Acromioclavicular Separation

[jshamster]

Screwed up my left shoulder pretty good while kayaking in Costa Rica.

 

Anybody ever have this separation?

Maybe give me a clue of what to expect.

I'm seeing an orthopedic surgeon soon, but any insight

from the cc.com peeps would be appreciated.

 

Cheers.

Jimbo

Edited August 6, 2008 by jshamster

[Rad]

Bummer. You should probably be fine eventually, but it will take some time.

 

I had an AC separation back in 2001 diving for a disc in an ultimate tourney in HI. I got a big natural dose of adrenaline and a big dose of pain. I thought it was dislocated but it wasn't.

 

Recovery and prognosis depends on how severe it is. They are divided into classes 1-5. Mine was class 3 (completely severed two sets of ligaments, but I don't recall class defns, check webmd.com). Class 4 or 5 may require surgery. An X-ray will tell what you have.

 

I had immobilization and pain killers and anti-inflammatories for about 4 weeks. PT and anti-inflammatories after that. I was climbing gently (no gastons or hard pulls) within a few months. Playing disc about the same time. It was nearly a year before I could do regular pushups as that seemed to press in all the wrong directions. I bet you will be able to climb before you can kayak.

 

The ligaments (severed in my case) don't regrow. Your body adjusts to compensate, which is why PT is important. I did have a curious bump from the displaced clavicle, and that went down a bit over time. I have no long term pain or mobility loss or consequences that I can tell.

 

Talk to your doc and PT and see what they say. Good luck.

[jshamster]

Thanks for the info.

Mine is a class 3 as well.

 

It happened about 2 1/2 weeks ago, and I am doing the immobilization, painkiller, anti-inflammatories thus far.

 

Not sure what I'm missing more. Climbing or sailing/kayaking.

[ericb]

my $.02 - I had a third degree AC separation about 17 years ago, and have the bump and can fell a little give as I push on it. I have found that lifting weights and keeping he muscles strong to compensate for the loss of ligamental stability has helped enormously. I never noticed and pain or functional issues until ~ 7 months ago when I tweaked it climbing - fell on a hand-jam at full extension. It's taken a long time to heal and my PT that looked at it pointed out that the AC separation has/will result(ed) in some ongoing joint instability and may have resulted in a slight tear of the labrum. I've also noted in the rehab process that there's a distinct difference in the muscle mass (deltoids mostly) between the two shoulders. I started adding targeted shoulder exercises to my lifting routine, and am feeling much better. From what I've gathered, the shoulder like any other joint can be more prone to injury if there is anatomicaly instability from a previous injury, so get it really strong with boring but necessary excercises....therabands, cables, etc.

Edited August 6, 2008 by ericb