Quantcast

RM Doctors I require your input.

N

nowlan

Monkey
Jul 30, 2008
496
2
4 weeks and 2 days ago I went off the side of my bike into a gnarly ass rock garden, put my arm out and seperated/dislocated my right shoulder. IT was a grade 3 seperation and it actually came out the back. Needless to say I missed alot of riding and went from pretty riding/gym daily to nothing but physio and wearing a sling. I feel that im making a pretty decent recovery and ive made leaps and bounds in the Range of motion department. However I litteraly couldnt do anything with my right arm for close to a week and a half and even now theirs a few things I cant do, like put my arm behind my back.
I know that alot of people who have serious shoulder dislocations have re occuring issues if you dont give it the proper time to heal and have it braced so the muscles heal properly. However ive heard that because mine has come out the back, its taking longer to heal but the chances of it happening again are slim.

Does anyone have any insight on this? And similar problems and how long it took to recover fully from it. What was it like getting back on the DH bike after?

Thanks.
 
Toshi

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,319
7,744
did you dislocate your elbow or separate your AC joint? or both? grade 3 is a term used for AC separations, which typically are painful, take a long time to heal, and are not treated with an operation because no really good operation exists for it. similarly unless you have recurrent instability of your shoulder the dislocation won't warrant an operation. physical therapy and time are the cures.

/me is an MD, and also has had his right shoulder dislocated more times than can remember, literally
 
F

Fall Guy

Chimp
Sep 4, 2007
60
0
I had/have a stage 3 separation of the shoulder. I still have a bump where the bone sticks up but not as bad as it originally was. It took a few months before I had good mobility and even longer before I cold lay on it. Now I have full motion and strength 3-4 years later.

What do you mean by it came out your back? Do you mean just a bump or did it tear through your skin?

Anyway, as son as the doctor clears you for rehab, start working it out. i did my own routine with dumbbells but if you have insurance, I always suggest you go to rehab and get the best treatment possible.

Good luck!
 
Lumagent Morple

Lumagent Morple

Monkey
Mar 4, 2003
145
0
Somewhere in Alabama
I'm assuming your AC joint was torn, and that your clavicle got projected out towards your back. My advice is, once it heals, do your physical therapy. This may sound stupid, but it's easy to skimp on PT every now then. You really need to be working your shoulder out every day though. The sooner your shoulder is back to normal, the sooner you can ride. After my shoulder dislocation (different story here), I half-heartedly did PT for about 6 or 7 months, and was back on the bike soon after that. I could have gotten back on much sooner if I committed to PT more though.
 
N

nowlan

Monkey
Jul 30, 2008
496
2
Thanks guys.
Before the accident PT was my life actually so im actually hoping to get back into that as soon as possible.
I was told by the first hospital that I was taken to off the ski hill that it was a grade 3 seperation and dislocation. My Dr the next day re took the x rays and told me pretty much the same thing, didnt say anything about what grade it was. All I know is my arm was pushed out of socket through the back and damaged my shoulder muscles but did the worst damage on the back side. No it didnt break the skin but there was bruising from the bone striking it.

Ive been doing alot of physio, started off with just getting it moving and thats it. Tonnes of acupuncture and ultra sound stuff. Now 4 weeks later im able to take my sling off and do all my everyday tasks, except I feel like theres zero strength but slowly getting better.

ITs just hard to tell how hard I can push it. Im not the most patient person in the world and id like to get back into things but dont want to end up where I was 4 weeks ago.

I j
 
ire

ire

Turbo Monkey
Aug 6, 2007
6,196
4
I’ve dislocated my left shoulder 5 times. Mine dislocates forward as my arm rotates above my head and back. After the 1st time it took a long time for my shoulder to feel remotely normal. After I finished the PT I didn’t keep up with the suggested exercises and I think that was part of my problem in the subsequent dislocations. I was told that the better condition I kept my shoulder muscles in the less chance I had of another dislocation. My advice is to keep up on the PT and don’t ride until it feels good.
 
CBJ

CBJ

year old fart
Mar 19, 2002
12,878
4,221
Copenhagen, Denmark
Zero strength is what a sling will do to any arm. I have broken both collarbones and my sling side arm was pretty worthless when I could use it again.
 
J

jimBOS

Chimp
Aug 15, 2009
6
4
If it is continually coming out then you may need to have an MRI to see if the cartilage is damaged. A tear or burr on the cartilage will result in the shoulder constantly trying to dislocate regardless of how strong the muscles become.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom