I recently reported my embarrassingly self inflicted bike crash resulting in a separated shoulder (grade II, maybe III) and knocking out of IMLP. Now, it will be three weeks tomorrow and I’m getting itchy to get going.
The recovery is actually going amazing this week. Last Friday I couldn’t even tie my shoes, and now I can even dress myself and shave without bleeding too much. I just want to make sure I don’t over do it. The Docs just say be limited by pain. They know me and say I don’t need therapy b/c I’ll be doing everything and then some myself.
So, any experiences or advice out there. They say 12 weeks or so to swim (both arms that is) and bike - lets just say I am ahead of schedule. I just don’t want to be so bullheaded that I do something stupid.
For background:
3 months before IMLP in 2001 I hit a dog on my bike at high speed, did a superman and got a 3rd degree AC separation. Being that that was my first Ironman (and first triathlon) I was not about to let anything stand in my way. I was riding on my trainer in 4 days and outside after 2 weeks. This wasn’t bad except if I hit any potholes or bumps in the road. I started running in 2 weeks which was too soon because it hurt and I had to hold my arm tight against my side. 3 weeks out I ran a hilly 10 mile running race at a 6:30 pace, this was a very bad thing to do because right afterwards I developed fairly severe SI joint pain from the altered gait which persisted for almost a full year. I started swimming after 3 weeks. I couldn’t straighten my arm out all the way and it hurt like hell but I got in 2 swims a week. I did IMLP with a time of 11:43.
DO NOT DO WHAT I DID! Let the injury heal until you can train without pain. If you have pain you will alter your biomechanics (especailly when running) and end up causing another injury. For example when the SI joint pain got bad I altered my gait and developed plantar fasciitis which took another year to go away. Before this I considered myself to be nearly indestructable. I had been smashed around a lacrosse field for many years without any serious injuries.
Give your body time to heal. If it doesn’t hurt to run, you can run. Same for swimming and biking. BTW expect the shoulder to ache a lot particularily after swim workouts for a couple years. Eventually it will become “nearly” painfree just an occasional ache after a mega swim session. Good luck.
Hinds57 has been dealing with this for months - injured in March, rested for a few weeks then started training lightly again. Did IMCDA in late June, which irritated it even more. A couple weeks ago he couldn’t even do minimal yard work without popping advil like candy. Now he has retired from swimming for the rest of the year and is planning to race again in May 2005.
Get used to your NEW shoulder. Mine has never been the same. Lax injury 6 years ago…cheap shot, btw. 3rd degree, but elected out of surgery. Still has about 1/2" bump…
It hurt. It hurt A LOT. More painful than my broken neck in college hockey…although I don’t much remember that one. ;o)
Thus…started my endurance career…which has been a great journey.
As mentioned…you need to rest. A separated shoulder is basically a large ligament strain or tear. So…think rubber bands stretching. You need to give them time to tighten up or you risk a “squishy” shoulder (collar bone) for the rest of your life. Probably will need surgery around 40 to avoid arthritis. I had to wear an arm brace…but I think that did more harm than good because it made me “shrug” my shoulder…thus maybe not allowing the ligaments to fully retract. ???
The pain slowly moves away, and will be gone within 3 months. But…you’ll ALWAYS have this really weird feeling in your shoulder like it’s going to fall off or something is missing. I’ve gotten used to it. After 200 push-ups these days, my shoulder is a noodle. But, it pays to get plenty of light weighted reps.
PT had me lifting soup cans (isn’t that fun?) and stretching. I’d suggest doubling up on all the range of motion exercises. At the time, I thought they were stupid…but now I understand. I also had to hit the hand cycle for 10 minutes a day. I’m probably only at 70% range of motion in my bad shoulder…but I wouldn’t say it’s a crutch to my tri performance. It actually helped my golf game…go figure. Just get used to that weird feeling… Plus, the sleeves on your short shirts will now hang different!!!
Yea…it’s pretty odd.
I think the 12 weeks to swimming is a bit optimistic. They probably meant 12 weeks for light swimming…not a triathlon crawl stroke. Some people heal from a shoulder separation much faster than others. Perhaps you’ll be a lucky one.
Well David welcome to the lumpy shoulder club. I separated mine in fall of 2000 and did IMC 2001 with no noticeable effect. My swim has since greatly improved and I hope to be around an hour at IMC this year. As everyone has mentioned lots of range of motion work. I started off with 1 pound weights and that was an ordeal, but after 6 weeks of PT I was back in the pool for very easy swims.
I also opted to avoid surgey as the surgeon said the sucess rate is not that good. My wife did say I should do the other shoulder so that I would at least be symmetrical. Give it some time and you will forget that you have it. Cheers
I"m an ex-member of the lumpy shouder club. I had mine surgically fixed, so now I’m a member of the scarred shoulder club.
It just takes time to adjust and it will never feel or look like it used to again. Just remember, don’t over extend yourself in the short term trying to over do it. Take the long view.
I have between a grade II and III AC separation. The doctors haven’t given me much guidance (probably b/c they know me too well) and have said wear a sling for 2 weeks, just be limited by pain, and I’d probably be swimming (2 arms) in 12 weeks or so.
It is now three weeks. It was very painful for about ten days (couldn’t tie shoes, etc), ached pretty bad for another week, and now (3 weeks) feels funny and hurts with any sudden reflex type movement or more than about 25% range of motion.
My problem is that I want to be aggressive, but want to be smart too. I have quite a bump on the top of the shoulder and the clavicle seems quite mobile. So, I’ll take any advice you have from your experience.
It boggles my mind when doctors give this kind of advice.
I broke my shoulder (coracoid process) in an embarassing bike accident 8 weeks out from a half. I was in a sling for almost 4 weeks. My doctor gave me the same sort of advice - you don’t need therapy just give it time and do exercises at home. Not being a doctor I was at a bit of a loss as to what exercises to do, how many etc so I ignored my doctor and went to therapy. If I only went to the initial assessment with my therapist it would still have been more useful than all my visits to my doctor. After less than four weeks in a sling my shoulder blade had started to move out from lack of use. Long story short I finished the half and am getting ready to taper for IMC.
If you have an ultrasound machine at home and an in-depth knowledge of your physiology sure go it alone. Otherwise find a good therapist.
Yeah definitely find a good therapist for your shoulder! I would say that you should get a second recommendation from another doctor. Find out if it is a good idea or not for you to get surgery. If you do have surgery than buy a shoulder brace immediately!! Once you have your shoulder immobilized for a while after surgery it will allow all the ligaments and tendons to heal. I got my brace from here: shoulder brace If you haven’t gotten one yet it might be worth a shot. Also, don’t try to come back to soon. If you do you could seriously hurt yourself even worse and cause permanent damage that might require you to have multiple surgeries and nobody wants that!
Best of luck!!
