Needing help is never fun. I tend to readress myself if I find myself getting frustrated, telling myself the other person probably doesn't even think twice about it, so why would I?

I don't know how instable the other shoulder is? It might be something to think about. If you sit in an isleseat with that shoulder on the isle side, a accidental bumping into your shoulder (or worse; have a bag bump into your shoulder) in exactly the right spot can be enough to dislocate or subluxate if you've got a major tear in there also. The shoulder is a joint that dislocates very easily, unfortunately.

Do you know in which direction you dislocated it? If there is damage to the ligaments at the backside of the shoulder, take off might be uncomfortable. A second sling or cushion behind the shoulder can ease that.

How long post op are you, by the way? (that's just me being curious)

Blingbling, another thing popped up in my head. If you get a bulkhead seat, think about the tv not being in front of you but in the armrest. Getting the sucker out of there can be quite....... challenging for some ranges and types of shoulderinstability. Anything you'll do and not feel certain about? Fixate your upper arm against your torso and move from there. Fixating against the torso will help you stabilize the shoulder and give strength/confidence to do some stuff you might otherwise feel uncomfortable about. I know you don't want any more incidents like this, let alone on a plane. Even if it's just for your own feeling, who cares?


Shyabrasive, you're very correct about probably never wanting count on help. It made me smile to read you state that. I have worried about all kinds of things when it comes to flying (including the good old damaging of my chair), but never once even thought about the minor stuff like getting bags in and out of a bin (I only fly bulkhead, so no seat in front of me to use to store underneath). I've allways had the believe it'll sort itself out someway. Silly in a way, but funny to realize.