XC Fall - AC joint fracture.. help...

[turpsamd]

I had a fall while XC schooling on Sunday and as a result I have a grade 3 fracture of my left AC joint (otherwise known as a seperated shoulder) I broke my right collar bone 6 years ago and its very similar in terms of pain and discomfort :-( not nice! I have got to go and see a shoulder specialist tomorrow about possible surgery. Does anyone have any experience of this type of injury and its recovery time either with surgery or without?

Any help gratefully recieved.
Thanks in advance

 

[only_me]

ouch! sounds very painful

Only thing i can say is, is that once it has dislocated it is very easy to dislocate it again! My friend's kept popping out everytime he went hunting

hope it heals quickly!

 

[MandyMoo]

ouch

hope it heals quickly! sorry i don't have any asnwers to your questions

but i really hope you make a speedy recovery! xx

 

[jumptoit]

Hope you are feeling better soon xXx

 

[k9h]

I ruptured my ACL joint on the last legal days hunting & also broke 3 ribs & got kicked in the face, so I know what it feels like.

It hurts like ****

After the accident I did ride on for another 3-4 hrs! Yes I am mad.
Saw Doctor 3 days later, was never suggested for me to she a specialist! Though I should of done.
I was hunting 2 weeks later but it was my ribs that hurt more than my shoulder joint. Though I did strap myself up heavily to mimic the muscles, tendons & ligaments & to reduce the amount of strain on them.
Though I would not advice doing this & rest at the moment is the best course of action though strapping will be helpful & ease it for you.


I now have a very significant dip where my clavical meets at the top of the joint.
I have since trained as a sports injury therapist (mainly to treat myself I am finding! Whoops!)

It shouldn't make your shoulder dislocate as it is a totaly different joint but very close by!

 

[mrussell]

OH did his at Gt Witchenham in a fall.... he had aggresive physio from a lady in Newmarket who treats the jockeys who do the same thing. He had completely subluxed the joint, his arm effectively dropped off at the shoulder. He now has full range of movement and was back riding after 2 weeks (albeit one handed for a couple of weeks!).

Recommend heat and ice in 15 minute cycles to ease the tendon damage, Ibruprofen, a magnetic wristband and arnica !

Surgery limits the movement and can cause arthritis so he went for physio. He has no issues with it now but he wont be wearing a bikini again ! The end of the bone still pokes up through his skin

 

[IncaCola]

I had a grade 2/3 seperation of the AC joint alongside a hairline fracture of collar bone at Xmas. Very painful for first week, but then had it strapped up by physio and was riding lightly after 10 days although doctor advised 3 weeks. Pain continued for next 6 weeks but bearable and I was careful not to fall off or jarr it. Since then it aches in the evening especially when sitting typing at the computer, but is not too bad otherwise and I can cope with pulling horses etc (I do ride upto 8 a day so i am quite fit). I do have a lumping profile at the joint and can push it back in which isn't a very nice feeling!

I was told by physio that best to avoid surgery if possible as although mine will never be the same again, the recovery from surgery is slow and not always completely successful. However yours may be a lot worse than mine so best to follow doctors advice. I would also suggest going to a good sports physio as soon as possible and letting them have a look. They deal will these injuries in rugby players all the time. As well as strapping it they can give you specific excercise to build up the surround muscles while the tendons/ligaments repair themselves. However I wouldn't bother with a NHS phsio; I found them useless!!

 

[turpsamd]

Thanks to you all for your replies I am hoping that surgery wont be necessary as have read similar reports on the internet that the recovery from surgery is slow and it can be complicated!

Will keep progress posted after specialist trip!

 

[Britestar]

Heard about this on Sunday, was wondering how you were doing

Bummer for Area eh?

 

[fingers_crossed]

Don't have the surgery, the way they put the pins n means your collar bone becomes more likely to splinter/fracture. The best answer is a good physio. Did mine early this year and i'm almost completely normal, can no longer pop the joint up by doing circles with my arm

- it was a great party trick! I'm a medical student so asked my orthopods about the surgery and basically said don't bother unless you have 3 months to spare doing nothing, want arthritis and don't mind it going wrong when they try to put the pin in the clavicle!! The best answer is to train the deltoid to pin it down and support the ligaments once they'd rested. They also said don't carry anything in that hand and i found not sleeping on that side made a big difference in its stability. Hope that helps x

 

[MagicMelon]

Hey Valley_High - I heard about your fall, OUCH! How did you do it?!

Dont know anything about the injury Im afraid, but hope you're on the mend soon.

 

[turpsamd]

Yes it was sore, we basically were jumping up the big PN steps that used to jump down... he jumped up the first one and then sort of tripped up the second one firing me into the ground... I even have it on video... although makes me feel sick watching it! Never mind these things happen. Just want to get this specialist appointment over and done with now, thanks everyone for advise and support

 

[Tnavas]

Mine was displaced after a horse reared up and clipped my shoulder as it came down. It was very painful for a while but settled down but is not 100% - I get nerve tingling pains accross my shoulder at times. But generally is OK

 

[Pep12]

Hey. Poor you my sympathies are with you. get on to Jenny Johnston asap. Worth the money for a private physio.

 

[turpsamd]

Well I have been told I need to wear a sling for a further 2 weeks and then go back to have it looked at again :-( i was getting good movement back without the sling so had stupidly thought that was good, but I need to keep it still so that the fracture starts to heal and if its not healing within 2 weeks then I may still need surgery. For the first time ever it sounds like I will have to do as I am told and keep this flippin sling on... with any luck when I go back it will be healing nicely and I can get some Physio. I've used Jenny Johnston before and she is great

Thanks to all for help and advise!