AC separation

[frank]

Enjoyed a nice level 3 AC separation Saturday - the collar bone to shoulder blade connection. What surprises me is that no attempt was made to return the collar bone to its original location. The course of recovery is to leave it about one diameter high, and walk around with a sling as the 3 ligaments grow back. It was weird to leave the emergency room with a bone in the wrong place - looks like there is a stick under the skin on my shoulder. Anyone have experience with one of these?

 

[juniorfjr]

Yea, did the same thing 38 years ago. In those days they surgically repaired the joint. Went in, drilled two holes in the collar bone and wired it in place. It's become a problem in the last 5 years now. One of the Orthopedics said that on a bad separation, the common proceedure now is to remove the collar bone completely. So let's hope the connective tissue grows back as expected. You probably will have a protrusion there now.

good luck, Fred

 

[Donal]

Yep, did mine 41 years ago. I guess I must have had a forward thinking medical team for the time (based on the last post).

Their suggestion was to do exactly what you are doing - strap up the arm to give it some support but not to 'baby it' too much. hasn't really been a problem (so far)! I played rugby at the time and their answer to most things was to "keep using it as much as possible", seems to have worked out OK.

don

 

[BCJeff]

What you've done is tore the ligaments that hold the outer end of you collar bone (clavicle) down to the acromion (outer tip of your shoulder blade). If it's a grade 3 the ends of the tear are no longer attached at all and so can't grow back together. That means that you always have a bump where the end of your collar bone rides up unattached. It is considered to be only a cosmetic issue by the surgeons rather than a functional issue. As the surrounding tissues heal your pain will diminish. It's fairly common to see if you look for it on people.

 

[FtWorthGuy]

Broke my collar bone 3 months ago. The orthopedist said I if I were a world class athlete they would operate and fix it. In my case my right collar bone is about 1 cm higher than the left now.

The brake lined up well enough.

Biggest problem I had was physical therapy. After walking around with my arm in a sling for two weeks the range of motion was painful to get back.

 

[madmike2]

I separated my right collarbone about 7 years ago. Yep....one shoulder is lower than the other and a little odd-looking. Not being a Charles Atlas-type, the "look" is livable. I'm glad I completed the physical therapy and regained most of my movement and strentgh (95%+). I had some good medical advice from friends and family to work on my range of motion before PT. I had "full" range but no strength when I began the terror-py.

 

[Feejer/Weejer man]

Separated my left shoulder in 2006 when I high sided my XL 650 dirt riding. My doctor said if I could manage the pain with ibuprofen and tylenol then it would just take time. No doctor visit or x rays as I have no medical.Healed up good but when stressed with heavy lifting overhead sometimes it feels like it will pop out again. Looks real bad but doesn't hurt.

 

[FJRay]

BTDT riding one of the now extinct 3 wheel atv. I think excess alcohol and snow might have something to do with it. Like others have said no doctor involved cause I was going bankrupt but I did know a good PT and she got it going again. No problems since 1980 . Solved the cause when I quit drinking.