Sorry, big whinge!

V5ade

I'm really pee'd off. Took a tumble on a trail a few weeks ago while moving over for a motor-x rider. I knew it hurt, but didn't think it was serious.
Last weekend I did a 24 hr kart race, during one of the stints my left shoulder gave up. Seen a specialist who's referred me to an orthopedic surgeon. No riding for me for the rest of the year at best :-(
I'm going to get fat, unfit and now have nothing to relieve the stress's of life. Boo!

El zilcho

Wow, that really blows, I'm sorry to hear it.

Tom Barton

As far as the fit and fat goes - it's a shoulder - can you not sit on an exercise bike and spin at least? I know it's no replacement for a proper ride but still. Hope you recover quickly!

Mental Mickey

^^^^Yep, What he said above.

Get yourself a hot looking gf and kill 2 birds with one stone by (s)exercising and relieving the stress at the same time.

MountainMonster

+1 for exercise bike, you can still sit and spin away without affecting the shoulder, and that will help keep fitness up a bit.

V5ade

Guys, thanks for the advice. Feeling a lot more positive today. Yesterday I made the mistake of listing everything that was getting me down while sinking a few beers; not a great move!
I'm going to go up to the gym today to find out what classes they do.

mak3m

what have you done to your shoulder, surgery needs to be the last option.

I played rugby for years. High tackle finished me off. Bent my collar bone and forced the end of it into my shoulder joint and took out one of the major ligaments.

at the time i was in a massive amount of pain, but after physio it tailed off, still clicks like crazy (dead ligament), can stiffen up, and there is a small amount of loss of sensation from shoulder joint to elbow.

Surgeon reccomended surgery. Depending on what your shoulder injury is obviously, but my operation would have involved removing all of the muscle from a good portion of my left hand upper torso, breaking and resetting my collar bone and repairing the shoulder joint itself. When they are all done they would reattatch all of the muscle.

After the operation I would have had to wear a body cast for approx 9 months, with my left hand in a teapot position, for the first 6 months you have to wear the cast 24/7. After wearing the cast the muscle wastage is huge and would require at least 12 months of physio to get back into shape.

physio talked me through it and showed me how surgery can be avoided

yes it would have permanently cured the problem, hopefully quoted figures at the time was 75% success rate but my physio felt it was a bit extreme for something that could be managed, before deciding to go for such invasive surgery. Apparently physios and surgeons like this are always at loggerheads.

Might not be appropriate for your injury matey and im not trying to fill you with a horror story, but would reccomend you discuss the injury with a cometant physion to get an alternative view.

gl hope it all goes well

V5ade

mak3m wrote:

what have you done to your shoulder, surgery needs to be the last option.

I played rugby for years. High tackle finished me off. Bent my collar bone and forced the end of it into my shoulder joint and took out one of the major ligaments.

at the time i was in a massive amount of pain, but after physio it tailed off, still clicks like crazy (dead ligament), can stiffen up, and there is a small amount of loss of sensation from shoulder joint to elbow.

Surgeon reccomended surgery. Depending on what your shoulder injury is obviously, but my operation would have involved removing all of the muscle from a good portion of my left hand upper torso, breaking and resetting my collar bone and repairing the shoulder joint itself. When they are all done they would reattatch all of the muscle.

After the operation I would have had to wear a body cast for approx 9 months, with my left hand in a teapot position, for the first 6 months you have to wear the cast 24/7. After wearing the cast the muscle wastage is huge and would require at least 12 months of physio to get back into shape.

physio talked me through it and showed me how surgery can be avoided

yes it would have permanently cured the problem, hopefully quoted figures at the time was 75% success rate but my physio felt it was a bit extreme for something that could be managed, before deciding to go for such invasive surgery. Apparently physios and surgeons like this are always at loggerheads.

Might not be appropriate for your injury matey and im not trying to fill you with a horror story, but would reccomend you discuss the injury with a cometant physion to get an alternative view.

gl hope it all goes well

Sorry to hear that you've had a rough time with your injury, but thanks for posting your experience; it'll help me make a decision after I've got all the options in front of me tomorrow. The physio that I saw is very senior/experienced, and someone who's made some very good calls with previous injuries in out family. He said that physio treatment isn't going to do anything for the slap lesion and that I need to see the surgeon. I've now got an appointment with a recommended shoulder specialist, so I'll see what he says.

It's really in a bad way at the moment, in fact when I was driving my wife's car today I struggled changing gear as there was no strength to move the lever to the right. When I get my car back from the dealer (another separate nightmare of 12 bent exhaust valves) I'll have no chance of changing gear in that as the shift is so much heavier. Looks like I'll be walking to work for quite some time..

mak3m

for my procedure i needed full open surgery and thats the main reason i decided against it, for a slap you might be able to get the *cant remember the name* im thinking keyhole, but anyway its the one which doesnt involve major traumer to the muscles and has a much quicker recovery time

hope it goes well with the surgeon matey, kind of puts my being pissed off cos its sunny and ive got a knackered rear hanger into perspective

Tom Barton

Laprascopic = keyhole to abdomen
thorascopic = keyhole to chest

depends what they need to do - could simply be 'minimally invasive'.

V5ade

As long as they don't do the same procedure as they're doing on my car. Apparently that's had it's head removed

ivancarlos

Try hillwalking. Unlikely that you'd do the shoulder any more harm.

Bar Shaker

Had major shoulder surgery to re-attach my left rotator cuff. No gym for 3 months (arm strapped to body) but back after that and full recovery within 12 months. Good physio really helped.

V5ade

Had the op 2 weeks ago. When they went in they found more damage than they could see on the MRI. The impact pushed the ball of the joint into the socket, destroying the lining so there in now raw bone where there should be lining :-( The following movie is what it looks like inside my shoulder http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUGeOgAXFmw

I've also now got a frozen shoulder so there will no physio for at least a month so I'm already behind the initial target of 80% recovery in 3 months.
Also the tw@t on the motor-x bike is now denying liability (at the time he said I'll pay for the damage etc.....).
hopefully karma will catch up with him soon!

MountainMonster

V5ade wrote:

Had the op 2 weeks ago. When they went in they found more damage than they could see on the MRI. The impact pushed the ball of the joint into the socket, destroying the lining so there in now raw bone where there should be lining :-( The following movie is what it looks like inside my shoulder http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUGeOgAXFmw

I've also now got a frozen shoulder so there will no physio for at least a month so I'm already behind the initial target of 80% recovery in 3 months.
Also the tw@t on the motor-x bike is now denying liability (at the time he said I'll pay for the damage etc.....).
hopefully karma will catch up with him soon!

Sounds like court may be the only option.

Nasty looking injury. I have no idea what it should look like inside there, but it looks disgusting there. Is there liquid in there or anything?

cavegiant

+1 on getting a good physio.

The important bit is to make sure the physio has taken the shoulder specialisation course.
My friend now specialises in shoulders, he did not realise how complex the joint was until he tool the course.

It is dangerous as you do not know, what you do not know, until told it!

I spent years being bounced from physio to surgeon until eventually on drugs stronger than heroin to control the pain. a shoulder specialist saw me once, worked out the problem, and gave me exercises. within weeks i was without pain killers at all!

V5ade

MountainMonster wrote:

Nasty looking injury. I have no idea what it should look like inside there, but it looks disgusting there. Is there liquid in there or anything?

I think they pump it full of fluid while they are working on it.
There are two more videos from the op that show them grinding away bone and tissue. Really weird to watch, especially when it's your own body!

cavegiant wrote:

+1 on getting a good physio.
The important bit is to make sure the physio has taken the shoulder specialisation course.
My friend now specialises in shoulders, he did not realise how complex the joint was until he tool the course.
It is dangerous as you do not know, what you do not know, until told it!
I spent years being bounced from physio to surgeon until eventually on drugs stronger than heroin to control the pain. a shoulder specialist saw me once, worked out the problem, and gave me exercises. within weeks i was without pain killers at all!

I've got a great physio, the only issue is I have to travel a bit to get to him and obviously I still can't drive. I was given Tramadol (an opiate) but this caused weird hallucinations so I'm on codeine and paracetamol. I'm allergic to anti-infamatories like Neurofen so that's limited the recovery.

I'm signed off work until 1 Jan, so I'm on basic pay and this has already cost me a lot of money. Not what you need just before Christmas, but things could always be worse.

V5ade

Started riding again a couple of weeks ago, but only gentle stuff. But last week it really started getting sore again and I've got less movement. Hmmm.

Saw the physio on Monday and was told that the damaged/repaired area is inflamed again. I have to totally rest it for a week, then go back so they can assess the situation.

How long do shoulders take to repair??? I had the op on 6th December last year!

Really getting pi$$ed off with this now. GRRRRRRR.

cycleschemie

Every injury is different, unfortunately.

I fractured the head of my left humerus in November last year. No surgery etc needed as the fracture was contained. I'm left with some muscle damage, and possible a rotator cuff tear, but fortunately for me I can still ride, and it actually helps with the pain.

But I feel for you, I really do. Like yourself, I can't take non-steroidal drugs, so paracetamol and codeine it has to be, which isn't ideal and to be frank didn't really help.

It will get better in time, thats for def, and you've got a good physio, which helps more than anything.

Here's a fitness tip- go and buy some running shoes and get a few miles in when you feel cramped. Its boring as hell compared to getting out on a bike, but surprisingly effective, and will keep up some aerobic fitness for you, as well as keeping the legs in order. It will add to your abilities too, when you get declared fit to ride again- cross-training is remarkably effective.

mak3m

hang in there matey shoulders can take a long time to heal up, even more to build them back up again, all the supporting muscle needs to get back into shape

V5ade

Thanks for the advice. Yesterday was such a great, sunny day it seemed even more frustrating. I did all the stuff I normally shirk when riding, like gardening, cleaning the cars etc. Then got drunk in the evening and had a row with my wife :?
I'm blaming that on the shoulder.....