UMEM Educational Pearls

Title: Davos Shoulder Reduction Technique

Category: Orthopedics

Keywords: Davos, Shoulder, Reduction (PubMed Search)

Posted: 10/15/2016 by Michael Bond, MD
Click here to contact Michael Bond, MD

Davos Shoulder Reduction Technique

Take Home Points

  1. Uses the patients own weight to reduce their anterior shoulder dislocation.
  2. No sedation is required
  3. Provider exerts no effort and only sits on the patients foot.

Interested, well find out more by watching this video by Larry Mellick https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2MsnjVNoPM or clicking the link below.

Additional Information

The Davos technique is a novel technique that requires no exertion on the part of the provider and can be done without sedation

Do the technique by:

  1. Have the patient sit up in bed and flex their ipsilateral knee as much as possible.
  2. Have the patient clasp grab their ipsilateral knee, and then bind their wrists together with elastic guaze (ie Ace wrap). This allows the patient to relax without having to concentrate on clasping their fingers together later.
  3. The provider sits on the patients foot to make sure the leg does not extend.
  4. Now have the patient extend their neck (lean their head back) and slowly try to lay back into the bed.
  5. As they relax the shoulder will reduce.
  6. Once reduced place the arm in a shoulder immobilizer

The original article can be found here http://www.jem-journal.com/article/S0736-4679(16)00030-5/abstract