shoulder ligament injury - human - any experiences?

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Kelpie

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Hi All

I had an unscheduled dismount from one of the youngsters yesterday.

Went to A&E and apparently I've torn one of the ligaments that basically holds your arm to your shoulder (they say its the same injury you get when you dislocate the shoulder so I was very lucky it was still in its socket).

A&E helpfully said stick it in a sling and let it heal by itself. That may well be the right answer but I have a deep seated mistrust of the NHS so I just wondered if anyone has had a similar injury before and what they've done about it/ how long it has taken to heal?

Sweat tea and good pain drugs for any answers :)
 
I fell off in February and didnt go to the docs after, but I fell heavily onto my shoulder and it was so sore for a good 3 weeks after and even now it gets really stiff and sits lower than my other one! Finally went to physio last week to be told I probably did the same as you. She just gave me an exercise to do and otherwise agreed pilates would help build the strength back up in it and stretch the muscles out again. You'll heal better than me though as you're already dealing with it ;)
 
hi. ive dislocated mine twice and have a torn ligament. physio does help but if likr me you dont have time to finish work early for physio app go to pilates. I also tried sports massage but it didnt help. Pilates ( by a physio not gym instructor) will really help strengthen the muscles around the ligament x
 
Thank you everyone, will get on the case to find a good physio first thing tomorrow and also try the Pilates. xxx
 
Absolutely, get to a sports focused physio, preferably one who's geeky about shoulders as they are complicated beasties! I am trying to restore full movement to mine after smashing up my humerus, and it's the seizing up of the tendons and ligaments from the necessary immobility, far more than the break, which causes the problems. I'd be nowhere by now if I'd just relied on NHS physio without also buying in super shoulder geek private physio man!
 
Kelpie said:
Thank you everyone, will get on the case to find a good physio first thing tomorrow and also try the Pilates. xxx
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If you are in East Kent I can recommend a seriously good sports therapist who is also a rider so may be perfect for you.
 
Dusty85 said:
Less of the NHS-bashing please, we do a very good job for the money we're given!!
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Not NHS bashing, just being honest. I didn't say they don't do a great job on the resources they're given. Quite the opposite - the poor guys at our local hosp physio dept are so overstretched one of my fortnightly appointments genuinely lasted 6 minutes. They've been told to cut all normal appointments in half. It makes me cross on their behalf, but it's just a fact that I'd be nowhere near as far along in recovering range and strength if I hadn't had private physio too. A) the NHS guys have so little time, and B) their job is to restore function for everyday life, not to worry about the more pernickity things I'd worry about for getting back to riding as quickly as possible etc, why should I expect them to spend a precious public resource being worried about that? It does make me sad because they should be given the space to do the best job they can, but I'd recommend anyone get specific private sports physio too in the event of an injury...
 
I did the ligament in my groin and was off riding for 6 months and after that had so many problems with stretching it out again, couldnt sit up/back for another 6 months. When it is healed keep mobilising it with good physio.
 
I dislocated my right shoulder coming off a spooky pony about 7 years ago. The treatment was to let it heal itself, and I had two NHS physio sessions that actually concentrated on an exercise for core strength, which I have used on and off ever since.

I rode again 3 days after, though looking at photos taken the following month I can see I was riding in a rather round-shouldered way, subconsciously defensive, I guess.

Anyway, the shoulder came right and has been no trouble since. I don't know if there was any actual tear to the ligaments...there was definitely stretching, though, as that's what causes the agony and the relief when the joint is put back in place.
 
thanx everyone - found a great sport physio today that has helped already and have booked another appointment for Friday. Physio was very much in favour of getting the joint moving now rather than leaving the arm in a sling.

Spike123 - thanks so much, but I'm in West Kent tho looks like the one I found today will do the job :)

Re: NHS bashing, as already said, bless them the NHS staff theirselves are generally doing the best they can though they have such limited resources, the poor things - so I wouldn't say anything bad about the staff but the system they have to work from is far from flawless, sadly, and I've had too many bad experiences with it to think otherwise :( Besides, I figure its actually the responsible thing to do, to see how best you can help yourself (e.g. go get your own physio) rather than just wait to have to be a burden on the NHS.
 
Dusty85 said:
Less of the NHS-bashing please, we do a very good job for the money we're given!!
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WOW!!!! you must all get very very little money then!I shall try to remember this next time I wait for 12 hours to be seen in A&E and then get told I have to find my way to an entirely different hospital on a bank holiday morning at 7am ,where I then had to wait another 5 hours.
 
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