Shoulder Separation Recovery Time? - Page 2 - Snowboarding Forum

roboelmo · 01-25-2012, 12:13 PM

Thanks for all you quick responses. But just to clarify, I had a separated shoulder and not a dislocated shoulder.

So now I am wondering wondering if I can still separate it agian? Because I orginally thought that once separated (the two ligaments torn), the only way of putting it back together is to have sugery and have the collar bone and shoulder blade screwed together.

I am really considering just going to mountain and staying out of the park (for a least two more weeks). And hopefully I wont fall.

Riley212 · 01-25-2012, 12:20 PM

the way i understood it is then when you ripped the tendons apart, ligament and scar tissue fills the space and reconnects them, it is like growing a spiderweb of ligament and mucsle, moving it durring this process fucks it up. in a month or so you will go from "ow every movement hurts" to "hey this isn't too bad" in about a week span. then you can go do stuff again.

ShredLife · 01-25-2012, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roboelmo

Thanks for all you quick responses. But just to clarify, I had a separated shoulder and not a dislocated shoulder.

So now I am wondering wondering if I can still separate it agian? Because I orginally thought that once separated (the two ligaments torn), the only way of putting it back together is to have sugery and have the collar bone and shoulder blade screwed together.

I am really considering just going to mountain and staying out of the park (for a least two more weeks). And hopefully I wont fall.

yes you can.

ligaments CAN heal on their own, but it is an extremely slow process because they don't have the blood supply of a bone or a muscle. my uncle is an orthopedic surgeon and he (without seeing my injury or xrays) dismissed the idea of surgery for my level 3 separation saying that the surgery would be more traumatic for the joint than just rehabbing it, and added that the surgery doesn't have a great success rate. <<< he has a huge ego and thinks he knows everything so take all of that with grains of salt.

AFAIK the best thing to do is rest it, not re-injure it, and strengthen it as much as you can by building up the muscles in the area

As far as my situation, i'm sure i may have prolonged the issue by riding on it so soon but the biggest obstacle in my recovery has been the fact that i'm a skinny dude and i just don't have big shoulders. not a ton of muscle there to begin with, so it's been hard to get to the point where i can try and build it.

roboelmo · 01-25-2012, 12:29 PM

Thanks Riley212 and ShredLife.

I think im at the point where moving it "dosen't feel too bad". But I think I will wait another two weeks before I head to the mountains. Just to let the ligaments heal more.

Plus I think I am going to have to start hitting the gym again to strengthen my shoulder. I am going go from 50 lb dumbell shoulder presses, to 2 lb shoulder presses with my right arm. HAHA

ShredLife · 01-25-2012, 12:35 PM

don't try and this:

huckfin · 01-25-2012, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShredLife

shoulder dislocation and an AC tear (separated shoulder) are two distinctly different injuries.

your shoulder joint does not dislocate in an AC tear - although i would imagine it's possible to ALSO tear your AC as you dislocate a shoulder... but they're different things.

if you repeatedly dislocate your shoulder you'll eventually rip your AC as i did. the AC repair was the 3rd procedure i could not recollect at the time of my original post.

roboelmo · 02-03-2012, 10:53 AM

Just to put an close to this tread.

First of all, I want to thank everyone for their replies agian.

It's been exactly three weeks since my injruy. And I just saw my doctor. They looked at my X-rays and said, the seperation is still a bad seperation and were considering sugery. And then they did some mobility test, and they were shocked at how normal my movement was now. They basically told me I don't need sugery, I don't need to start physio, and I can go back to anything could do before my injury (but just take it a bit easy). I was told it I basically almost fully healed.

So I am no doctor. But I will just let you guys know what I did to make the healing process faster. For the first week, I was in my slig and I iced it like crazy, and took it easy. Week 2-3 I was out of the sling and I alternated it between icing and heating. I also did excercises of rising my arms to the front and side. I ate any thing with vitamen C, cause its suppose to help with soft tissue rebuilding. Also I am only 22 years old, which might have also spead of the healing process.

Looks like I am going to hit the slopes this weekend!

josh · 03-12-2012, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShredLife

i did mine about two years ago, and there was really good snow the day after or maybe two days after i did it so i was riding powder in a sling, high on pills. had to ride real conservatively and not fall tho cuz even landing on your ass will jar you enough for it to really hurt.

if you can ride all day without falling, as long as you ride mellow, then you're probably good to go.

that said - i still have not fished or rowed my boat since it happened (youtube 'spey casting' and you'll see the type of fly fishing i do and how hard it would be with a jacked up shoulder). i am just now getting to the point where i can do things that require strength out of the joint.

even two years later there is still some crunchiness in there, and it still hurts on long drives and some other stuff. i don't think my shoulder will ever be like it was before i did this. i think the best thing to do is try and build up more muscle there, but its hard to do when it hurts to lift weight with it.

i wish i had better things to say about it....

but it hasn't kept me off the hill too much - mostly other things in life that it makes suck - or impossible

Shred, did you get an MRI on that shoulder and are you sure you didn't partially tear your rotator cuff? It shouldn't hurt two years later.

ShredLife · 03-12-2012, 01:49 PM

Have not had an mri but I have had a torn rotator cuff on my other shoulder and this is different... Crepitus of the collar bone is what is making it hurt.... It's not held down solidly if at all anymore

blue_noise · 03-12-2012, 07:57 PM

i had shoulder seperation about 8 weeks ago. my physio told me, my season is over. but i didnt really listen to him. after 1 month i jump back on my board. i rode really mellow. everytime i ride i would ask my wife to tape me up. its really simple, just some sport tape you can find in drugstore. i watch a couple video on how to tape up my shoulder on youtube. i even bought a harness from ebay to support my shoulder even more. yesterday i had a pretty big fall landed right on my shoulder. for about a minute i felt some pain. i check if my shoulder pop out. it didnt, so i was quite relieve. i had full range of movement, just little bit of pain like muscle strain today. i would recommend wait at least a month, then tape it up and wear a shoulder harness till your full strength is back to you arm.

01-25-2012, 12:20 PM	#12 (permalink)
Riley212 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: North Seattle Posts: 475	the way i understood it is then when you ripped the tendons apart, ligament and scar tissue fills the space and reconnects them, it is like growing a spiderweb of ligament and mucsle, moving it durring this process fucks it up. in a month or so you will go from "ow every movement hurts" to "hey this isn't too bad" in about a week span. then you can go do stuff again. __________________ Good gear doesn't make you better; good gear makes it easier to get better

01-25-2012, 12:29 PM	#14 (permalink)
roboelmo Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Calgary Posts: 55	Thanks Riley212 and ShredLife. I think im at the point where moving it "dosen't feel too bad". But I think I will wait another two weeks before I head to the mountains. Just to let the ligaments heal more. Plus I think I am going to have to start hitting the gym again to strengthen my shoulder. I am going go from 50 lb dumbell shoulder presses, to 2 lb shoulder presses with my right arm. HAHA Last edited by roboelmo; 01-25-2012 at 12:32 PM.

01-25-2012, 12:35 PM	#15 (permalink)
ShredLife The Rooster King Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Oregon Posts: 2,332	don't try and this: __________________ get the hell off my lawn.

03-12-2012, 01:49 PM	#19 (permalink)
ShredLife The Rooster King Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Oregon Posts: 2,332	Have not had an mri but I have had a torn rotator cuff on my other shoulder and this is different... Crepitus of the collar bone is what is making it hurt.... It's not held down solidly if at all anymore __________________ get the hell off my lawn.

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01-25-2012, 12:13 PM	#11 (permalink)
roboelmo Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Calgary Posts: 55	Thanks for all you quick responses. But just to clarify, I had a separated shoulder and not a dislocated shoulder. So now I am wondering wondering if I can still separate it agian? Because I orginally thought that once separated (the two ligaments torn), the only way of putting it back together is to have sugery and have the collar bone and shoulder blade screwed together. I am really considering just going to mountain and staying out of the park (for a least two more weeks). And hopefully I wont fall.

02-03-2012, 10:53 AM	#17 (permalink)
roboelmo Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Calgary Posts: 55	Just to put an close to this tread. First of all, I want to thank everyone for their replies agian. It's been exactly three weeks since my injruy. And I just saw my doctor. They looked at my X-rays and said, the seperation is still a bad seperation and were considering sugery. And then they did some mobility test, and they were shocked at how normal my movement was now. They basically told me I don't need sugery, I don't need to start physio, and I can go back to anything could do before my injury (but just take it a bit easy). I was told it I basically almost fully healed. So I am no doctor. But I will just let you guys know what I did to make the healing process faster. For the first week, I was in my slig and I iced it like crazy, and took it easy. Week 2-3 I was out of the sling and I alternated it between icing and heating. I also did excercises of rising my arms to the front and side. I ate any thing with vitamen C, cause its suppose to help with soft tissue rebuilding. Also I am only 22 years old, which might have also spead of the healing process. Looks like I am going to hit the slopes this weekend!

03-12-2012, 07:57 PM	#20 (permalink)
blue_noise Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 12	i had shoulder seperation about 8 weeks ago. my physio told me, my season is over. but i didnt really listen to him. after 1 month i jump back on my board. i rode really mellow. everytime i ride i would ask my wife to tape me up. its really simple, just some sport tape you can find in drugstore. i watch a couple video on how to tape up my shoulder on youtube. i even bought a harness from ebay to support my shoulder even more. yesterday i had a pretty big fall landed right on my shoulder. for about a minute i felt some pain. i check if my shoulder pop out. it didnt, so i was quite relieve. i had full range of movement, just little bit of pain like muscle strain today. i would recommend wait at least a month, then tape it up and wear a shoulder harness till your full strength is back to you arm.