LOS ANGELES — The celebration at Dodger Stadium after Game 2 of the World Series was not one of a Dodgers team that just took a 2-0 series lead, but rather one of concern after Shohei Ohtani suffered a potentially serious injury late in the game.
In the eighth inning, Ohtani slid feet first into second base and came up clutching his left arm before leaving with a trainer. Manager Dave Roberts said after the game that Ohtani was going for more testing, but called the injury a left shoulder subluxation. What is that, exactly? Let’s dive in.
According to Johns Hopkins, “a shoulder subluxation occurs when the humerus partially slides in and out of place quickly.”
The humerus is the bone between our elbow and shoulder, which is surrounded by the biceps and triceps. The end of the humerus is shaped like a ball and loads into the shoulder, which serves as a socket-type mechanism.
Traditionally, we hear about shoulders being “separated” or “dislocated.” Those are two different terms that generally are used to mean the same thing, but a subluxation is different. How does a subluxation compare to a dislocation? I asked Dr. Rodney Benner, an orthopedic surgeon in Indianapolis.
“A dislocation is when the ball comes out of the socket completely, often getting locked outside the joint and having to be reduced or put back into place,” Benner told CBS Sports. “A subluxation is a partial dislocation, in which the ball comes partially out of the socket but not completely, and goes back in on its own.”
In 2021, the Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. at least four subluxations of his left shoulder, then opted against surgery to repair a torn labrum. He eventually went under the knife while serving a suspension for a banned substance. While it’s entirely unclear if that’s the path Ohtani faces, the humerus popping itself back in does not necessarily resolve all issues completely.
The bottom line here is that while Roberts said he was “encouraged” by the early testing, even a compromised Ohtani is a huge blow to the Dodgers.
