Separated shoulder - what was your path to recovery?

[Frosty]

Crashed in early February 2013, arm was in a sling for 5 weeks (just like the doctor told me to do - but I also because I made the most of it and milked a few people for favours). 

 

After seeing the doc at 6 weeks, he was happy with the recovery and said I should see a physio (also 6 weeks, twice a week).

 

On 1 May 2013, I turned the pedals for the first time. I still have the ugly bump at the AC Joint, and it still hurts uncomfortable when I sleep on that side, but it's getting easier to bear the discomfort. 

 

As far as pain discomfort while riding, every now and then I need to stretch or move the joint around while riding but nothing that forces me to stop.

[taito]

I had the surgery after a grade 3 ,the reason for not too much pain is the nerves are severed.I ripped all 3 tendons .

Dr Polderman fixed me good.

 

also put a tendon from my arm into the shoulder .

bottom line is to have the level of injury checked by a specialist

[devocean]

I hit the deck at 54km/h on Sunday and have what the doc said was, together with a fractured rib, a "slight AC joint separation". I'm  not sure what grade "slight" would fall under, but she didn't seemed too phased about it and I didn't ask her any questions as I felt she'd just tell me to HTFU.

 

Assuming its not that serious of a separation, how long should you wait before starting rehab exercises? Currently hurts to lift arm higher than shoulder although if i do it slowly i can, but other than that, don't feel like a sling is necessary.

 

On a more serious note...it's 6 weeks until DC, think it'll be OK to ride by then?

[V12man]

I hit the deck at 54km/h on Sunday and have what the doc said was, together with a fractured rib, a "slight AC joint separation". I'm not sure what grade "slight" would fall under, but she didn't seemed too phased about it and I didn't ask her any questions as I felt she'd just tell me to HTFU.

 

Assuming its not that serious of a separation, how long should you wait before starting rehab exercises? Currently hurts to lift arm higher than shoulder although if i do it slowly i can, but other than that, don't feel like a sling is necessary.

 

On a more serious note...it's 6 weeks until DC, think it'll be OK to ride by then?

Do yourself a favour and put it in a sling as much time as possible- even on a trainer,and definitely don't ride on the road till you are pain free lifting your arm above your shoulder - stick to trainer work only - you may make DC but realistically you should start looking for a fallback reserve - you can't ride in a tight bunch without full control.

[Patchelicious]

I hit the deck at 54km/h on Sunday and have what the doc said was, together with a fractured rib, a "slight AC joint separation". I'm not sure what grade "slight" would fall under, but she didn't seemed too phased about it and I didn't ask her any questions as I felt she'd just tell me to HTFU.

 

Assuming its not that serious of a separation, how long should you wait before starting rehab exercises? Currently hurts to lift arm higher than shoulder although if i do it slowly i can, but other than that, don't feel like a sling is necessary.

 

On a more serious note...it's 6 weeks until DC, think it'll be OK to ride by then?

What batch were you riding in?

[tjommies3]

I haven't read all the comments here but I pick up that people are pro natural healing, surgery as a last resort. I am a fan of this too but I wonder if others who choose to let the body heal naturally also take flu shots, or any form of unnatural medication. I hope that all those who have had recent crashes are fully fit sooner than later, but please be patient with your recovery.

[devocean]

What batch were you riding in?

 

Wasn't even racing. Was coming down Red hill (Scarborough side) after it'd been raining. Front wheel just disappeared and I was hardly even cornering. Road was like an ice rink.

[TALUS]

Hi I am Talus. It is 2 years since last I have screwed my shoulder up. I played semi-pro rugby until 36y and then started a hobby for which I am completely unsuited for-cycling. I have regularly undone my AC joints and ultimately labrum and biceps tendon (slap lesion). I also have a license to cut these injuries. My advise is to NOT operate AC joints except in extreme cases but to strongly consider surgery in any repeated (twice in a year or total of 3 times) true shoulder dislocations. Get a shoulder surgeon's opinion and then physio like hell... Heckrood Laubscher in Rosebank got me back to benching 120kg sets within 10 weeks.

[V12man]

Hi I am Talus. It is 2 years since last I have screwed my shoulder up. I played semi-pro rugby until 36y and then started a hobby for which I am completely unsuited for-cycling. I have regularly undone my AC joints and ultimately labrum and biceps tendon (slap lesion). I also have a license to cut these injuries. My advise is to NOT operate AC joints except in extreme cases but to strongly consider surgery in any repeated (twice in a year or total of 3 times) true shoulder dislocations. Get a shoulder surgeon's opinion and then physio like hell... Heckrood Laubscher in Rosebank got me back to benching 120kg sets within 10 weeks.

So you should be able to one arm press me then... almost... dropping almost 1/3 of my body weight has helped my cycling and binned my benchpress and rugby playing careers completely... This might also work for you?..

[TALUS]

So you should be able to one arm press me then... almost... dropping almost 1/3 of my body weight has helped my cycling and binned my benchpress and rugby playing careers completely... This might also work for you?..

Jeez Mate, my back is killing me at the moment and I KNOW that it will be better if I can drop some weight. I beg you: some REAL life tips/pointers.... Please. PS:My core is rock solid.

[V12man]

Jeez Mate, my back is killing me at the moment and I KNOW that it will be better if I can drop some weight. I beg you: some REAL life tips/pointers.... Please. PS:My core is rock solid.

Pointers... right..

 

1 - live life a little hungry - all the time

2 - figure out the things that drive weight gain for you - so for me beer and milk (cappuchino) influence my weight quickly (no real idea why, but they do) and drop the quantities of those.

3) use measures for things- I started measuring breakfast cereal using a measuring spoon for instance and just reduce the quantity to a point I can manage till lunch (often barely )

Drop refined sugar completely - as far as possible in everything- coffee tea, cool drinks etc. I even swapped out the sugar spoon to a mustard spoon... the only thing I add sugar to is pro nutro- 1 spoon only and oats porridge. I also avoid sweeteners - they give me angina.

4) I manage portion sizes smaller - especially for lunch and dinner

5) I do training rides on minimal cards- water or diluted drinks - and have swapped from longer rides to shorted higher intensity rides- mostly on my ss with ride group that rides road bikes.

When I do gym work then I do bigger sets- 20 in a set minimum - don't go to gym a lot,and I do ride at lunchtime a couple of days a week - even if it means 2 rides in 1 day.

6) a minor obsession with watching a scale

7) The influence of emotional state on eating habits - I know I eat when I am stressed etc - so I try to actively manage that when stressed as far as possible - the temporary mood elevation from eating exists... not succumbing to the temptation is a personal challenge

 

And finally - I find it a lot easier to not buy things than not eat them - so if there is no chocolate in the house then it's easy to not eat it - if it's there it will be eaten... fortunately my wife is diabetic so some of this helps her too.

 

I will add that this has been a 25 year mission so far and there have been periods of success as well as abject failure- having kids caused a 12kg upswing it took a few years to undo...

[TALUS]

Pointers... right..

 

1 - live life a little hungry - all the time

2 - figure out the things that drive weight gain for you - so for me beer and milk (cappuchino) influence my weight quickly (no real idea why, but they do) and drop the quantities of those.

3) use measures for things- I started measuring breakfast cereal using a measuring spoon for instance and just reduce the quantity to a point I can manage till lunch (often barely )

Drop refined sugar completely - as far as possible in everything- coffee tea, cool drinks etc. I even swapped out the sugar spoon to a mustard spoon... the only thing I add sugar to is pro nutro- 1 spoon only and oats porridge. I also avoid sweeteners - they give me angina.

4) I manage portion sizes smaller - especially for lunch and dinner

5) I do training rides on minimal cards- water or diluted drinks - and have swapped from longer rides to shorted higher intensity rides- mostly on my ss with ride group that rides road bikes.

When I do gym work then I do bigger sets- 20 in a set minimum - don't go to gym a lot,and I do ride at lunchtime a couple of days a week - even if it means 2 rides in 1 day.

6) a minor obsession with watching a scale

7) The influence of emotional state on eating habits - I know I eat when I am stressed etc - so I try to actively manage that when stressed as far as possible - the temporary mood elevation from eating exists... not succumbing to the temptation is a personal challenge

 

And finally - I find it a lot easier to not buy things than not eat them - so if there is no chocolate in the house then it's easy to not eat it - if it's there it will be eaten... fortunately my wife is diabetic so some of this helps her too.

 

I will add that this has been a 25 year mission so far and there have been periods of success as well as abject failure- having kids caused a 12kg upswing it took a few years to undo...

Now this is worthy of a thread on its own ! Thx mate. No gibberish just commonsense. Starting now...

[HOEKVLAG]

Pointers... right..

 

1 - live life a little hungry - all the time

2 - figure out the things that drive weight gain for you - so for me beer and milk (cappuchino) influence my weight quickly (no real idea why, but they do) and drop the quantities of those.

3) use measures for things- I started measuring breakfast cereal using a measuring spoon for instance and just reduce the quantity to a point I can manage till lunch (often barely )

Drop refined sugar completely - as far as possible in everything- coffee tea, cool drinks etc. I even swapped out the sugar spoon to a mustard spoon... the only thing I add sugar to is pro nutro- 1 spoon only and oats porridge. I also avoid sweeteners - they give me angina.

4) I manage portion sizes smaller - especially for lunch and dinner

5) I do training rides on minimal cards- water or diluted drinks - and have swapped from longer rides to shorted higher intensity rides- mostly on my ss with ride group that rides road bikes.

When I do gym work then I do bigger sets- 20 in a set minimum - don't go to gym a lot,and I do ride at lunchtime a couple of days a week - even if it means 2 rides in 1 day.

6) a minor obsession with watching a scale

7) The influence of emotional state on eating habits - I know I eat when I am stressed etc - so I try to actively manage that when stressed as far as possible - the temporary mood elevation from eating exists... not succumbing to the temptation is a personal challenge

 

And finally - I find it a lot easier to not buy things than not eat them - so if there is no chocolate in the house then it's easy to not eat it - if it's there it will be eaten... fortunately my wife is diabetic so some of this helps her too.

 

I will add that this has been a 25 year mission so far and there have been periods of success as well as abject failure- having kids caused a 12kg upswing it took a few years to undo...

Brilliant post with some good practical advice that would also add value in the Bikehub weight loss challenge thread.