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Ac Separation (shoulder Separation)

495K views 1K replies 376 participants last post by  weevie 
#1 ·
I Recently Went Down Hard And Suffered A Grade 3 Shoulder Separation. I Am 5 Weeks Into This Injury And I Am Treating It Conservitively (non-surgical). It Is Very Frustrating Being That You Would Think This Injury Should Be Repaired Through Surgery But All The Doctors Are Telling Me To Leave It Alone And Physical Therapy It. I Am Also An Active Weight Lifter. I Used To Bench Press 340lbs And Now I A Struggle With 50lbs. I Know It's Only 5 Weeks Into The Injury But I Am Not Sure Where I Should Be At As Far As Lifting Weights And What's The Road Ahaed Of Me Going To Be Like Being That Is Being Treated Non-surgical. Any Info Would Be Greatly Appreciated!!!
 
#152 ·
Got my separation a week ago Saturday....OH WHAT FUN...Pain is a LOT better now and I am 10 days in and not wearing the sling all of the time...doctors said use it as needed...sling was driving me nutz! Feels like a migraine in my shoulder now instead of an elephant sitting on it. The first day it happened...I couldn't even get out of a chair without agonizing pain..getting out of the bed was an adventure as it was on an air mattress in a tent...Grade 3...the bone opposite the collar bone isn't totally under the collar bone...so it isn't a full Grade 3...but I do have the bump and it...HURTS
 
#153 ·
flogger13 said:
Recovery was going fine until this week at PT, I informed them that i was getting pins and needles in my little finger and my ring finger and that I had shooting pains at my shoulder and neck.
That's a bummer. Don't feel completely left out though. It seems that my arm falls asleep much fast on the effected arm. I sometimes worry about nerve damage and blood flow. At this point I am 10 months post of the separation, 2 months post PT which made a great difference. At this time I am not getting surgery, but it may be an option in the future if things continue to degrade.
 
#157 ·
2 orthopedic surgeons told me that I had a grade 3 AC tear. I got an MRI.
Since I had no strength in my arm and couldn't play any sports, I opted for Weaver-Dunn surgery 10 weeks after sustaining the injury. I requested a copy of the surgery report which said that I had a grade 5, not a grade 3. Apparently that wasn't evident to the surgeons by looking at the x-rays and MRI.

When I see the doctor again (5 weeks after surgery), hopefully he'll tell me to discard the sling and start rehab. The surgery took a lot of energy out of me. I went to the gym 11 days after surgery to lift with my good arm. I wasn't very strong. When I went home I collapsed and slept for 2.5 hours and woke up feeling exhausted. I guess my body has marshalled its resources to heal my shoulder and doesn't have the energy for other physical demands.
 
#158 ·
Did my grade 2 separation in June. Within 6 weeks I was back on the bike. The shoulder was nowhere near 100% but I kept at it, finding satisfaction in the small progress I was making.

4 months out and I'm much better. I can sleep on it! Pushups and chin-ups are still a little weird. MTBing is fun again and I've nearly regained full confidence on the descents :)

Helpful tip: I'm doing kettlebell workouts and they've done wonders for shoulder stabilisation.
 
#160 ·
lol....I came across this thread while researching if my collar bone is going to permanently stick up. Guess I found out the answer is yes!

My story: August 2010. Won a work trip to Lake Tahoe, took a close friend of mine. We are staying at the Ritz Carlton in Truckee (North Tahoe) and are looking for something to do. We look up the mountain and see a bunch of dudes going up the lift with bikes.

We talk to the biking guy and he suggests if we want to take it up a notch, we do downhill. This is after a several red bull and vodkas, so it sounds like a good call. Mind you I've never mountain biked before and had limited BMX experience up until I was 16 (10 years ago).

I figured things were going to turn out bad since I kept on landing on my front wheel and couldn't fix it. I made it down about halfway before I flipped over my handlebars, not sure what happened since I blacked out.

I somehow made it down the hill and thought I dislocated my shoulder. Had some really nasty road rash all down my back too. Since it was the first day of the vacation, I chose not to go to the hospital and just party it off. It really sucked.

Finally got back home, went to the doc. Grade 3 separation, borderline grade 4. I still feel it and need to get back into lifting after a few months off. Oh, and I'm never touching a freaking mountain bike again...lol.
 
#162 ·
I was in a sling for 5 weeks after surgery for my grade 5. The doc said to throw away the sling and to rehab. He said I could lift light weights like 5lbs. I used to curl 30lbs dumbbells but now 5lbs is too heavy! I'm using 3lbs until I get stronger. A 1st grader could handle more.

Normally one has about 30% more strength in the eccentric part of the lift vs the concentric part of the lift. That is, if one could curl 100lbs, one should be able to resist while lowering 130lbs. Oddly, I have noticeably more strength in the concentric part of the lift vs. the eccentric. I can curl 3lbs ok but lowering the dumbbell is very shaky.
 
#163 ·
Everyone is giving updates, so I'll give mine.

Grade 4 - Opted for the surgery. If done within 2 weeks, the surgeon said that there is a good chance that the ligaments will reattach and heal, just like when you get stitches to push the sides of a laceration together. Mine was done 1 week out from the accident. The procedure was the AC Tightrope. You can see the procedure at http://actightrope.orthoillustrated.com.

Was in a sling for 3 months to allow the ligaments enough time to heal. I'm two months into therapy, this week being my last. Most of my range of motion has returned. The shoulder feels normal now, just that the muscles are still sore as they are rebuilding strength. As for the bump, everything looks great so far. I've been using Mederma on the scars and it does a great job of reducing them. I honestly don't know why everyone is so up in arms about having a scar anyway. Does everyone here have secret modeling contracts?
 
#164 ·
I have a grade 2 A-C separation, just happened last Saturday in Pisgah (ended a long overdue mountain trip early:(). Went to ER, got the x rays. Spoken with a couple of Dr. friends, they said take it easy for the first couple of weeks, then use it as I can. Not much of a lump yet, but I hear that will come with the scar tissue.
The part that really sucks is the thought of dragging that damn trainer out of the attic so I can get some pedal time in.
Good luck to those in my boat. At least cold weather is almost upon us.
c
 
#165 ·
funny that this is my first post on mtbr......but i joined the club.........1/31 i took a jump on my bike, front wheel hit the mud on the landing, stuck and sent me flying. luckily for me my right shoulder was kind enough to take the fall for me. went to er and then to ortho next day. unbelievable pain - ortho says stage 3 w/no surgery and 6 weeks to recover (not be completely normal by then but really light activity till then). my wife wants me to have the surgery because she is worried that 30 years from now i won't be able to move my shoulder due to the lack of ligaments. what do i tell her?

enjoy, jason
 
#166 · (Edited)
freemanhoodlum said:
funny that this is my first post on mtbr......but i joined the club.........1/31 i took a jump on my bike, front wheel hit the mud on the landing, stuck and sent me flying. luckily for me my right shoulder was kind enough to take the fall for me. went to er and then to ortho next day. unbelievable pain - ortho says stage 3 w/no surgery and 6 weeks to recover (not be completely normal by then but really light activity till then). my wife wants me to have the surgery because she is worried that 30 years from now i won't be able to move my shoulder due to the lack of ligaments. what do i tell her?

enjoy, jason
Here is my suggestion. Talk with your ortho again and see what the differences are between surgery now and surgery one year from now or even beyond that. Then make a decision.

A little input. I saw an ortho two weeks ago and he told me they could have reconstructed the joint within the first 6 weeks (which my ortho 14 months ago failed to mention). Now my only option is the Weaver-Dunn procedure which he explained is more of a patch job. The thing I didn't like was the ortho said surgery may solve my issues completely or just ease the pain a little. It wasn't a firm answer like I was seeking. I am 14 months post injury and if I knew about reconstruction then, I would have had surgery right away.

I am in a position where I can go either way. I tend to be on a constant rollercoaster. Pain gets worse, I do PT and it bets better. It has really been bugging me lately (again) and plan to start physical therapy (again). I'm going on a short deployment here in a couple weeks. That will give me a good idea if I can hang as is, or need surgery. It really puts a damper on my activities I enjoy.

I am curious what results everyone else has had long term with their choice, and what kind of pain they have, if any?

My bump now

 
#167 ·
I would go see an Orthopedic Surgeon with a Sports Medicine background.

My AC was a grade 3/4. The clavicle had penetrated almost thru the skin.

I had Anatomically correct tight rope procedure.
It has a long recovery time, but is one of the strongest repairs.

It will take about 1 year for full recovery.

I am very happy with the results.
 
#168 ·
I dont know about surgery. I was pretty ****ed up. It was embarrasing and painful. I couldnt **** by my self or even move my arm for like5 days. After the wreck, I had to try to gather my shti so the villigars wouldnt rob me or see my injury as a sign of weakness and rob me.

I got to the hospital. Seen some poor gu with a broken back. No pain medication , insurance or money. He was in pain. At one point I cried a little ( I should say that at that time I had sleep deprevation, like sleepng 3-4 hours a night for months) shouldnt have been on a 30 krede to work...

Hells no I didnt want to have an operation on a serious part of my body like that. With all of mankinds so called expertise. I had a serious brace. Kept my arm immobile for about a week. Sometimes would but this horse collar brace on to alleviate the pain. Now, more than a year later... Everything is pretty cool. Sometimes wearing a back pack is not so comforatble as before.. but I cant say for sure.

I am having thoughts of joining the French foreign Legion. At one point in my life I joinded the US af special forces team, and know that its a good workout. I am wondering if my shoulder could handle the training.

It sure would be nice to hae a new identity from some country other than the US that would provide social benefits for my children.
 
#169 ·
i thank you guys for the replies...i believe i have an appt w/the ortho in 2 days at which point it will be 2 weeks from the injury. i am progressing pretty well - range of motion coming back but no real strength - except for sleeping which has to be done upright w/pain med. and the achiness! man i went w/out the sling for the most part of yesterday and by the end of the day my entire shoulder was tired and aching. i guess that's just part of the body adapting to no ligaments in the shoulder area?

thanks for all the info on this thread.

jason
 
#170 ·
I would advise against operations. MAny sports doctors dont recommend operations, and the specialists I shpwed my exray also recommended healing naturally . I have no bumb. yyou can see my xrays earlier in this thread. The doctors locally in China said I needed them and would never be able to use my arm to reach up. They were wrong.Im good. Save your money. It hurts like hell and will for a while, but youll bounce back.
 
#171 ·
i spoke w/the ortho surgeon's office again today and they advised against surgery as well unless it was absolutely needed. their rationale being that why operate if you can return your shoulder to acceptable levels w/out it. when i asked about 30 - 40 yrs down the road their answer was the same as mine - deal w/that then IF it's a problem

how long did you guys stay away from other cardio; i.e. running/eliptical/etc

thanks again,
jason
 
#172 ·
MAn I dont know how bad yours feels.. Id say like the first 3 days I couldnt move it, It happened on a friday if I remember....For the first day it hurt pretty bad. Ive never broke a bone so I cant compare... on Monday I had to take a day off work as a teacher. I couldnt afford to take off tuesday, it was hell. Had to take the bus instead of my bike. I had this figure 8 collar brace type thing that I wore fora week... and only after when the pain was returning. o had a sling for the first week... but mainly couldnt move my arm. I cant recall how long... read back through these posts. I took it pretty easy for a couple of weeks before getting back into it. Just whatever you do dont push it. I had no therapy, other than life.
 
#173 ·
yeah, mine was probably the worst pain i've ever felt - and i've broken plenty of bones - it nearly made me pass out and throw up several times. the hospital here gave me pain med - i don't know how you made it w/out it! it seems my range of motion is coming back pretty well - i'm actually surprised - but don't wanna screw something up and set myself back! i've had the sling on for the better part of 2 weeks now. heck, i can actually type w/my right hand now (moving the arm around) compared to when it first hapened i couldn't even walk w/out pain for the first 3 days and that was w/pain meds! i guess i'll start slowly here and see how it goes!

thanks!
 
#175 ·
I got the same advice with my Grade 3 AC separation. In fact I saw three different docs and they all said the same thing - let it go on its own and see how you do. (One of the doctors actually had the same injury on BOTH sides.) Do I like the permanent deformation of my shoulder? Heck no - at times that makes me wish I could have had it fixed. However, almost four years later, it functions at 99% of what it did.

Took about 3 months of rest/recovery before I got back on the bike. 6 months I was back to 90% of strength/motion. One year later I was at about 98% back to normal. It looks bad, but it works fine.
 
#176 ·
We gave my grade 3 12 weeks of therepy, it didn't heal. Saw the (highly recommended and referred) doctor group yesterday, we're scheduling the surgery today for a couple weeks out. I'm really looking forward to getting this fixed, most painful, annoying, debilitating injury I've ever had.
c
 
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