Term78

Humerus

Glenohumeral Instability

What is Glenohumeral Instability?
After being treated for an initial dislocation of your shoulder, you may find that it feels like it's about to dislocate periodically. This feeling of giving-way is called glenohumeral instability or subluxation.

Glenohumeral instability refers to a condition in which the humeral head in the shoulder repeatedly slips out of the joint, or seems to nearly slip out.

The shoulder blade and humerus, or upper arm, form the glenohumeral joint. This is what you would normally think of as your 'shoulder joint'. The glenohumeral joint is a ball-and-socket joint, consisting of the head of the humerus, or upper arm, and the glenoid fossa, which is formed by a slightly hollowed portion of the end of the shoulder blade. The head of the humerus maintains very little contact with the glenoid itself during movement, however. Instead, the shoulder relies on a group of ligaments, muscles and tendons to help keep the humerus in the proper place, and to provide stability to the joint.