Torn AC joint?

[.:ROBBO:.]

Be kind im typing left handed here.

Just tore my Right AC joint. Grade 3 so possibly surgery. Anyone here had surgery to repair it and was it worth it? Did it heal faster than not having surgery? I have private health and insurence so costs are no issue.

Sorry this is short but im really struggling with this one handed LH typing.

 

[Ridenparadise]

Robbo you need a really good sports shoulder surgeon to help with this. An unstable AC joint is for life. Generally most orthos in the past have accepted this outcome as the stats suggested no faster "recovery" with stabilisation. However, like stabilising clavicle fractures, this is starting to change. The question is whether having a rigidly immobilised AC joint is as acceptable as a totally mobile one. Will it start to move again after the metal is removed and will it ever be removed? What would a baseball pitcher, pole vaulter, cricket bowler or swimmer do?

The other option you have is an AC separation brace. It's a tight velcro-down, padded band that attaches to a body binder and sling combination. It will not get the joint perfectly aligned, but it may allow the torn ligaments to heal with some mobility.

 

[NUMBER5]

I did my shoulder about 2 yrs ago, Grade 3 AC joint. I got referred to a specialist, Dr. Desmond Boker ( da shit when it comes to shoulders & elbows, apparently). I had to make the same decision, surgery or not. This is what he said to me: If I remember correctly, like, 80% of people who do their AC joint make a full recovery with no pain or restricted movement, Just a freaky looking shoulder. Of the people who have the surgery 10%-15% of them have continued pain &/or restricted movement. He recommended not to have surgery, go through rehab & see how it is with regards to pain & movement then decide on surgery. Alot of people will opt for the surgery cause they don't like how their shoulder looks. Also, you can have the surgery at anytime, say if your shoulder begins to bother you in 15yrs time, you can have the surgery then. Note that the surgery you have now & the surgery you have later on is 2 different types of surgery.

With regards to my shoulder, it's pretty good, I have full range of movement . On the odd occasion I get some aches & if I push things at certain angles eg, dips, fridge really hard my shoulder feels like it's going to explode but I think that's just a strengthing issue. Carrying heavy back pack can be uncomfortable as the strap presses down on the bone. Generally, I don't have any probs with my shoulder & if I did a bit of strength work on it I recon it'd be 100%.

One of my riding buddies also did his AC a little while back. He's shoulder was a little different. After recovery it'd just pop out on the rare occasion & he had some restricted movement & loss of strength (esp above his head). He recently had the surgery & going through rehab, it's too soon to know how it's going to be just yet.

Anyhow, this is just my personal experience, hope this helps.

 

[rsquared]

Sorry, this is a bit of a thread jack but I've got a real bad right shoulder due to bike crashes and football injuries. I've never had it checked out properly but was wondering if my symptoms are the same as you guys.

My shoulder gives me issues when:
- I try to through a ball. Literally can only through using my elbow and not a full shoulder rotation or I feel like I'm about to through my shoulder out of it's socket
- Carrying a bag for a long period of time. My shoulder aches quite bad and feels like it is hanging down one side
- In bike crashes where you go OTB or you put your arms out in front of you. That force upwards feels like I'm about to pop it out.
- Running long distances it begins to ache pretty bad
- Hurt it at the gym the other day doing throw downs where you have a medicine ball over your head and throw it to the ground as hard as you can. Dips are worst though.
- I find when I tweak the injury all the time, I struggle to lift my arm up and out in front of me and definitely not overhead.

Are these typical AC joint injury issues? I really should go and get it checked out by physio/doctor but am just back from living overseas and am waiting for the private health cover waiting period to finish cos physio and shiz is expensive!

Cheers. Sorry for the jack.

 

[needaride]

Hey mate, I've done both of my AC joints now, left and right. Both were grade 2, didn't have surgery for either. The bone sticks up a bit funny both sides now but both have healed well and as said above, you just get the occasional ache if you hit it or lay on it for too long. My dad did his AC joint on a moto, full separation (grade 4/5 i think?) and he also didn't have surgery. His bone sticks out so bad it looks real weird but he's got no pain or restriction. Both my type 2 injuries have taken about one month on the dot to recover to the point where I could start riding and being fully active again. If would opt for no surgery if I was you, just get into some good rehab in a month or two.

 

[.:ROBBO:.]

Had a visit with a surgeon yesterday. My mother works in orthapedics at QE2 Hospital so put me onto a good one. He is recomending to wait at least 6 months before opting for surgery and get onto a good physio. There are risks either way. He also said anyone who is experiancing pain after surgery really should be going back to their surgeon as it is not common. And full range of movement should be available after surgery.

Im heading off for an MRI shortly. Hopefully this doesn't show any more damage. There is a suspect fracture to my shoulder blade as well.

 

[Anthiron]

I am seeing a Physio weekly ATM for an AC joint injury i have had for about 3 years. It is an old climbing injury which has been aggrovated further by more climbing and MTB. Also have popped cartleige in my ribcage. Not much activity for me lately

Hope you get a positive result.

Nicko

 

[trail doc]

shoulder surgery

Be kind im typing left handed here.

Just tore my Right AC joint. Grade 3 so possibly surgery. Anyone here had surgery to repair it and was it worth it? Did it heal faster than not having surgery? I have private health and insurence so costs are no issue.

Sorry this is short but im really struggling with this one handed LH typing.

Hey matey
Im 45 & had a good stack in feb 2010. Dislocated my right shoulder.I let it go for about 5 weeks, didnt get better. Kept on riding.Went to the docs mid march. Found out 3 tears in my rotator cuff. Tried physio for a few weeks then decided to go under the knife late april.Rehab was 6 months.Got back on the bike dec 2010. All good now with no physio. Back too 100%
Good luck fela

 

[Ridenparadise]

This thread could go well in a sports med lecture. The information is really sensible. Des Bokor is a leading shoulder surgeon worldwide. N5 shows how good his advice was by remembering the details so accurately.

There is no rush with an AC joint separation and once surgery is done, it can't be undone.

Robbo, I've sent you a PM.

You too RSQ'd

 

[lordflog]

I had a complete AC separation a couple of years ago that resulted in 8 months off the bike. The initial assessment from the ER doctor was to let it go for 2 weeks to see if it would improve on its own. After two weeks of agony (& a bone sticking up like a tent unter my skin), I was referred to a shoulder specialist who 'cracked it' regarding the amount of time I'd been told to wait & my first surgery was the following evening.

First time under the knife was a beautiful little keyhole number where they drilled a hole in the bone then pinned it to the bone underneath. After three months of recovery the specialist was stretching it out to see what my range of movement was like when it 'twanged' & separated again. The next surgery gave me a big ugly scar across the shoulder & they also took a hamstring graft to tie it down heavy duty style.

Two years on & I still feel it most days. More when I've been riding a lot. I do however have a pretty good range of movement & it doesn't impact on the ride!

Good advice is hard to find on this kind of thing & Drs opinions seem to vary greatly. Trust in your Specialist is pretty important.

The value of private health insurance cannot be overstated - bloody beautiful. Income protection too.

 

[retroenduro]

Aw crap i just came of the bike this morning on a super slippery bridge over the Merri Creek and have just come back from the doctors. He said it looked like a grade 1 or 2 tear? Apparently ive got to leave it for two weeks and then see if it still hurts etc but with a trip to Rotovegas and bike buller coming up im really worried.

Has anybody done a stage 1 or 2 tear and if so what were the recovery times like? When can i at least start riding to work again? Doctor said i should be OK but should wear some body armour to protect myself but after reading some of these stories im wondering if i should get a second opinion.

Man if the council had spent $100 or so putting some grip tape/grippy paint down on the bridge deck all this would have been avoided. It is a bike path after all. So pissed off right now

 

[needaride]

Aw crap i just came of the bike this morning on a super slippery bridge over the Merri Creek and have just come back from the doctors. He said it looked like a grade 1 or 2 tear? Apparently ive got to leave it for two weeks and then see if it still hurts etc but with a trip to Rotovegas and bike buller coming up im really worried.

Has anybody done a stage 1 or 2 tear and if so what were the recovery times like? When can i at least start riding to work again? Doctor said i should be OK but should wear some body armour to protect myself but after reading some of these stories im wondering if i should get a second opinion.

Man if the council had spent $100 or so putting some grip tape/grippy paint down on the bridge deck all this would have been avoided. It is a bike path after all. So pissed off right now

There is variation even in type 1 and 2 tears so recovery time depends really on how bad it is. Depends on the pain and restriction of movement/weight bearing resistance that you can handle at the moment. The two type 2 AC injuries I have had both took about 1 month to recover to riding strength. Spent the first fortnight after injury in a sling to allow healing.

 

[Binaural]

This thread could go well in a sports med lecture. The information is really sensible. Des Bokor is a leading shoulder surgeon worldwide. N5 shows how good his advice was by remembering the details so accurately.

There is no rush with an AC joint separation and once surgery is done, it can't be undone.

Robbo, I've sent you a PM.

You too RSQ'd

I'm just recovering from a grade 3/4 separation (hit from the side by a car), and I don't agree that there is always no hurry. While many people and injuries will recover naturally and do not need surgery, if your AC (or rotator cuff) is really badly torn then you will not recover full mobility and strength without surgery. However, the kind of surgery you get depends on how quickly you get it seen to. After 2 weeks a different procedure is used that is much less effective in getting 100% function back. If you've got any doubt whether you have a severe separation, go see a shoulder specialist and ensure you've covered that base.

For myself, I had the surgery as I was in a pretty bad way - looked almost as if the shoulder were dislocated. The surgeon gave me much of the advice given above, with the additional provisio I've added. Now I've got a titanium hook plate inserted - essentially it is bolted to your collarbone, with a folded hook at the end which fits under a handy ledge on your clavicle. This holds everything together while the ligaments heal. Even with the plate still in, I have recovered 100% of my range of motion and am currently strengthening the shoulder with exercises which seem to be effective. Downside is that I will have to have surgery to remove the plate in a week's time, but I feel it has definitely been worthwhile.

 

[mattyd]

Hey mate, I did my AC about 5 years ago. Had the same choice between surgery or just letting it heal with Physio.
I opted for the Physio. Within a year I had full movement and no pain. So result has been very good. I do however have a permanent lump on my shoulder where it sticks up that can freak people out. So I just got a nice big tattoo over it to distract attention.

But otherwise I just keep it moving and do a fair bit of weight training involving deltoids and shoulder muscles and that keeps it all good.

 

[MarioM]

I had a grade 2 tear 2 and a bit years ago . Lucky for me the joint only protrudes a little . I had a couple of physio sessions , but as i had paid for a full series of regional BMX meets i was going to ride regardless . By the end of that series my shoulder was singing hail mary`s at every opportunity . Gave myself 3 months off the race circuit , got back into it and reinjured it . No more BMX racing for me now , i took up XC to get my fitness up after sitting on the sidelines and now i am good , however a crash on the weekend has seemed to aggravate it . It has certainly helped me to do a few shoulder excercises , the main one being put your arm in a horizontal chicken wing position ( best i can describe , mmm chicken wings ) slowly move your entire arm towards your back repeatedly . As you develop it use a powerball slowly at first to increase strength . This is what has helped me but everyones different .

 

[g3rg]

I had a grade 1 to 2, spent a week and a half off the bikes. Then was able to commute a bit. Didn't get back on the trails for about the 6 weeks though, but the last week of that I think I could have, but chose to rest it a bit longer. Now 4 months later its back to nearly normal, except it can still be uncomfortable to sleep on that side of the body. Physio did wonders at about the week and a half point.

 

[Burrito_Boy]

I was in a similar situation to yours a few years ago after an incident at a race. I opted for the no surgery option (wiring it back on was pretty evasive surgery in my case), did the correct rehab, and have had little to no issues with mine since... (Being about 4 years on now). Only issue i could think of is the looks of it now, as it is slightly more raised where they ac snapped off. With yourself being from Brisbane, I recommend getting all your x-rays and mri images and going to see Chris Brady at QLD sports medicine (located at the Gabba.) He has great experience in stabilizing and strengthening with and without surgery for sport applications, and can work with you to meet all the range of movements you'll need with your given sport/s and the required strength.

Any questions shoot me a Pm and i'll try to help as best i can.

 

[retroenduro]

I was in a similar situation to yours a few years ago after an incident at a race. I opted for the no surgery option (wiring it back on was pretty evasive surgery in my case), did the correct rehab, and have had little to no issues with mine since... (Being about 4 years on now). Only issue i could think of is the looks of it now, as it is slightly more raised where they ac snapped off. With yourself being from Brisbane, I recommend getting all your x-rays and mri images and going to see Chris Brady at QLD sports medicine (located at the Gabba.) He has great experience in stabilizing and strengthening with and without surgery for sport applications, and can work with you to meet all the range of movements you'll need with your given sport/s and the required strength.

Any questions shoot me a Pm and i'll try to help as best i can.

How did you know i was moving to Bris....wierd! but thanks that is an awesome bit of info! Ill look him up when i arrive next week. Looking forward to checking out the riding scene in QLD. Mt Cootha looks good. Just need to get better first!