QUESTION: Do you have any tips for an injured shoulder?
Hi Beth,
I just ran across the site with your tips column and found some great info. I was wondering if you have any knowledge on the condition of a separated AC joint. I did it sometime ago (2 yrs maybe) and didn’t even know it. I kept up the pull-ups, some weight lifting , etc. and now it seems there’s some arthrosis there. I had major pain while paddling, so I went to the doctor. You know it’s serious if it hurts while surfing.
I believe it’s arthrosis of the AC joint. From what I’ve read, this usually follows the separation sometime later down the line. In my case I never went to the doctor to diagnose the separation until 2 years later, this past June, because I felt no pain until then.The bump was there but since I felt no pain for 2 years I continued the pull-ups, etc. at a pretty heavy rate of use on the shoulder, then last June it got to where I was in intense pain in the areas I described.
I went to rehab for the joint separation and I did exercises to strengthen the surrounding area. The pain is pretty much still there although down a notch or so. I was looking at a site on the Internet and saw the symptomsfor arthrosis of the separated AC joint and the conditions are matching. Pain in the front of the shoulder, pain going down towards the chest and going down the upper back. Also this clicking noise. Any tips rehab or treatments? Let me know. I’ll also hook you up with some Latin music CDs if you enclose your address, as I’m a marketing manager for Universal Music Latino.
Regards,
Bruce
ANSWER:
Hey Bruce,
I actually went and checked out on the Internet the difference between arthritis and arthrosis and there isn’t much of one. They are just different stages of a similar injury. Do you have pain-free range of motion when you’re not surfing? Trouble sleeping or pain in the morning? Are there any cysts formed on the bones?
What I would do is get back on a serious rehabilitative program for the rotator cuff. Sounds like you have been doing some pretty aggressive exercises for a not-so-happy shoulder joint. I would start to do the band work I assume you did post-initial injury in order to strengthen the small muscles that hold the shoulder girdle together.
The first thing you want to make sure is that you do have full range of motion and that your muscles surrounding the area are nice and flexible. If one area is severely tight, then you may have an imbalance which is causing a major pull in the shoulder area. So flexibility is key.
For right now, let pain be your guide. If surfing kills it, you may need to back off and let things rest for a bit. You may want to go back to your physical therapist and get a guideline for what needs to happen. Getting you back in the water is the goal and you don’t want to make things worse or prolong the pain by “guessing” your symptoms and the cure.
Good luck and give me some feedback.If you need some recommendations for a good physical therapist or a killer yoga class—let me know. It definitely sounds like you may need some guidance.
Hasta,
Beth
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I did this to my shoulder snowboarding last year, grade 3 ac seperation. For three months i was out of business for doing anything, and after four months of physio twice a week with elastic band workouts, i got back in the water. My shoulder is fine now, well it works fine but theres a big bump coming out of it.. haha
I think snowboarding is so dangerous for you