Shoulder surgery 5 years ago...will I be okay doing Martial Arts?
5 years ago, in high school, I dislocated my shoulder a few times - first time I was playing badminton and then after that, it dislocated twice more throughout the rest of the school year. That summer I had surgery on it and did the physical therapy and everything afterwards for about two months. I think I was actually supposed to go for longer, but I slacked off and stopped going. I haven't had any problems with it since aside from occasional soft popping sounds when I move it around (sounds and feels like when you shift and your knee pops or neck cracks, etc.) I haven't had any pain or anything.
I just started doing Tang Soo Do and even though so far it hasn't given me any reason to worry...I was wondering...should I be? Obviously, injury is possible with any martial art, but aside from the usual dangers, should I be extra worried? I really, really like Tang Soo Do and I want to continue, but the thought of possibly re-injuring my shoulder or dislocating the other one is horrifying. I've never experienced so much pain in my life.
I remember the surgeon telling me that I kind of just had "loose shoulders", and that if I didn't want to be constantly worried about my other shoulder dislocating, I should either get surgery on it or try and keep my arms super strong.
What sort of exercises should I be doing to try and build the muscles around the shoulder area? Is it just arms I should be working on or should I work on strengthening my core or back or anything? Sorry for silly questions...I don't know much about what areas of the body support the shoulder/upper body areas...any advice in general? Do other people do martial arts with bad shoulders/knees/etc? Thanks in advance!