[Jump Chump]

In August I went down hard on Dirt Merchant, broke my hand, fractured my humerus, and dislocated my shoulder. I've always been a fast healer (broke both ankles at Bootleg), and I'm no frackin pansy. But it's near February and my shoulder is not even 80% yet.

In January, I started back at the climbing gym, saving money on the PT and pushing myself on the boulder problems. I feel like I'm making more progress on my own than 3 months with the professionals.

I'm hoping folks will post here with details about their disco shoulders, how it happened, what it took, and how long before the shoulder was 100%.

From what I can tell, disco shoulders are pretty much the norm with our sport, but it's a rough injury, and it would be helpful for people to know what to expect.

I'll try to pass on some of the thing I've learned in the next few post. I look forward to reading what other folks have to say.

damon

[edited to add:]

1) Whistler bike patrol was f'king awesome. Super professional and with it when I was not. Thanks to those guys for doing their job. I appreciate it.

2) Whistler ER accepts credit cards. If you do not have insurance, please make sure you have a credit card. This is not a joke.

4) Back home, and a few months later, my insurance company Blue Cross *lost* the first two postal forms. They also *lost* the 1st faxed form. We are now waiting on the 2nd faxed form to clear.

5) US insurance does not understand Canadian medical codes. Someone from the US will need to call the hospital in Canada to translate numbers to procedures.

 

[frango]

"disco shoulders" - I love that name

I have dislocated my right soulder 8 times and left one twice, I think.
Fortunatelly, not all these injuries have happend during riding bike
I started with snowboarding, walking with parents oster_oops: beach volleyball, basketball, capoeira and finally biking.
After first two times (right shoulder) I ended up in cast "t-shirt" for 6 weeks From the third time onward cast would do any good, anymore.
I had physiotherapy after 3 first dislocations of the right shoulder. It was in pretty good condition until next injury :|
As you know, cotyle is damaged every time you dislocate shoulder. Articular cartilage which is on the egde of the cotyle brakes off, so the head of the bone is not held in place. As far as I know articular cartilage doesn't grow back
What you can do, is to built muscles around joint which will hold the shoulder in place. It didn't work well in my case.
Doctor said that I needed surgery. The problem with surgery is that it's expensive and most probably mobility of the joint will be decreased.
So, I ride the bike a little bit more carefully, now

P.S. I learnt how to put the shoulder back in its place on my own Almost like Mel Gibbson in Lethal weapon

 

[Brian HCM#1]

P.S. I learnt how to put the shoulder back in its place on my own Almost like Mel Gibbson in Lethal weapon

That's cool, but can you kick someones ass 30 seconds after you pop it back into place?:biggrin:


Mel can

 

[stumpjump]

I was really hoping I would open this thread and there would be some crazy saturday night fever picture. No dice.

 

[jonKranked]

I got disco shoulders from having Saturday Night Fever. I got disco hips and disco knees too.

 

[wiscodh]

i popped my ac joint in early April of last year snowboarding, little BS 180 off a roller, caught an edge, shoulder was the first thing to hit.

It wasn’t really that bad of a dislocation but it took untill the middle of summer before i could raise my arm over my head with no pain. My collar bone is still not in the right place but I can move it with no pain. When the seasons change or its going to rain, I can feel the pain in my shoulder, like arthritis or something. So, it took about 4 months before I had full movement and no pain.

 

[ire]

I have dislocated my left shoulder 5 times, first time was riding the skatepark on my slalom bike and the other 4 times were a combination of screwing around and riding. After the first time I went through several months of PT and it took me several months before I felt remotely normal. I elected not to do the surgery because it increases the risk of arthritis down the road.

All you can do is the recommended exercises and build up the muscles around the joint to help hold the shoulder in place, and be careful with the actives you due. I can't rock climb, that would cause my shoulder to pop out. Know your limits

 

[Westy]

I've separated, dislocated and torn cartilage in both shoulders. Other than throwing like a girl/european they are fine as long as I keep up the strength training. Shoulders are the only muscle group I strength train year round.

 

[vincent]

I dislocated my left shoulder 8 times and my right one two times. I always put it back together by myself and the first time the doctor said to be careful for 3 weeks and didn't talked to me about PT so the second time I did'nt bother to see a doctor since I tought I knew what he would say. Then I started to always dislocate my left shoulder riding and then I was doing like nothing happened and raced the next day or week, I was youg and didn't know how to handle the problem at all. The truth is that I felt horrible and thought I would never have strenght anymore in my shoulder. I happened to break one of my finger and it needed surgery so I met an orthopedist who was also riding and I talked to him about my problem, he suggested PT and I swear this is the best thing I could have done since after months of PT, I never separated my shoulder again.

I try do continue my exercice on a regular basis to avoid this thing happening to me again because it really is the worst thing I felt that's for sure.

So my suggestion is to do PT as much as you can since I tried to train in a gym and it didn't helped at all. PT is much more complex than building muscle.

Hope this helps

 

[Big J]

Shoulders are the only muscle group I strength train year round.

I second that......after you heal add Arnold S. dumbbell shoulder press and high rows (one set of the press, then a set of rows, repeat) as intervals in to your routine, they'll do wonders for the weak spots.

I found a personal trainer w/ PT & Bio back ground keeps you focused on a proper recovery routine and speeds the healing.

Happy healing....

 

[davep]

i popped my ac joint in early April of last year snowboarding, little BS 180 off a roller, caught an edge, shoulder was the first thing to hit.

It wasn’t really that bad of a dislocation but it took untill the middle of summer before i could raise my arm over my head with no pain. My collar bone is still not in the right place but I can move it with no pain. When the seasons change or its going to rain, I can feel the pain in my shoulder, like arthritis or something. So, it took about 4 months before I had full movement and no pain.

That is not a dislocation, it is a seperation. Easily confused, but they are completely different injuries.

 

[drkenan]

I fractured my humerus on May 8th and I still can only hardly reach up and touch the top of a door frame. I've done a bunch of PT but I feel like it just takes a lot of time for an injury like that to heal. My only advice is to keep at it - I've seen progress but it comes in tiny increments.

 

[S.K.C.]

Jump Chump - sorry to hear about the wreck and shoulder injury. The medical info & procedures you posted at the bottom I found to be very informative. I was thinking about heading out to Whistler this year in August, so that's a lot of good info you have there. Not like I plan on stacking it - but then again who ever does?

 

[wiscodh]

That is not a dislocation, it is a seperation. Easily confused, but they are completely different injuries.

Oh snap, your exactly right. Now that you mention it thats exactly what the medic said it was. I am an idiot, nothing to see here.

 

[frango]

Brian, 30 seconds after have it back in place I can start breathing, again
It's an awful feeling, when you know it's out of joint and you have to figure out how to push it back
When have your shoulder joint already damaged it is quite common that soulder pops out when you i.e. try to reach something from under the cabinet :| Your shoulder is stretched and muscles are not tensed, so they don't hold the shoulder. Fortunatelly never happened to me.

 

[Huck Banzai]

Separated May 23rd this year - took forever to feel solid. Def not the injury to have for someone with poor discipline for PT.....

The lump finally went away - I only realized in just now.

Good luck.

 

[jonnynails]

Separated May 23rd this year - took forever to feel solid. Def not the injury to have for someone with poor discipline for PT.....

The lump finally went away - I only realized in just now.

Good luck.

Seperated mine March 2007 and just never went to the DR. and didn't realize how bad it really was until about 2 months later. Took 8 months to be able to get my arm past my ears without immense pain. Had to ice it after every ride all that summer. There is still a big lump in my shoulder and I'm sure a bunch of torn cartilage. It may not work for you as you have a different injury, but weight training is the only thing that has helped me. I had to start really light and easy, but have been able to work up to a regular routine.

Good luck with it, and yes those damm insurance companies will try and screw you every chance they get. I have rarely heard of them making anything easy. Hopefully Obama is going to help change this over time.

 

[Leppah]

i dislocated both of my shoulders snowboarding. I went to the doctor for the first one. After that, i knew what kind of physical therapy i had to do. So, every winter i work my shoulders out like a mofo just so it doesn't happen to me again. Lots of reps with little weights. Starting at my side and rotating my arm forward. Then starting at my side and rotating my arm straight out to my side, away from me. Do those with 15 pounders as much as you can and you'll strengthen them up pretty quick.

 

[WhiteRavenKS]

jeeebus, some of you have sloppy shoulders...

i knocked the pee pee out of my right shoulder in april a few years ago nose casing a tiny stupid jump and pitching OTB. i took it all in the shoulder and my neck. ten minutes later when i got home i couldnt lift my arm enough to take my shirt off. later that night my arm was glued down to my side. it took at least a month to be able to put on a shirt that wasnt button up. it took me another month before i could ride anything beyond a cruise down the block. i'd have times where i'd roll over in my sleep, piss it off and wake up in tons of pain for at least 6 months, sometimes more frequent than others.


it was next april before i could sleep on my right side again without waking up with a sore shoulder.

it wasnt until this last summer that i could ride dh feeling like my shoulders were equal in strength. so it took me 2 years before it was back to "normal" though i'd say it's never been as good as before the crash.

i used to do a fair bit of rock climbing and bouldering and i havent been able to since that crash. i tried bouldering about 6 months ago and had a lot of pain after 5 minutes, came home, put my shoes and stuff on ebay and havent climbed since.

 

[Rip]

Both my shoulders are screwed up. Only have 80% movement in my left shoulder from hitting a creek crossing almost sideways back this past May. Got full movement in my right shoulder, but it will lock up from time to time and when it unlocks, you can hear the pop across the room.

 

[davep]

Separated May 23rd this year - took forever to feel solid. Def not the injury to have for someone with poor discipline for PT.....

The lump finally went away - I only realized in just now.

Good luck.

That is good that your 'lump' went away. I would assume that means that there was at least some part of the 5 ligaments left...

I can hold mine in a way that the collar bone sinks down close to normal....but I can also pull my shoulder joint/shoulder blade foreward and under my collar bone..with the CB sticking up and over the top/back.

Never had a dislocation, but shoulders are a b1tch for sure (my 'good' one has held up through 4 broken wrists and a elbow joint fracture) ...took mine a year for 75% and another year or so to get back to 99%. Bothered me for 6-8 months sleeping on (instant wake up if I rolled to that side). Now my shoulder just mushes into my body when I lay on it and makes.



Kevin, what you are describing sounds a lot like an AC seperation...

 

[Total Heckler]

I did something similar to you originally to my right shoulder.

I went over the bars dirt jumping and dislocated and fractured my humerus. After the SUPER painful and long process of getting my arm back into the correct place (took 20 minutes and 5 hospital staff and 1 doctor yanking me in different directions) I had to keep it in a sling for about 6 weeks to let the bone heal up, then I started 8 sessions of physical therapy and took my time doing exercises I learned at home for another month or so. Looking back at it now, I kind of half assed the PT myself. The shoulder felt ok for about a year. Probably 75% and I would sometimes wake up with it partially dislocated.

Then after about a year, I was swimming and it popped out while I was 7-8 feet under water. A pretty frightening experience I must say.

I went to a specialist this time around and he said I seriously needed surgery. 3 days later I did an outpatient surgery on my shoulder. The laybrum that holds the humerus in place was torn completly off the bone and the capsule that holds the humerus was also VERY stretched out. I have 3 permanent sutures in my shoulder and 3 anchors that hold them to the bone and keep things nice and tight in there. After the surgery I started physical therapy. Total PT time was 3 months of 3 times a week for 2 hours each time. After I finished the PT, I also went to a chiropractor and had them help rebuild the muscle alignment and also did the cold lazor on the shoulder too. Now, the shoulder feels better than ever.

It actually feels better than my other shoulder now that dislocated for the first time this summer. I am now looking into having some preventative surgery on my left shoulder.

Anyways, hope this helps shine some light on your situation. I cannot stress taking PT seriously enough. And be cautious with the shoulder now, once it dislocates, it is MUCH more likely to happen again and will eventually lead to you probably needing surgery like I had.