Shoulder soft tissue injury.....help!!

bigjayuk
bigjayuk Posts: 7
edited August 2013 in Training, fitness and health
Had an altercation with a car and a wet road two weeks ago. Spent the obligatory three hours in A&E, one x-ray later - " not broken, bye!!" No advice, no physio, suppose you might say typical NHS. Not wanting to moan about everything, I need any advice/help/experiences of anyone with soft tissue injuries in the shoulder area. Appreciate not everyone is a qualified doc, just want advice on rehab etc.
Having seen the crashes in the tdf this week, feel a bit of a wuss, so please, any help......just want to get back on my bike (but safely). Jay.
Orbea (for my sins)

Comments

  • thistle_
    thistle_ Posts: 7,218
    Go to your GP and ask.

    The first time I bashed my shoulder I didn't do anything about it for months and eventually my GP sent me for physio and said I should've gone to A&E straight away to get it checked :roll: Physio said because I had not been using it as much the muscles had weakened which was causing the ongoing pain and gave me strengthening exercises to do. The waiting time to see the physio was nearly 6 months, so it was about 12 months before I even started getting any treatment for it.

    Last time (in the ice) I went to my GP the week after it happened and he said take painkillers and use it as much as possible to stop scar tissue forming. I started going swimming and it seemed to fix itself much faster (within a month or so).
  • cyco2
    cyco2 Posts: 593
    If you google RICE muscle treatment you'll get lots of advice. If you don't mind pain killers then use them then when you feel you can exercise again. A physio is best but if you want to try it, get a friend to work the muscles for you. The problem of working them yourself is they will contract whereas somebody else doing it they will stay relaxed. Also, they will get a bigger range of movement. I have had quite a few muscle injuries and I always try and imobilise it to give it a chance to heal itself before exercising. It is not remotely possible to get to a NHS physio in the time needed for a muscle injury so private is the only way to go. As soon as it has happened.
    ...................................................................................................

    If you want to be a strong rider you have to do strong things.
    However if you train like a cart horse you'll race like one.
  • amaferanga
    amaferanga Posts: 6,789
    A session with a sports physio won't cost much. Even if you did go to your GP and got a referral to a physio then you'd be waiting a long time - months probably. Quite rightly the NHS has to prioritise essential services.
    More problems but still living....
  • Hoopdriver
    Hoopdriver Posts: 2,023
    I wiped out last February on black ice and did a lot of soft tissue damage to my right shoulder. The only thing for it is to go to a physio/osteopath and pony up the money. Letting it go, waiting months for treatment, is not a sensible option. You can easily end up with a frozen shoulder that could take a long, long time to get better - if it ever does. You need to get working on it now.

    I have been going to get treatments on my shoulder for a few months now. It is MUCH better but still needs work. All up it has cost me a couple hundred quid but I regard it as money well spent.

    On the bright side, this morning I went out for 70 miles - shoulder a bit achy on return but at least I am out there riding. I wouldn't be if I had just let this go and sat around waiting.
    http://www.My-Bicycle-and-I.com
  • okgo
    okgo Posts: 4,368
    I did this in March, it hurt a lot for the first couple of weeks and gradually hurt less and less, and then after 8 weeks it was almost painless, then I fell on it again but not as badly, its taken about another 3 weeks to feel normal again.
    Blog on my first and now second season of proper riding/racing - www.firstseasonracing.com
  • bigjayuk
    bigjayuk Posts: 7
    OK, latest update. With a 'bony' swelling on my right shoulder I returned to my GP. Worried faces, and after the usual debacle another X-Ray is ordered. Locum GP mentioned a possible mis-diagnosed/missed stress fracture with a possible calcium build up (the lump). Waiting 7 days for full results. If anyone has any rehab tips or similar experiences (more from mis-shaped clavicle, less from an NHS perspective)for me would be greatly appreciated. Shoulder is fully mobile (Good range of motion) just aching after a ride of 30 minutes - only found out I shouldnt be out on my bike after my return to GP last week. Ooopsy.
    Orbea (for my sins)
  • dennisn
    dennisn Posts: 10,601
    bigjayuk wrote:
    OK, latest update. With a 'bony' swelling on my right shoulder I returned to my GP. Worried faces, and after the usual debacle another X-Ray is ordered. Locum GP mentioned a possible mis-diagnosed/missed stress fracture with a possible calcium build up (the lump). Waiting 7 days for full results. If anyone has any rehab tips or similar experiences (more from mis-shaped clavicle, less from an NHS perspective)for me would be greatly appreciated. Shoulder is fully mobile (Good range of motion) just aching after a ride of 30 minutes - only found out I shouldnt be out on my bike after my return to GP last week. Ooopsy.

    All anyone can offer is a bit of hope. I fractured the Greater Tuberosity of Humerous and suffed a partial tear of the Supra Spinatous(sp?) Tendon skiing this last January.
    It's still achey but I can ride and am planning another ski trip this winter. It's been very, very slow in getting back to normal.
    My advice, do bunches of stretching for the shoulder area(both shoulders). If you don't you may lose some or a bunch of range of motion.

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