Anyone had a broken shoulder? (Human.)

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philamena

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So I fell off on Weds and broke my shoulder :(

I'm steaming about it because the horse was just coming back into work after a long lay off and now just as she's ready, I'm the one holding us up!

The break is in the humerus but right at the top below the ball bit in the joint. Apparently it's in 'quite a few pieces' and I'm going in next week to have it plated.

Can anyone give me hope about having had anything similar and a sense of how long it might take to be useful again? I know every situation's different, but can anyone throw me a bone?!
 
I haven't broken my shoulder but I did have my leg plated in November so I can relate.
The general consensus seems to be 12 weeks. I'm on week 14 and just starting to get back in the saddle but I injured my knee.

At the other end of the scale, when I broke my radius ten years ago I was back in the saddle two weeks after having a plate and six screws inserted.

Hope your op goes well and you're not too sore. :)
 
Ouch...poor you, that must hurt.
I broke my collarbone and it was plated. I was back in action after 2 months for gentle hacking and 3 months for anything more energetic.
I suspect that shoulder may take a bit longer to get sorted . Hugs..
 
I fractured my shoulder falling off back when I was 16. It wasn't as bad as yours as just a fracture. Bloody hurt though! They couldn't do anything for mine I just had to wait. Took about 8 weeks if I remember rightly. I had to get someone else to look after my horse for that time and had to sleep propped up on pillows.
 
Daughter had a crack in her shoulder blade from a fall - 6 weeks before she could get back on.

Sorry, how rude of me - also meant to say commiserations & hope you heal up ok!

LD
 
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I did it when I was 9/10, but not bad enough to be plated, just collar and cuff for 8 weeks. Being a daft small child though, I was riding the very next day and didn't miss any riding the whole time :o
I now have an extremely rickety shoulder that likes to pops in and out of the socket with alarming regularity :D
 
Thanks for the info guys. The woman at the fracture clinic said min 12 weeks. It's sounding like you guys with similar experiences would concur. Woe is me!

Still, could be worse, could have landed on my swede and been in real trouble!
 
kirstyhen said:
I did it when I was 9/10, but not bad enough to be plated, just collar and cuff for 8 weeks. Being a daft small child though, I was riding the very next day and didn't miss any riding the whole time :o
I now have an extremely rickety shoulder that likes to pops in and out of the socket with alarming regularity :D
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Yikes! There is literally no way I could do that sadly, would pass out from the pain I reckon! Plus I still have choice concussion symptoms and have to hold my head straight or get vertigo.

A friend of mine was back on with a broken wrist after 4 weeks, still in a cast. That made me feel a bit queasy!
 
I broke my shoulder as a child, and remember it being a really slow process. It was getting the arm moving again that was the issue, so do the physio!

I have also had 3 ops for a shoulder that kept dislocating - half of the problems possibly came from not resting it enough in the first place, so don't rush. I now have aches and pains in it all winter. You don't realise you've only one body and one of each bone/ligament etc until you've trashed them! Give it as long as it needs. My horse had nearly two years off work and is the same as ever...

Get well soon.xx
 
philamena said:
Yikes! There is literally no way I could do that sadly, would pass out from the pain I reckon! Plus I still have choice concussion symptoms and have to hold my head straight or get vertigo.

A friend of mine was back on with a broken wrist after 4 weeks, still in a cast. That made me feel a bit queasy!
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The hospital actually sent me home saying I had bruised it, so when I rode I had no idea it was broken, it hurt but thought I was just being a bit sensitive! Then they rang to get me back in as it was broken, I figured by that point I had already ridden, I may as well keep going!

I broke my elbow a year or two later, think I stopped riding for that one, although I did drive a 5 year old shire around the CLA game fair's main arena... :D
 
I broke the ball of my shoulder and top of my arm into lots of pieces. Though sore when broken, it was agonising after the surgery, as I had lots of injury trauma to the site. Once plated with 10 pins it and lots of physio (couldn't lift my arm) it took about 3 months to recover, I am not good with anasethic and felt quite seasick during the recovery period. Stick with your physio as it really does wonders. I am back riding and the only niggle I get is one muscle which is slightly tight, swimming seems to be sorting that out. I tend to hitch my shoulder up rather than lift it correctly, and have a slight weakness in it, other than that my shoulder has made a full recovery. I am backing a young horse and wear a body protector with shoulder protection, if I land on my shoulder again I am hoping that this will take some of the impact. Has anyone with this type of injury landed on it again and how did it hold up?
 
Try to keep it moving and dont just do the physio , I have recently stuffed up my sholder ,big time .Tore the nerves out of my neck.As soon as they re grew (thank God) I was down at my local gym and got a nice young lad to draw me up a chart of serious exercises. OMG , we tried all the machines and it was a bit of a shock to me to be honest. There were all these testosterone fueled body builders puffing and grunting at their exercises ,with enourmous weights . And there was me ,puffing and grunting just trying to lift the bloody bar without any weight. But you can only do what you can do.The thing is that you are ,as an equestriene , basicly an athlete not a couch potatoe, you need to get out there asap and do some serious sports exercise . PS I hate the bloody bike and rowing machine:mad:
 
I did mine in exactly the same place, although mine was just a simple (compound) fracture so nothing needed to be done other than wear a sling. Because it was just in a sling I was able to move it when I could and rest it the rest of the time I think I (naughtily) got back on a horse at about 4 1/2 - 5 weeks. Riding properly (although my right arm was much weaker) at 5-6 weeks.

I was going stir crazy though and feeling quite depressed. You can do more than you think as long as your not putting weight in your hand as it's resting in a kind of handy place haha. I don't know much about plating but maybe that will help with the weight issue (I remember the rest of my arm being so heavy!) My flexibility took a while though and was quite a sore process, I don't think I could painlessly just put my arm straight up in the air for about 5-6 months, although I could get it straight up for my last check up which was I think 2-2 1/2 months after I did it.
 
Thanks guys, it's really useful to hear how it was for you. And strangely helpful to hear you talk about it in the past tense, which is where I want mine to be haha. I'm trying to look on the bright side and as horsey basically needs 3 months walking to come back into work after her own lay off, I'll be paying someone else to do that and hopefully will have a halfways-fit horse to get back onto.
 
Notes taken about taking physio seriously, I definitely will. And when I naturally try to turn down the painkillers after the op (why do we do that? It's like we think if we don't take them we're not admitting defeat?! But I always do it...!) I will take them and be grateful!
 
Ouch OP, hope it heals quickly and well!

I broke my wrist not a few pieces last November. Not even on a horse! Just in the stable with a very grumpy one. I stepped back quickly (thought I was going to be kicked), tripped on a pile of rubber mats, turned, fell, landed on my right hand, bending my wrist all the way over. The strong metal watch strap finished it off nicely :rolleyes::eek:

Plated and x number of screws put in the next day.

Not ridden yet. Aiming for next Saturday. Registra warned of the horrors of bashing it again whilst it was plated and settling down, so, as it's my right hand and I kind of need it(!), I've stuck with his timescale of three months.

Definitely take the anti-inflamatories and do the physio!

Expect there to be pain and deep aches, it will pass. Obviously if the pain is unusual or continuous check with the clinic.

I'm just starting to feel like my hand and wrist are normal again, though I have some limited movement and it still hurts at times, it's definitely better than it was! The scar is a bit meh :o, but can't do anything about that other than Bio-oil twice a day and hope it fades.
 
I didn't break my shoulder per se, but broke my humerus just below the joint when I was a kid. I was lucky as, by fluke, a top ortho surgeon was visiting the isolated area I lived in and he advised against plating (pretty crude back then!), just set the ends together and built a 'gravity cast' with a weight in the elbow and strapping to keep tightening it as the swelling and then muscle went away. I lost almost an inch off the arm and the angle is slightly different, which is a pain when carrying buckets, but otherwise I don't really notice it. I think I was a good three months in a cast. Unfortunately, when I got the cast off they realised they'd missed a fracture in the elbow, which had healed with the elbow bent - I have to say, that's given me more gyp over the years!

I'll say what everyone else is saying, take your drugs and do your exercises!! Remember, the meds aren't just for pain, they also control inflammation and allow you to continue to move around relatively normally, which lessens the chances of developing compensatory problems. This is even more important during physio as you need to be able to use the arm as normally as possible to have the best chance of full recovery.

You gave your horse box rest and have now embarked on a measured rehab program - do yourself the same courtesy!
 
Thasks MrsM and TS... I'm not so good with the hospitalisation front or taking lots of pills - there's a stubborn old duffer in me which rears its head at those moments before I even have chance to think about it, like a default reaction of: 'I don't need that...' - as if I know?! But you're absolutely right that I've erred massively on the side of caution with the horse's rehab, and when she's had deep work done have followed the vet's advice to put her on bute for a few days to make sure she moves comfortably with her newly freed muscles and hasn't set up new compensations and the like... and we're doing the same now as she made herself sore in the little drama which left me on the deck... so I'll think horse and apply that logic to myself too.

Thanks all for sharing your experiences, it's reassuring to hear from the 'other side' ;)
 
I broke mine there, I did my collar bone at the same time too so I made a good job of breaking myself. I was jumping bareback............

I didn't need it plating, just a collar and cuff for about 6 weeks. I think it was about 10 weeks before I was allowed to ride. I had no on going problems, but have had frozen shoulder in the same shoulder and I was told that the fracture may have made me a little more susceptible but was not necessarily linked.
 
Me!!!!
Went flying on the 7th jan 2012 and the result was a 3 part fracture of the proximal humerous. (Probably what u you have!)
Took 3 weeks before I got plated (philos plate)and those 3 weeks were not nice. Wearing a sling, not allowed to lie down as they were still hoping it might sink back to where it should be by gravity!! That was the painful part!!
After the op, when the nerve block wore off it hurt like hell (apparently after that amount of time bones start "sticking" as they start to heal where they are so mine was rebroken) but morphine sorted that and I was back at home the next day.
To be honest, that was the turning point..... Surgery was on the Monday at beginning of feb, and I was back on a horse on the Friday. Not meant to, but rode in the sling which also secures your arm to your side with a strap around your stomach, and was very careful. It would seem that once all the bits are put back together, the injury becomes much more comfortable!
I was back competing by the end of march, and my arm has just improved more and more since. There will always be difficulty with trying to raise my arm above my head, (doesn't take the horses long to realise that a giraffe impression when your trying to put bridles on works a treat!) but I have to say I believe that I have made a full recovery.
Another thing, washing and brushing your hair will be near impossible for a while.....consider chopping it off! By clothing at least 2 sizes too big....it makes getting dressed much easier!
I had no choice but to carry on with horses as I had no one to do them for me so mucking out and feeding and exercising them was a necessity, I can't comment whether getting on with things straight away helped or hindered my recovery!!!
Sorry for the essay, but having been there I know how u are feeling!!!
All the best!
 
MHSporthorses said:
Me!!!!
Went flying on the 7th jan 2012 and the result was a 3 part fracture of the proximal humerous. (Probably what u you have!)
Took 3 weeks before I got plated (philos plate)and those 3 weeks were not nice. Wearing a sling, not allowed to lie down as they were still hoping it might sink back to where it should be by gravity!! That was the painful part!!
After the op, when the nerve block wore off it hurt like hell (apparently after that amount of time bones start "sticking" as they start to heal where they are so mine was rebroken) but morphine sorted that and I was back at home the next day.
To be honest, that was the turning point..... Surgery was on the Monday at beginning of feb, and I was back on a horse on the Friday. Not meant to, but rode in the sling which also secures your arm to your side with a strap around your stomach, and was very careful. It would seem that once all the bits are put back together, the injury becomes much more comfortable!
I was back competing by the end of march, and my arm has just improved more and more since. There will always be difficulty with trying to raise my arm above my head, (doesn't take the horses long to realise that a giraffe impression when your trying to put bridles on works a treat!) but I have to say I believe that I have made a full recovery.
Another thing, washing and brushing your hair will be near impossible for a while.....consider chopping it off! By clothing at least 2 sizes too big....it makes getting dressed much easier!
I had no choice but to carry on with horses as I had no one to do them for me so mucking out and feeding and exercising them was a necessity, I can't comment whether getting on with things straight away helped or hindered my recovery!!!
Sorry for the essay, but having been there I know how u are feeling!!!
All the best!
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Thanks MH, that makes me feel better! It'll be a week between the fall and the plating but hopefully that's not long enough for too much sticking or whatever to happen. I have good support from my livery yard so won't need to rush it, but am obviously tetchy to have some independence back. Not being able to drive is a complete and total pain.

Girly question: what kind of sling / strapping did it have on it afterwards? My OH (who likes nothing more than to invent things!) has made me a one-handed bottle opener, a device for pressing ctrl+alt+delete on the laptop with one hand, and a waterproof collar-and-cuff for the shower. I can shower and hairwash quite easily at the mo cus it doesn't matter if my arm gets wet, but know what a pain it would be if I had to keep the arm dry...
 
It's a sling from hand to elbow made of fabric which has the support strap over the shoulder from the elbow to the wrist and a second strap from elbow around waste to wrist. It stops your arm moving at all but the tell you to wear it as close to your body as possible, which this time of year means lots of extra large layers to go over the top! I actually went to a puppy walkers hunt ball on the Friday after my surgery and I have to say, it ruined the look of my dress!!!
You will grow to love the sling as you will find you feel safe with your arm hidden in it.......when you have it off at all, eg bathing, you feel so vulnerable!!!
If you can try and get a couple so you have a wash and wear. I was made to wear mine all the time, including in bed, so it's nice to have a "best" for when your out and about!
The driving ban sucks, no two ways about it, and I think it was about march (end) before I technically was ok'd to drive!
Good news that your gonna get it mended straight away, I wish mine ha just been done straight away as that time in between felt a complete waste as any healing I had done was undone fr the surgery!!!
 
Oh.....and shoulder must remain dry after surgery. They put a sticky plaster on and tell you not to get it wet til it's started healing......ie stitches out! Sorry!!
 
That's really useful, thank you! I can imagine the sling as you describe feels pretty safe: I was a bit horrified by the collar and cuff because the top of the shoulder can still twist if the elbow moves, which if it does blo*dy hurts!!!

Bad news about not getting it wet 'til stitches out :( I'm a terrible (im)patient! But better to be mentally prepared. So far, having been convinced it was just out of its socket, I was genuinely shocked when they told me it was broken. (OK so I was also concussed and on morphine!) And then I was genuinely shocked when they said it needed an op. I'm trying to avoid any more embarrassing "Whaaat?" moments!

Great tip about trying to get two slings, will do my best!

Glad to hear it's worked well for you and not left too many lasting probs :)
 
I broke my collar bone years ago, didn't realise carried on doing everything including riding. 15 years on I still get pain and it's unlevel. Surgeon said they could operate to tighten it up but that would probably result in a shoulder replacement later down the line. You learn to live with any aches and pains, what I find hard still is doing things where you raise you shoulder like drying your hair, reaching to put a head collar on etc even mascara.

Make sure you follow the recovery advice, it's too easy not too.
 
I did mine, but just a fracture. Was 6 weeks off but it was still hurting a bit then, turned out I'd damaged all the nerves from my neck downwards on that right side and could have done very serious damage if I'd fallen! So another 6 weeks with home exercises, and then it was fine.

As everyone else said, do the physio! I wasn't referred to a proper physio after surgery on my arm (3 months post op I saw a useless occupational therapist), and I'm sure that's part of the reason I'm due another op!
 
Thanks guys, I will definitely do the homework. Last thing you want is to have to have another op - that's terrible that you didn't get referred for proper physio!!!

Callyh - funnily enough I also broke the other collar bone years back without realising what I'd done. My chiropractor spotted it when I first saw her last year and asked when it was broken ... I said I hadn't, and when she pointed out to me the massive step in it where it had reset wonky, it was pretty obvious! Fortunately apart from making my shoulders a tad wonky it doesn't give me any hassle. With this one there's a good inch length of bone below the ball in the joint where it's kinda crushed into bits ew!
 
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