"loose" feeling shoulder joint

Anyone have a loose feeling shoulder? What I mean is that with my left shoulder I can let my arm just hang straight down and it feels like it slips out of joint. No pain or anything, just feels like it slips out.

Ive never injured that shoulder but I have heard that this can occur in people with RA since there is usually a cycle of inflamation and then it goes away, again and again and again. That this cycling can stretch the tendons and ligaments and then what the inflamation goes away that the joint feels loose.

Anyone experience this? anyone have any quick remedies? I don't want to actually injure my "good" shoulder. lol

J-

Yes I have had this same symptom. RA can affect the ligaments and tendons of the joints along with the joints themselves. I have had this happen in my shoulders and also my ankles with my achilles tendons causing extreme pain due to erosion of the sheath that surrounds it.

I wish I could tell you of a rememdy for this but all I have found is that sometimes ice and sometimes heat helps but that is mainly for pain. After the pain subsides it usually will get better on its own after a time.

Hi everyone-

This is my first post to the forum....I am looking into different reliefs options for my RA pain because I just had surgery. Everything started with a "loose" left shoulder. I chalked it up to my RA condition and made sure to exercise & stretch my shoulders.

Long story short- My home remedies for my shoulder looseness and pain actually made a small problem much, much worse. What could have been a simple physical therapy fix or minor surgery fix turned into a major surgery situation for my shoulder.

Torn labrum (were talking shredded, requiring it to be sewn up and screwed into my bones)
Ruptured joint capsule, creating a massive cyst that was sitting on my nerve
Removal of said cysts and moving ligaments back to proper position
Shaving off bone to better keep the joint in place

It started as a tingling sensation in my left arm in some positions and progressed into a "looseness" in which putting my shoulder into certain positions would make it go numb & feel as tho it was on the verge of popping out of the joint. The numbness was a relief from the constant pain I was having.

I waited too long to see an orthopedic surgeon for my issue. Things could have been much easier had I gone in to see the doctor and figure out why my shoulder kept feeling that way. Because RA joints tend to be more loose, they are apt to allow movements past what normal muscle stretching should be. That is what caused a labrum tear and that tear is what caused everything else. Pictures from the surgery show that there is no arthritis in my shoulder joint.

Long story short, make an appt to check out your shoulder. They can perform very easy in-office tests to diagnose (along with scans). I waited 10 months and lost nearly all the strength in my left arm. Now I have to worry about recovery of the shoulder and rebuilding arm strength, an uphill battle I do not recommend.

Good luck with the shoulder and I hope this helps in some way!