Ouch

[crazycanuckoz]

I've been lurking & noticed this thread...

I dislocated my SC joint in 2007 after running into another cyclist..yeowch...Did yours move up or back by chance? Mine moved up 1cm & has stayed that way ever since. No surgery or anything like that for me....

(If you have a look around on TE..somewhere there should be a post from me about my crash & some useful info from Wahine )

All i can say is, take care & remember, flare ups may happen with an SC joint dislocation .

I'm not an avid cyclist as i once was so don't have to worry about falling & annoying the joint...I have however found the love of 10k's, half marathons and the occasional marathon .....

Take care

[Catrin]

So sorry Ninerfan, I feel for you in this recovery process. I've a jacked shoulder in that the entire shoulder girdle has issues (from many incidents over a lifetime) so I feel your pain. Oakleaf gave very good advice. It seems that so many focus on going straight to strengthening when it really encompasses the joint capsule, bone, muscle and connective tissues - all of those need addressing. Strengthening too soon can lead to other issues.

CrazyCanuck!!!! It is good to see you, I've been wondering about you. Just because you don't ride as much as you once did (neither do I) doesn't mean we can't hear from you

[ninerfan]

Crazy Canuck- my clavicle moved up, though I'm not sure by how much. I have a closed reduction scheduled for this morning, which was recommended by the orthopedist I was sent to after my visit to the ER. I have been warned, however, that reductions often don't take and that its pretty common for the clavicle to pop back out even if the procedure is initially successful If that happens, they'll just leave it out and let it heal that way and I'll have the bump that I currently have in the middle of my chest. Do you have this bump? Did you have to wear a brace and/or sling during recovery? I'll take a look for your old post

Thanks for the well wishes and words of advice, all. Oak Leaf, I have discovered the hard way the truth in your statement that the whole stability of the shoulder area essentially depends on the SC joint. It's crazy how quickly you learn how essentially every movement in your upper body implicates the joint or some part in the near vicinity. I'm so limited right now in terms of movement, mostly due to pain. Getting dressed is an ordeal as is getting sleep! I also have concerns about soft tissue injuries in my shoulder, which is actually where a significant amount of my pain is currently coming from. This makes sense, as my shoulder took the brunt of my fall and is what forced the dislocation in the first place.

Ultimately, I'm ready to get this show on the road. This is the first "long-term" injury I've ever had, so all of this is unchartered territory. My parents have a lot of experience with PT and recovery for their own issues (especially my dad after shoulder surgery) so hopefully there are some lessons to draw on. I think my main issue will be patience and learning that the process of a proper recovery will likely take a lot longer than I want it to.

[roadie gal]

A sternoclavicular dislocation is an unusual injury. Usually it's the acromioclavicular joint that gives way. It's a very shallow joint without much support to hold it in place so it's easy to reinjure it. You may be in a sling for a while to take the weight off of it. I would imagine that it will take 6-8 weeks to heal enough to be able to ride your bike safely.

[Owlie]

Ow! Glad it wasn't worse, though.

Heal up quickly!

[crazycanuckoz]

Catrin-hello *waves*

Ninerfan, I didn't get much feedback from dr's at the time about my sc joint as it was a minor issue compared to my knee injury at the time. It flared up once then badly 2yrs ago-what made it worse was my weight & bad posture.

All i can say is...Think of what sports you can do with carrying a long term injury- it doesn't mean the end of sport at all. If you swim, make sure you use uber proper technique!

Back & core work exercises helped, but not sure what they'll suggest to you.

Groceries-make sure to get yourself one of those cool carry trolleys as carrying grocery bags for me bothers my shoulder..Same with heavy backpacks..not ideal...

[OakLeaf]

You know, I wonder if what I've had all along didn't include a low grade bilateral SC subluxation. That's the only way I can explain the way the notch between my SCM tendons did NOT fall between the heads of my clavicles, for months. I kept pointing it out to every practitioner I saw and they just ignored it like it was normal ... but how could it be. My LMT got them centered within two treatments, but the head of the left one still sticks out ...