We assessed, in a prospective randomised trial, the relative analgesic effects of Entonox and intra-articular lignocaine (IAL) in patients with acute anterior dislocation of the shoulder. A statistically significant reduction in pain scores was achieved with IAL (7.9 vs 5.2, P < 0.05), but the effect with Entonox was greater (7.8 vs 2.9, P < 0.001). We conclude that Entonox provides better analgesia than IAL in patients with acute anterior shoulder dislocation.