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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!!!
 
#86 ·
racerx58 said:
Zoro, it is important to use the sling - but if you use it too long - you may get some painful adhesions when you start using your shoulder again. So try to reduce your use of it, key here is that you do not feel discomfort. Another thing to consider is the position of your shoulder, chances are your shoulder is pulling a bit forward because your muscles are trying to support it. You might experience some tightness because of this. A person familiar with muscle release therapy can help you with this and it will really make you feel more comfortable. Just make sure that the person knows how to treat arm and shoulder injuries.

As for PT, it varies quite a bit and you seem to have medium grade shoulder separation of either a type 2 or 3. If it is a type 2, you could return to activities and begin more active PT at 2-4 weeks, if you really have a type 3 - then it can take 6 - 12 weeks. It really has to do with your level of discomfort and the types of excersizes you can do. Range of motion stuff you can do as soon as you can tolerate it. But in general don't hurry and don't push yourself to get your strength back. The first 6-8 weeks of recovery from an injury is very important, so let your body heal. Here are a couple of links you might find useful:

This is an excellent source of information about AC separations.
http://www.uptodate.com/patients/content/topic.do?topicKey=~8Xm8h.pwl70pNy

This is a link with rehab excersizes that you may find beneficial
http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/sma/sma_shldsep_rex.htm

This is a recent article about Grade/Type III AC separations and treatment
http://www6.aaos.org/news/pemr/releases/release.cfm?releasenum=788

Take care,
thanks for this list. very useful after today:thumbsup:
 
#87 ·
Here's one more update at 1 year. I had a Cat 3, did no surgery. About the only type of movement I can't really do is wide grip pull ups. That kind of movement makes the end of my collar bone hit the little process that it used to be attached to on my scapula. Otherwise, full recovery. And I don't have to worry about injuring the joint again...as it does not exist. If you are thinking of surgery, that was the big reason my Ortho recommended against it. If you are likely to injure the shoulder again and it is surgically fixed, you run the risk of blowing up that surgery.
 
#88 ·
I did my shoulder in 3 months ago now, and the worst part it was because I was going too slow while exploring new routes to take some friends on. I hit that root so bad off of that little hop that I even bent my front forks. Sling was on for 5 weeks ( at which point only 60% healed according to the doc)

Sleeping is still the rough point for me after 3 months. I find that some nights I must be tossing too much and when I wake it feels like my shoulder has shifted a bit out of place. Gonna ask the doc today about it as those days I feel I need to pull on the shoulder to get it to sit right and then I can get full motion. Still could be the healing process as the doc say it was a grade 3 and the only true way to fix it is to put a pin in but like the others above stated he doesn't recomend it.

At the 3 month mark I am riding (pavement only) again and playing ball ( just can't cannon the ball anymore ). Still have yet to get up the nerve to hit the trails though as I don't want to do my shoulder in worse, as I am not a spring chicken anymore.

The only good thing was the 5 weeks in a sling was that my wife was actually nice ( as nice as a sarcastic wife can be anyways) and even opened my beer and brought it to me.

Glad I found this thread though.
 
#89 ·
Frosti said:
I did my shoulder in 3 months ago now, and the worst part it was because I was going too slow while exploring new routes to take some friends on. I hit that root so bad off of that little hop that I even bent my front forks. Sling was on for 5 weeks ( at which point only 60% healed according to the doc)

Sleeping is still the rough point for me after 3 months. I find that some nights I must be tossing too much and when I wake it feels like my shoulder has shifted a bit out of place. Gonna ask the doc today about it as those days I feel I need to pull on the shoulder to get it to sit right and then I can get full motion. Still could be the healing process as the doc say it was a grade 3 and the only true way to fix it is to put a pin in but like the others above stated he doesn't recomend it.

At the 3 month mark I am riding (pavement only) again and playing ball ( just can't cannon the ball anymore ). Still have yet to get up the nerve to hit the trails though as I don't want to do my shoulder in worse, as I am not a spring chicken anymore.

The only good thing was the 5 weeks in a sling was that my wife was actually nice ( as nice as a sarcastic wife can be anyways) and even opened my beer and brought it to me.

Glad I found this thread though.
Hey Frosti, I'll give you my opinion, but you know what they say about opinions...

First, three months in a sling? Ouch, that would really suck. That's a lot to go through to get your wife to open your beers for you.

With Grade 3 separation what is done is done and its not going back together no matter how long you baby it. All you are waiting for is for torn and bruised muscles to heal after a Grade 3. No ligaments/tendons etc. are going to magically reconnect. The only thing you can do now is to strengthen the shoulder muscles so that they can do the work that the blown joint used to do (ie holding your shoulder in place). If you have not done any physical therapy and been shown what exercises to do then you need to get to it pronto.

At this point you should be OK to hit the trails again. If not then it is more than likely because you have lost muscle and strength due to using the sling too long.

Grade 3 management = Exercise, Exercise, and more Exercise

Good luck and happy trails.
 
#90 ·
I had a completely separated shoulder (not sure the grade; heard from one doc it was a grade 3, from another a grade 6), all to say, it was completely messed up. My neighbor is a Orthopaedic surgical assistant and she took a look at it and sent me to the ER immediately. She got me in a 8 a.m. on Monday morning to see her Ortho. His suggestion was the same; that they just let scar tissue form and surgery is only done if you are a high level athlete. My biggest suggestion is to be patient and let it heal. However, start PT as soon as possible with a certified PT tech. It helped me tremendously and I have all my flexibility and strength back and only have a big lump on my shoulder to show for the injury. Occassionaly I get a little slight pain if the weather is bad. Must be arthritis setting in. Best of luck to you for a speedy recovery.
 
#91 ·
Man I'm glad I found this thread. I just found out yesterday that I have a minor AC separation. The doctor didn't tell me the grade, but it's probably only 1 or maybe 2. I don't have a noticable lump, and I've got pretty good range of motion. We figure it happend about a year ago on a pretty good crash, but it just flared up real good 5 days ago bouldering. Same consensus on no surgery unless it gets much worse. Man I hate taking time off the rocks and even worse is time off the bike, but it sounds like that's what I have to do at this point to keep it from getting worse.
 
#92 ·
Hello everybody, my first post at the MTBR forums although I've been reading around for quite a while.

Had a grade 3 separation one and a half week ago, I went over the bars from taking an unintended 1 meter drop onto a sidewalk. I have opted for the surgery after having read up alot before my decision and although I'm pretty much trading a lump for a scar (and a couple of additional months of rehabilitation) I still feel it's what I want. I'm 23 years old and having the surgery done on Tuesday. I'm not sure what procedure it will be but I will report back here later since not many of the riders here seem to have chosen the surgical route.
 
#93 ·
Hi all, suffered a grade III AC seperation five days ago.Doctor advises against surgery at this point.I did enjoy doing recreational powerlifting in my spare time and I'm concerned I will have to give this up now. Has anyone been able to resume heavy lifting after this type of injury even after a year or two? Thanks.
 
#94 ·
Separated mine yesterday (grade III), coming up short on a double and goin otb. Glad i found this thread. Thanks for all your stories.

I gotta say it was one of the most painful injuries i've had. The ortho doc shot me up with some cortozone with novacain today... it's helped the pain a ton. I can actually lift my arm now. The hard part is... i also fractured my wrist :eekster:. Should be a challenging recovery.
 
#95 ·
urt Collar bone bad in China today. Doctors no help. Need MTBRs advice. Hurts so Bad
I have been riding my new cobia for 2 weeks now. Like 80 km a day weekdays after not riding for 8 years andbeing out of shape. Someone burglularised my home and stole 8 years of my life work 3 weeks ago I decided I was going to bury ky self in my mountainbiking, get my healthback and now today the worst thing happened.

First woke up and am scared my youngest child might have the pigflu as he is showing flu symptoms...

Then I left and rode 35 kilometers on one of my fastest commutes and had an accident. I was in a small back alley street and I saw this guy on the side of the road trying to walk out in front of me it looked like on the shoulder of the road..

Then blam I hit a speed bump the same color as the street.. totally missed it and indo'd over my front handle pars feet locked in place and slammed head and shoulder into the pavement.

The Chinese walked around me as if nothing happened. I walked for about a kilometer then felt the most horrific pain I have ever felt.

Went to the hospital.. and then the doctors tok an exray and said somethinglike two tendons n my collar bone were ripped and I would need a surgery. First they said 10-15000 rmb, then their boss came in and saw I was a foriegner and was like "oh no... thats like 25000 rmb"

This is some serious cash. I can tell you that this hurts soo bad. They gave me morphine and some other pills Celecoxib.

That didnt really do anthing that I can tell. I cant stand up and have to hold my arm up and out words of my body in order to not feel any pain... I mean not bad pain. Even when I walk. MY woman has to hel me piss as I cant doi it myself. They put some kind of harness on me and a free hanging splint. I am under the impression they dont know how to make splints because I cant do anything unless Ihold my arm up with my other arm.

I need You help.

Can you help me with the following questions?

1)I can attach a picture of the x-ray and can someone tell me the name of what I have in English?

2) Whats a good a good painkiller,

3) how to make the proper splint?

4)and is an operation necessary?


And what is it that I have in English?

The google translation says:

"The right shoulder is sorrowful place right shoulder lock joint space widened, distal clavicle upward shift"

I hurt so bad. i need to take care of my two children and 25000 is so much/

5) Will I ever be able to ride again?

6) It hurts so bad.. when will it stop hurting?

Thanks for your help

Robert ...

Dead sad. Hurting.
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#96 ·
Wow!

Robert,
You've had a bad spell.
First, don't panic about your son. I believe that China has the vaccination for H1N1, as well.? I have known a lot of people that have contracted it and they are all fine now. :thumbsup:

1. Broken Clavicle (collarbone)
2. Vicodin - Pain Reliever/Anti Inflamitant
Motrin
3. How old are you? If you are concerned about the physical appearance you can get surgery and or use a brace. I did this exact break this summer and it just takes time. Put your arm in a sling and leave it there for 2 weeks. Find a good physical therapist.
4. So, NO! It is not necessary to have an operation.
5. Absolutley, you'll be riding after 6 weeks. Be careful! IT doesn't completely heal till about 4-6 months.
6. Yes, it will stop and might be as you are reading this. Get/make a sling, soon!

The healing that has to occur is the gap you see in your x-ray has to fill with bone. If youu were to go back in 6 weeks you'd see a cloudiness developing between the two bones that used to be one.

I hope this helps? P.M. me if you have any further questions.

Things should be brighter for you soon...good healing! ;)
 
#97 ·
Robert,

Looks like a grade 3 separation. I don't see a fracture. Typically there will be some soft tissue trauma with these and and that is where the pain comes from. There are three ligiments that hold the clavicle down. From the look of the x-ray, you may have ruptured all three. Surgical options for this type of injury for for looks only. Very little gain in function (if any). It will take several weeks (6-8) to be pain free. Start taking Ibuprofen right now. Take 800mg every 8 hours for at least 10 days straight. A little tough on the stomach, but it will control the inflammation and help the rehab. Start doing active range of motion 5-7 days post injury. Sling your arm while sleeping so you don't reinjure in your sleep. Your pain will be your limiting factor while your awake so don't worry about the sling then. I don't reccomend surgical options as there are very little gains for your troubles and you also risk surgical site infection and post surgical arthritis. Many hockey players have this same injury to both shoulders and still keep playing. I had a similar accident about five years ago and was back on the bike in about three months riding hard. I had several broken ribs also and that was what took the time. Hang in there. Tincture of Time will heal this. Do your physical therapy. Good luck.
 
#98 ·
Any of you all with type 3 Separations, feel the need to wear any kind of shoulder brace device, now that your back on the trails riding? My doctor said it was a personal preference thing, and didn't think it was needed, unless I felt more comfortable with one on. I'd like to hear other riders opinions/experiences, though.
 
#99 ·
Dominator13 said:
Robert,
You've had a bad spell.
First, don't panic about your son. I believe that China has the vaccination for H1N1, as well.? I have known a lot of people that have contracted it and they are all fine now. :thumbsup:

1. Broken Clavicle (collarbone)
2. Vicodin - Pain Reliever/Anti Inflamitant
Motrin
3. How old are you? If you are concerned about the physical appearance you can get surgery and or use a brace. I did this exact break this summer and it just takes time. Put your arm in a sling and leave it there for 2 weeks. Find a good physical therapist.
4. So, NO! It is not necessary to have an operation.
5. Absolutley, you'll be riding after 6 weeks. Be careful! IT doesn't completely heal till about 4-6 months.
6. Yes, it will stop and might be as you are reading this. Get/make a sling, soon!

The healing that has to occur is the gap you see in your x-ray has to fill with bone. If youu were to go back in 6 weeks you'd see a cloudiness developing between the two bones that used to be one.

I hope this helps? P.M. me if you have any further questions.

Things should be brighter for you soon...good healing! ;)
Thanks for your advice...!

I am happy to say that I dotn think anything is broken... Im not going with the operation for a lot of different reasons.. but most have said it is not necessary. Its not so disfigured... after 2.5 weeks It is still pretty week but I am gettign the feeling Id like to ride a little...

Took bufferin, and ice... and wrapped it with a horse collar like brace...

Have to say the brace helped the most.
 
#100 ·
guero grande said:
Any of you all with type 3 Separations, feel the need to wear any kind of shoulder brace device, now that your back on the trails riding? My doctor said it was a personal preference thing, and didn't think it was needed, unless I felt more comfortable with one on. I'd like to hear other riders opinions/experiences, though.
I feel much better wearing a brace... I am on 2.5 weeks and have not ridden yet.. I have this brace that wraps around both shoulders and velcros in the back. First I have my woman wrap the shoulder and diagonal across my chest. I take off the brace at night after work and put it on in the morning. Seems to have helped... I feel much mroe invincible with it on.l I can see the strength slowly returning. I ahve rasied my hand up twice since the accident.. once yesterday and once 5 minutes ago.. Couldnt even think about doing that last week. Id say wear the brace to you have full strength.. I definately dont at 2.5 weeks but am feeling like I would like to try riding the bike for 10 miles or so.... but at the same time in the middle of the day' when it aches I can easily realise its too soon to try to ride. I would hate to ride ten miles and be stranded in pain or roll back the clock on the healing process..
 
#101 ·
AntiNSA said:
I feel much better wearing a brace... I am on 2.5 weeks and have not ridden yet.. I have this brace that wraps around both shoulders and velcros in the back. First I have my woman wrap the shoulder and diagonal across my chest. I take off the brace at night after work and put it on in the morning. Seems to have helped... I feel much mroe invincible with it on.l I can see the strength slowly returning. I ahve rasied my hand up twice since the accident.. once yesterday and once 5 minutes ago.. Couldnt even think about doing that last week. Id say wear the brace to you have full strength.. I definately dont at 2.5 weeks but am feeling like I would like to try riding the bike for 10 miles or so.... but at the same time in the middle of the day' when it aches I can easily realise its too soon to try to ride. I would hate to ride ten miles and be stranded in pain or roll back the clock on the healing process..
Wearing your brace is good for awhile (I was in what I'd call a sling) but PT, range of motion is your friend. At some point real soon you need to start working your arm through its normal range of motion so your shoulder doesn't freeze up. Use it or lose it, they say.

Your injury is much worse than my shoulder was/is so others can give you hints about how soon and what kinds of ROM movements you should be doing. Just don't immobilize your shoulder for too long a period. Forget about riding for now.
 
#102 ·
Like your wells quote btw... I use that in my class whe teaching debate basics....

I can raise my hand over my head real slowly... I know this is stupid but.. I am thinking Idont ride my bike with my arms raised :)

I am feeling almost confident enough that I am internally debating to ride or not..
I ride about 80-90 km a day going to classes..
I knoe I cant do that now... but was thinking 26 km in 13 km splits...

The thing is half of my route is through peasant villages in China.... I am clearly aware that even in my safety zone I can srew up my body for the rest of my life as what got me hear was going over the bars completely unexpected from an unseen speedbumpp... I mean who the hell would have thought.

The biggest issue to me riding right now is I am thinking I should buy medical insurence as I have two children and one on the way. I naever thought I would get hurt on a bicycle... but all y iuds depend on me and yeah the streets i china are dangerous but I got taken out by a spedbump on a street with no traffic... Freak accidents I guess can happen. I mean going down ski slopes in Germany or coming down out of the mountains in colorado 50 mph on a bike thats too small doesnt kill me... it is the speed bump going 14 kph...

SO I guess I am going to have to get insurance.. But my bike is chained to my office desk and it is soooooooooo tempting... I seem to get fatter each day and cant stop drinking beer... I want to ride so bad.
 
#103 ·
Grade 3 separation

I suffered a grade 3 (left side) in a snowboarding accident in early Dec. 2009. Now Feb. 2010, I have regained motion, and strength seems to be returning. I have returned to the slopes. I still do favor it a little. My biggest concern is my arm gets achy when I'm on my feet for a period of time. Example: if I'm at the mall or shopping for an hour, my arm starts to ache. My arm also gets achy when I wear my brace skiing and snowboarding, but it won't ache if I leave the brace at home (always have a backpack on). Sleep is still uncomfortable on the left side.

My question is, will the the aching go away with time, or is it here to stay? I also have the "bump" and its hideous. Does the self-consciousness go away with time too?

Thanks, and sorry for thread jacking.
 
#104 ·
Aches and Pains

I suffered a 4th degree (the AC and CC were completely torn) back in Spring of 09 and I still have the aches and pains. I am now at a point where I can do just about everything I could do before. The only holdups I have is doing heavy resistance stuff like pullups or pushing heavy weights in the gym. When things get heavy I can feel the ligaments pulling and don't wanna risk hurting it. But I still encounter soreness on a regular basis but never any real pain.

I do remember how wearing a backpack caused minor aches and soreness early on. This went away a few months ago. I would get tightness in my shoulder on the side of the injury. I would guess that will go away for you. Just stretch it out (I twist my back opposite of the injury and it helps).

I don't wear my brace often but i did just last month when I went snowboarding and while I never felt pain (I fell a lot :) I did experience soreness. Currently I mountain bike (absolutely 0 issues and I ride pretty hard), do triathlon (sometimes swimming will cause soreness) and run (13+ miles I feel that side fatigue quicker than the other but just soreness). I don't wear my brace through any of this.

The last two weeks I've started playing basketball which I was really worried about. I play pretty hard and I wasn't sure how my shoulder would hold up because the shoulder moves alot and has some sudden jolts quite often. There are times when a quick jolt will be uncomfortable (not painful) but no lingering pain, just moderate soreness.

So to answer your question (simply from my experience), the soreness hasn't gone away yet (I'm seeing it subside through time) but the functionality is all there and there is no pain. I just stretch it out and it feels much better. I did get a massage in summer and it was AWESOME! Just play it safe and don't push it too hard, let it heal.:thumbsup:
 
#105 ·
Damn... here I am .... 4 months nealry later and I can say it is sore everyday still... not as bad... I got range of motion .. but if I raise my hand straight up... I can do it.. but it hurts. I dont know if I should do it a lot and hopefully the pain will go away? I am sick of the sore ness.. cant wait...
I can mountain bike.. mainly road bike.... its sore but works
 
#106 ·
i got hit by a car one week ago today and landed directly on the shoulder. i didn't see a doctor because i hate going, it's bad for our companies worker's comp rates, and i knew they would try to make me stay off of it. and i'd rather work if i can. just in the last day or two the swelling in my shoulder went down enough that i could really clearly follow the clavicle and make sure it wasn't broken, but i figured it wasn't because i've had very little pain the whole way through. but i finally with internet research was able to self-diagnose as a level 2 or 3, probably 3 AC separation. i wish i'd known earlier, so i could have taped it for support during that vital first week of healing. i'll still tape it from now on. here are some pictures of the injury, one week after occurence.

https://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s230/djustins/Colin%20and%20his%20injury/DSC00198.jpg
https://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s230/djustins/Colin%20and%20his%20injury/DSC00197.jpg
https://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s230/djustins/Colin%20and%20his%20injury/DSC00196.jpg
https://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s230/djustins/Colin%20and%20his%20injury/DSC00199.jpg

but the truth is... the shoulder locked up after about 20 minutes to where i couldn't lift the arm near shoulder length. by one or two days after, i could lift the arm above shoulder height again. of course with pain, but i could do it. the most painful things i've done is pulled up on the handlebars (no curb hops for me this week) and lifted something kind of heavy into the bed of a tall pickup (lifting up was fine, setting it back down in the truck a foot away from the body was what hurt). the second most painful thing i do is to swing my bike chain lock around behind me to catch it with the other hand. it's hard to switch hands with this habit, but switching helps enough to make it worth it. other than those things, i've used it pretty regularly already. so, i don't think i would consider surgery or even consultation because i've worked 9 hour days as a messenger, sometimes with up to 40lbs in the bag weighing on the shoulder, beginning about 30 minutes after the accident and through this whole week.

SO. with that long bit out, here is my final question though - after the injury does heal, what will a trauma incident to the same area do later? is there increased risk, or is there maybe decreased risk because significant scar tissue has formed and the joint isn't even there to break anymore?

p.s. the last picture is to show where my bag rests for work.
 
#1,307 ·
i got hit by a car one week ago today and landed directly on the shoulder. i didn't see a doctor because i hate going, it's bad for our companies worker's comp rates, and i knew they would try to make me stay off of it. and i'd rather work if i can. just in the last day or two the swelling in my shoulder went down enough that i could really clearly follow the clavicle and make sure it wasn't broken, but i figured it wasn't because i've had very little pain the whole way through. but i finally with internet research was able to self-diagnose as a level 2 or 3, probably 3 AC separation. i wish i'd known earlier, so i could have taped it for support during that vital first week of healing. i'll still tape it from now on. here are some pictures of the injury, one week after occurence.

https://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s230/djustins/Colin and his injury/DSC00198.jpg
https://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s230/djustins/Colin and his injury/DSC00197.jpg
https://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s230/djustins/Colin and his injury/DSC00196.jpg
https://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s230/djustins/Colin and his injury/DSC00199.jpg

but the truth is... the shoulder locked up after about 20 minutes to where i couldn't lift the arm near shoulder length. by one or two days after, i could lift the arm above shoulder height again. of course with pain, but i could do it. the most painful things i've done is pulled up on the handlebars (no curb hops for me this week) and lifted something kind of heavy into the bed of a tall pickup (lifting up was fine, setting it back down in the truck a foot away from the body was what hurt). the second most painful thing i do is to swing my bike chain lock around behind me to catch it with the other hand. it's hard to switch hands with this habit, but switching helps enough to make it worth it. other than those things, i've used it pretty regularly already. so, i don't think i would consider surgery or even consultation because i've worked 9 hour days as a messenger, sometimes with up to 40lbs in the bag weighing on the shoulder, beginning about 30 minutes after the accident and through this whole week.

SO. with that long bit out, here is my final question though - after the injury does heal, what will a trauma incident to the same area do later? is there increased risk, or is there maybe decreased risk because significant scar tissue has formed and the joint isn't even there to break anymore?

p.s. the last picture is to show where my bag rests for work.
It can be tough to tell with an external picture versus an xray. Mine looked a lot like yours and I suspected a 3 but when I made no progress in 2 months and went to the doc it turned out to be a 2 based on xrays. 8 weeks of PT - mostly using those bizarre suction cups to encourage blood flow, did wonders. This was my 3rd time on this side and I'm back to about 99% after 6 months, but it did seem easier to injure this time.
 
#107 ·
Im not a doctor.. your bone sticks up more than mine. In fact I cand figure out why my bone doesnt stick up as much as others... but I have a little bigger neck muscle so mabe I cant see it sticking up so much because its hidden? I wrapped mine up for like 5 days really hard and kept it immobile.. I couldnt even hardly walk for 4 days the pain was so intents. i kept my forarm bent parralel to my body .. I needed help just goin to the bathroom for 3 days + and taking a shower by myself was almost impossible for a week. I try not to think of myself as a *****, but all I had was some mild muscle relaxers and liike ibubufferin . I sear I thought It would never heal... but 5 months later I am 90-95% back to normal. Some advised the operation, some advised it would be cool to heal normally. Id say go natural. But I had this butterflycolarbone brace thing I wore and wrapped my body up forcing teh bone down for a week-2 weeks. Maybe thats why it is not proturudign now? I wouldnt **** with anything or try to be macho about it it will only keep it from healing and stuff. But I am serious to say I had no ****ing choice.. it was very painful.

Good luck,
 
#108 ·
that's what is so wierd to me... the bone protrudes up as far as the model/textbook cases i find on medical sites... enough to definitely hint at a level3 separation. but the pain just hasn't been there for me. certain motions cause me to say "ooo" and retract from the movement quick, but nothing constant and nothing unbearable. so i do believe in trusting your body and its signals, and if it really really needed me to lay off it'd tell me so. but my mind simply thinks that i need to let it rest. so i might trade with a coworker biking for driving (he drives usually but would like to get a little time in the sun on the bike), maybe a week or so.
 
#109 ·
Dinsmore, congratulations, your the new owner of a AC seperation. Even though you are starting to regain strength and mobility, you should still get an x-ray to see if it's a grade 2 or 3 seperation.If it's a 3 then all ligaments are torn and you can't really do any more damage, but if it's a grade 2, then another hit to that shoulder could result in an increase in severity which might require surgery.I'm not a doctor, but to me your seperation looks like a grade 2.I injured mine about six months ago (grade 3)and it looks like a golf ball growing out the top of my shoulder and I have alot of upper body mass.You look pretty thin and with the injury being pretty new doesn't look to severe. Good luck brother.
 
#110 ·
thank you for the warning about protecting if it's level 2. for as much info on the injury as there is on the internet, i found nothing at all about the risks of repeat incidents.

and, yeah, based on the low pain level, only a half day or so of limited range of motion, and the not so bad bump, it's probably level 2 as you say.

do you think med students do free x-ray clinics like they do for some other procedures? ha.
 
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