AC ligament tear

duckson

Was at Manchester Velodrome on Thursday and went over the handlebars when setting off on a timed lap (cleat seemed to pop out of my left foot, foot went into front wheel and over i went landing on my right shoulder mainly).

Went to A&E yesterday and after an xray the diagnosis was a partially seperated AC joint (you could see the end of the collar bone was lifted slightly in comparison to where it should be, i also have a lump on my shoulder from where its sticking up a bit).

Has anyone had this happen to them and how long before you were able to be back on the bike?

turnerjohn

yep...I've had both go due to being knocked off by idiots who don't look when turning :evil: ....anyways....there are different serverities of AC joint displacement so that will make a difference. I started back running a week after to keep myself motivated although the shoulder did hurt a bit. Bike setup makes a massive difference (mines race so didn't help !) but was back doing "easy" rides after a few weeks...tho I probably shouldn't have done !
Best advise is (as usual) listen to your body, a little discomfort was ok, but if it hurts then stop and rest.
Get yourself a good physio. Biggest advise is to keep it active or it will stiffen and you def dont want that !
I found mine tended to droop / slump forward - try squeezing your shoulders and keeping them back that helps loads.
Keep it active and mobile and your be fine !

duckson

Thanks.
They didnt give me a grading but from this link:-
http://radiopaedia.org/articles/acromio ... ry-grading
i'd say mine was a 2 as the clavicle is lifted but not above the acromion.

What grading was yours?

Just being able to get dressed normally and drive is the first things then i'll think about bike!

turnerjohn

my last one (year in December) was a borderline 2 and stuck right up ! although it improved to a one after some exersise.

biggest bit of advise is to keep it moving and don't let it droop / slauch forward - learnt my lesson from when I did the other side in and made a big improvement when same happended on the other side. Would also get some physio if you can; their help to retrain the muscles which go into lockout as the joint pushes everything out of line and makes the shoulder very weak.

Yeh getting dressed is a nightmare (shirts at least make things easier !) just be real careful on the driving as your arm won't be as strong as your used to and any sudden movement could set it off again.....go easy and rest it !

duckson

Yea i'm off work till sometime next week then will access whether i can drive or not, if not i'll have to go to the docs to get signed off until i can.
Was told by a&e to keep it in a sling for 2-3 days so will do that then work on it from there, if i'm not feeling its getting better/stronger i'll look into physio....saying that its been a bit better every day since i've done it which has made me optimistic i wont be crippled for too long!

dennisn

From my limited experience all I can say is - keep the shoulder as well stretched as you can with exercises and therapy. And keep at it even after it has gotten better. If you don't you run the risk of losing some or a lot of mobility.

duckson

Thanks.
Disposed of the sling today and every day has been an improvement, can even hold stuff that i couldnt the previous day. Just trying to do normal menial things to keep it moving to start with, dont want to over do something.
Basics such as reaching up/down is hard and even washing my hands (rubbing them together with soap) makes it "click" or feel like something is going to pop and i have to stop.....but i'm quite surprised how much the movement and strength has come back in 2 days.
Will keep it moving and pushing it within reason.

dennisn

duckson wrote:

Thanks.
Disposed of the sling today and every day has been an improvement, can even hold stuff that i couldnt the previous day. Just trying to do normal menial things to keep it moving to start with, dont want to over do something.
Basics such as reaching up/down is hard and even washing my hands (rubbing them together with soap) makes it "click" or feel like something is going to pop and i have to stop.....but i'm quite surprised how much the movement and strength has come back in 2 days.
Will keep it moving and pushing it within reason.

Hurt my left shoulder skiing last January. It's improved enough for me to get back to "normal". Whatever normal was.
One thing though, if I quickly extend the left hand, as if to catch something falling, OMG. I sometimes get a shot of pain that takes my breathe away. So don't be alarmed if not everything returns to normal right away.

Your "within reason" is right on the mark.

sheffsimon

duckson wrote:

Thanks.
Disposed of the sling today and every day has been an improvement, can even hold stuff that i couldnt the previous day. Just trying to do normal menial things to keep it moving to start with, dont want to over do something.
Basics such as reaching up/down is hard and even washing my hands (rubbing them together with soap) makes it "click" or feel like something is going to pop and i have to stop.....but i'm quite surprised how much the movement and strength has come back in 2 days.
Will keep it moving and pushing it within reason.

I had a grade 3 AC separation last year, knocked off the bike. I think I had a couple of weeks off the bike, and had some physio privately.

Still have a bump in my shoulder and it stiffens up a bit, but other than that it feels no different.

I think the advice I had was to use it as much as possible, and it was OK to ditch the sling as soon as I felt happy to do so. The hardest thing was pulling a t-shirt on and off!