need your own labels. Ehlers-Danlos Journey is free to download.

Sources

• NHS — Ehlers-Danlos syndromes
• NHS — Dislocated shoulder

FAQ