Hi Indygo,
I’m glad to hear that your partner has regained some functional use of his arm and has not been badly effected by pain.
Unfortunately, there is no evidence to suggest that subluxation can be reduced after it has occurred, so management focuses on preventing it from worsening. Interventions are aimed at reducing trauma to the shoulder by providing education on caring for the shoulder during manual handling and advice on positioning.
Here is our fact sheet on Upper Limb Management After Stroke.
Now that your partner has started new exercises to strengthen his arm at the gym, it would be advisable to review the subluxation, management strategies and arm function with an OT. The OT could also provide advice on exercises that are safe and useful for maintaining and improving arm and shoulder strength.
If you would like to discuss it more with a Stroke Foundation OT, please phone us on StrokeLine 1800 787 653 Mon-Fri 9am-5pm.
Kind regards,
Melita (StrokeLine)
Hi Melita,
Thank you for answer.
The arm exercises that my partner is doing at the gym are being done on the advice of our then community rehab OT. At the time of our last therapy session with her he was not yet able to use his arm and hand to exercise at the gym, but we have followed her advice that if he was to exercise it to always stick with movements away from the body.
When the warmer months come around, because the indoor pool here is not suitable for my partner to get in and out off, our aim is to start swimming exercises with the aid of pool noodles. This program we had developed by a community physio therapist and we are really looking forward to finding out how that may improve his movement range out of the water.
Thanks again. Appreciated