I crashed my bike on some wet pavement while commuting yesterday afternoon and suffered a grade 2 right acromioclavicular separation. Basically I took a right turn at too high of speed and the bike skidded out from under me and I went down on my right side. Fortunately, no other injuries. Can anybody that has experienced this say how long until you were able to swim again? Any long term effects?
Thanks.
Long term affects will generally be a cool looking quasimodo hump in the area 
Grade 2 - You will be back within a few weeks.
When I separated mine, I was back in the pool in only 9 months. Wait…I always go 9 months between swims…never mind that.
I did, however, go back to throwing batting practice for my son’s baseball team within 3 weeks.
with aminor separation like that you can go back as soon as you cna tolorate the pain, but get used to that lump on your shoulder, as that is going to be there for the duration.
I had a Grade III Feb 5. I was on the trainer at day 4, ran on day 7, on the bike outside at day 11, and swam today, +12 days. I wasn’t setting any PRs in the pool, basically just ROM, dragging my injured side back through the water, no real catch. But just reeeallly slow and easy. With a II, you should be back soon.
Chris–how long until you could lift your arm?
I am 10 days out from what was diagnosed as a Gr II a-c separation. Hurts a lot less, but I still can’t lift my arm. I am thinking that it may be more than just an a-c issue–maybe also a rotator cuff tear?
As long as you don’t do anything to damage it further, you will be fine in a couple of weeks. As previously stated, most of your training will just depend on how much pain you want to deal with. I had a grade 3 a couple of years ago in a similar situation. I slid out through a corner, saved it, and then clipped the curb and launched over the bars.
I was riding on the trainer the next day, with my arm in a sling. I was on the road at day 4. Running hurt quite a bit the first week, so I spent a couple of afternoons hiking instead. After week 2 I was able to run with little to no pain.
I wasn’t swimming at the time, but I was whitewater paddling a lot. It took me around 4 weeks to be able to paddle at all, after that, I wasn’t 100% for probably another 4 weeks.
I still have never regained full range of motion, though it is very close. My right shoulder sits about an inch lower than my left. It is funny when I wear a suit, because the right sleeve sticks out further than the left.
You should be fine with a grade 2. I am sure it hurts a lot now, but just take it easy and if your doctor gave you any rehab excercises do them. What I remember most was when you pick something up with your arm extended, you feel fine until it gets above your shoulder, and then extreme pain.
Good luck!
I had a grade II as well last summer. I was hit by a car and landed on my shoulder, head, and hip. I was back in the water after a few weeks but I could only breath off one side. If I tried to breath off the other side it would hurt too much. I did a few shorter races (sprint, oly) within a month or two of the accident. It still hurts a bit if I sleep on the injured side and you will have to get used to the nice little deformity. The other thing that was annoying was being in the aero position wasn’t extremely comfortable… especially over some bumps.
John, I could lift my arm about 90 degrees at my first PT appt, which was 10 days out. 4 days later I could lift it all the way up, just some tightness, no pain. But also depends what angle, easier to lift to the side than straight up.
right around 3 months until my first post-accident swim. It ended my season so I was in no hurry, but swimming motions done on dry land hurt more than any other exercise.