I just biffed on my mtb yesterday and wound up with a 3rd degree separation of my right shoulder AC. Looking for some experience with this injury.
Surgery needed or recommended for quicker recovery? My three ligaments are pretty much gone and my shoulder is hanging.
Recovery time to begin biking (non mountain biking!)? How about running and swimming?
I see the orthopod tomorrow and he is a friend of mine who works with MLB players as well as MiLb players and other pro athletes. I trust him and will follow his suggestions. i am just curious what others have experienced with this injury.
Buy some small dumbells, you are going to need them. Didn’t feel right for about 5 months after mine. Fell on the ice playing hockey. Bounced nicely tho.
Grade three seperation here and two years in the making. Not as strong as it used to be and it tires out fast. I am not really working it as hard as I could though. Planning on getting it fixed next year. I was on my single speed next day after my accident delivering lunch to my son . Which was probably stupid … Well very stupid. I was running a bit in three weeks and swimming again in 6 with a little pain. Worst thing is when I have right arm in certain positions pinkie finger and one next to it gets numb like it is fallin asleep. Plus it does get sore easy when it is humid. I Could not get surgery when it happened because there was no skin to sew up on the shoulder. If you don’t care about look of shoulder and you get active soon plus work it out. You should be alright. Best thing you could do as soon as it does not hurt is run and bike a bit as it will help with your movement and mobility of your shoulder and arm. Oh ya now it will be easy to get out of a straight jacket ;0)
Just waiting for my orthopod to open so i can make an appointment. Pain was way down yesterday by the end of the day but is back this morning. We’ll see how it feels after ET does his manipulations to diagnose the severity. I am really hoping for agressive PT and not surgery so I can at least be a more active participant in the process right away, instead of waiting for stitches to heal and screw and wire held bones to knit enough to support movement. At my biff was on dirt and i stopped fast enough to not have significant road rash.
Sounds like I will be back on the trainer for a little while longer regardless. Maybe I can still the Trainer Road ToC Challege. Not really a substitute for racing but it may be the best i can get.
No surgery needed so that’s a plus. Still trying to figure out how to type well and not stress the joint.
I’m a leftie and I hurt my right shoulder, so I am good on the wiping department.
Getting socks on is a real pain and about the only thing I really need help with. I can fake everything else and start stretching my range of movement as I go. Driving my manual transmission is still a challenge. It is a short throw so I can get through all 6 gears but getting to reverse is a move I cannot make yet. So I reach across with my left hand to push into that gear.
I’ll set for TrainerRoad’s Eight Days of California challenge after I reset my FTP for no handed or one handed riding. That should be fun.
Crashed on Thursday and have a boarderline 2nd/3rd degree separation. In a sling now and can’t move too much without pain. Have a half IM scheduled for June 21. Pretty I won’t be racing but still somewhat hopeful.
Got a follow up with my orthopod on Friday. Things are looking decent but not great. I have very little pain in general unless I do something stupid. I wear the sling when I do not have a good rest for my elbow. So I can work at my desk, type, sit at the table, etc., but when I am sitting without support or standing around, I have to use the sling to support the joint. Otherwise, the arm just starts to drop. Then the muscles around the joint get tight or spasm trying to keep it all together.
It took several days for the swelling to go down which helped the pain a lot. Movement came back slowly after 4-5 days of very little movement to avoid pain. When there is pain, it is very much more localized to the ligaments, as opposed to the joint as a whole. The joint sometimes feels tight, almost like it is swollen still but there is no outward sign of inflammation.
I still have some notchiness is some parts of the shoulder movement. I cannot push at certain angles without pain. I can ride the trainer without any trouble because the angle of pressure provides support to the shoulder.
Sorry for the degree of detail but if you are going through this now, I thought it might help to have some specifics to work from.
I am hoping this is all normal and no surgical intervention is needed.
I still have some notchiness is some parts of the shoulder movement. I cannot push at certain angles without pain. I can ride the trainer without any trouble because the angle of pressure provides support to the shoulder.
Sorry for the degree of detail but if you are going through this now, I thought it might help to have some specifics to work from.
I am hoping this is all normal and no surgical intervention is needed.
Alan Stewart
Yeah, I have not had a great night’s sleep since the prang. Hoping to at least go for a roadie ride this weekend and starting the PT process.
Best of luck to you.
Alan, by your own admission you can only ride the trainer because the angle is the correct one, so wtf would you want to go and ride a roadie where there are a huge range of variables that may be thrown up at you.
take some time to get past the worst of it. another week or two and you’ll be a whole lot better place.
btw, I also has a similar AC seperation, after 6 months of PT I said enough, where/s the surgeon. it took another 6 months to get the surgery but within 2 days, I was in a the best condition I’d been in for 12 months and the real recovery could start. Why did I wait???
Thanks for the info regarding your AC separation. I, too, separated my ac joint (grade 3) back on May 25th. I am slowly starting to get ROM back. I just went to my ortho last week and he said I can start lifting light items in about 3 weeks. I still can’t wash my hair with both hands because I am still in some pain. Most days I am ok, but this morning, I woke up and my whole arm felt stiff and cramped. It is so uncomfortable! I still can’t sleep on my right side. The bump went down significantly, but it is still there.
I appreciate any tips or advice about this injury.