# Seriously Busted up Shoulder



## nitrousjunky (May 12, 2006)

Well looks like I'm out for a while. 

I hit a jump from a different angle last night. There are 3 roots right at the peak of the jump and my front tire washed right as I left the ground. I tried to turn the bars to try to correct it on the landing, however I obviously turned them too far and came down with my weight too far forward. My front wheel turned sideways when it hit and OTBs I went. Pretty much knew right away that I had broke my clavicle. So a lovely mile walk back to the truck left me discussed at the fact that I had went down that hard on a lame section of the trail. I drove myself to the hospital and then got to wait in the ER for about 3 hours.

Turns out it was way worse than I expected. I manage to fracture everything you can possibly break in my shoulder, along with of course the broken clavicle. They are trying to get me into an orthopedic surgeon in the next 2-3 days. Luckily, we have an inside connection who is getting me in to see probably the best shoulder guy in the south (if not the best in the country). So, I know I'll be in good hands. 

Here is the doctor's actual note about the damage to my shoulder-

1- Fracture Scapula including Depressed/Displaced Articular Surface of Glenoid and Inferior & posterior Scapula

2- Fractured Clavicle 

I'm guessing at least 6 months recovery time and a possibility of never being able to ride a rigid fork again 

Anyone been through a similar experience?


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## Lawson Raider (Jul 24, 2006)

I injured my shoulder a few years ago but only a small fraction of what you did. I only got a class 1 separated shoulder from where I slid out on a wooden bridge that was super wet. It was about 5 weeks for me to heal up enough to ride. 

Severe shoulder injuries such as what you incurred could take quite a while to fully recover. You have to take in consideration the surgery and healing time and then the physical therapy to try to get range of motion in your shoulder as to when you'll be fit to ride again. 

Once you get into the PT part of your recovery and get some good range of motion built up and the pain goes away and you can put weight on your arms w/o pain, then you can start asking the doc if he thinks getting on the bike is ok. The thing is you want to make sure that you are sure you are healed up enough to ride and that you take it easy for a while on the bike so you don't reinjure your shoulder.

That's just my two cents. I hope you heal up soon.


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## nitrousjunky (May 12, 2006)

Hi Lawson, yeah I'm actually pretty familiar with some of what this in tells. The freaky thing about this is that my mother crashed 3 years ago on the same trail (in a different spot) in a similar fashion. She "best we can figure" came down off a small jump and landed on a fist size rock with the front tire. It washed and she went over the bars and landed on her left shoulder. 

She weights about half what I do and was going slower, so she didn't get hurt quite as bad. She had three hairline fractures at the head of the humerus bone. The local orthopedic didn't catch those. So when they were healing up, one of them grew a bone spur in her shoulder socket. Which kept her from getting her range of motion back. It eventually was found and she had surgery to remove the spur. I was around for her recovery.

I however realize that mine is significantly worse.


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## nitrousjunky (May 12, 2006)

*Here's a couple pics*


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## MMcG (Jul 7, 2003)

ooh man - just saw this. Here's to a successful surgery and a speedy recovery!


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## scottybinwv (Jun 29, 2010)

A speedy recovery to you!

Being a paddler also I know all about shoulder injuries and have injuried my left shoulder about 5 times since last winter(skiing). I think I have finally stopped hurting myself.


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## qkenuf4u (Jan 24, 2009)

nitrousjunky said:


>


hey
my PHYSICAL THERAPIST GF is asking why your spine is curved in this x-ray ? is it from the accident ? something else broken that they didnt see ?


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## nitrousjunky (May 12, 2006)

qkenuf4u said:


> hey
> my PHYSICAL THERAPIST GF is asking why your spine is curved in this x-ray ? is it from the accident ? something else broken that they didnt see ?


That is actually a pic from the CT scan. I think it's from how I was laying on the table (not standing). I'm going to meet with the best orthopedic surgeon in the area in a couple hours. I'll let you know if it's anything else.

And how extensive the surgery on Thursday is going to be.


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## nitrousjunky (May 12, 2006)

*Home from Surgery*

Okay guys and gals, one part of the fix is over.

I had surgery Wed morning. The Doc ended up using a plate and some screws to fix the broken clavical. He then lifted the clavical back up to it's original position, which rotated my whole shoulder back in place. Then he came in from my back and used a plate with 2 screws to re-attach the bottom part of the shoulder socket (glenoid). He said they were going to leave the shoulder blade alone, that the 4 fractures in it would heal fine on there own.

I have a post op appointment on the 23rd and we will start physical therapy after that.

Here's what the front of my shoulder looks like now-









Back of my shoulder-









My wife just loved the yellow bracelet they gave me and said they should have gave it to me sooner-









They did however hook me up with a room that had a painting of a MTB trail though-


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## qkenuf4u (Jan 24, 2009)

glad things went well.... nice ice pack...


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## nitrousjunky (May 12, 2006)

qkenuf4u said:


> glad things went well.... nice ice pack...


This Iceman pack is the bomb, getting ready to put it back on right now and crash for the night.

BTW- I had to have another CT scan of my shoulder Mon. I paid attention to how they had me on the table this time. I was all twisted kinda on my back, kinda on my side to get my left shoulder flat in the center part of the curved table. That's why my spin looks so crooked on the CT pic.


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## qkenuf4u (Jan 24, 2009)

ah got ya.. well thats a good thing.... as i said my girls a PTA teacher so she picked up on the crooked spine right away.... good luck with ur therapy...


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## scottybinwv (Jun 29, 2010)

on the road,


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## nitrousjunky (May 12, 2006)

*Here's a couple pics with the dressing off to show actual cut size*

Sorry if these bother anyone with really light stomachs, as there is a little dried blood shown.


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## qkenuf4u (Jan 24, 2009)

glad its healing well.... :thumbsup:


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## nitrousjunky (May 12, 2006)

*Good Report*

Today was my post op appointment. The Doc said everything is looking great. I can start moving the arm around and using it for light weight items. They were very happy with how well match the two shoulder socket (glenoid) pieces are now. Also starting physical therapy soon.

Doc said I should be on a bike in 3 months and he gave me the thumbs up to getting on our spin bike!

Check out the new hardware-


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## sdcadbiker (Jun 20, 2008)

Nitrous,

Good to hear that you're doing well! I'm in the middle of a sleepless night waiting for glenoid repair surgery at 5:30am in the morning. I have a bony Barkart lesion after a full anterior dislocation of the right shoulder, detached about 25% of the glenoid surface. Blew a front tire on a major downhill at about 25mph... The surgeon is going to start the op as a "keyhole" procedure and he will only open me up if it's necessary; I don't think I'm quite as f'd up as you were but the projected downtime is similar which is a drag cause I had a busy race calendar for the next couple months!

Good luck with your recovery!


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## nitrousjunky (May 12, 2006)

sdcadbiker- good luck with the surgery and hopefully they can keep it keyhole. They cut muscle very deep on the back of my shoulder, going in to do the plate on my glenoid. I'm VERY weak now because of that. So I've got a lot of rehab to get those muscles back where they were before the surgery.

Post back up and let me know how it went.


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## sdcadbiker (Jun 20, 2008)

Thanks!
The surgery was ok; I have two screws holding the glenoid in place; Dr had to open me up for that but there is only a little keyhole in my back where he repaired the coracoid and cleaned out the "floaters". The shoulder block has worn off but I'm fully loaded with percocet and not feeling much pain yet.

Good news is that I just have a sling rather than a full immobilization and Dr wants me to start "pendulum" exercises straight away.

So far so good!

Here are some basic post-op pix; I'll get the cool internal stuff up later! It's tough doing this with one hand!


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## nitrousjunky (May 12, 2006)

Good to hear that things went well, sorry that they had to open you up though. 

Yeah I realized when they gave me my first dose of percocet after they removed the pain pump, that I hadn't been hitting the button on the pain pump as often as I should have.

After about 4 days or so I was able to start stretching the time between my percocet doses and was actually able to cut my dosage in half during the day. 

It's cool that they have you starting exercises right away, I had to wait two weeks before I could do any kind of exercises.


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## xcguy (Apr 18, 2004)

nitrousjunky said:


> Good to hear that things went well, sorry that they had to open you up though.
> 
> Yeah I realized when they gave me my first dose of percocet after they removed the pain pump, that I hadn't been hitting the button on the pain pump as often as I should have.
> 
> ...


My docs told me not to be a tough guy and try to "take the pain" ('cause I don't like taking pain pills), they said just take the pain pills. When your body is sensing the pain it spends more time worrying about that than the healing process. If that makes any sense.


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## nitrousjunky (May 12, 2006)

xcguy said:


> My docs told me not to be a tough guy and try to "take the pain" ('cause I don't like taking pain pills), they said just take the pain pills. When your body is sensing the pain it spends more time worrying about that than the healing process. If that makes any sense.


Yeah, I've had a couple discussions with my Doc about the pain meds. He said after the first week I could start putting more time between doses and only taking one 10 Percocet during the day. When that was taking care of the pain. He stressed staying ahead of the pain! He said if you let it get ahead, it will take several hours to get back ahead of the pain.

So yes, take your pills. But after the first week don't just take it exactly as prescribed just because the bottle says so. Do what your body tells you it needs.


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## sdcadbiker (Jun 20, 2008)

My doc gave me the same lecture ("don't be a tough guy") so I guess they really mean it!
Also, at my age (47) I don't heal up like I used to; I want to race for ten more years so I intend to recuperate slow and not be an idiot. A re-injury would totally suck.

Happy healing everyone!


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## sdcadbiker (Jun 20, 2008)

One more pic, just for grins; this one shows the screws holding my glenoid together:


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## Ashevillemike (Jan 8, 2008)

Nitrous...man so sorry to see this thread! I've been back on the bike about 5 times or so since my broken clavicle in May. I'm surprised that I haven't lost near as much fitness as I thought I would have after taking a 2 and a half month rest and I've actually had a couple of really good rides in the past week or two. Mine was just a simple broken clavicle with none of the other stuff that you guys have had. I am going to get some PT also because my shoulder is still messed up and I don't have the range of motion that I should have. 

Nitrous we still gotta get it together to ride when you get better. I'm planning on riding the swank in a couple of months so I'm gonna be riding more between now and then.

Get well soon guys!


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## nitrousjunky (May 12, 2006)

Hey Mike,
I had completely forgotten that you broke your clavicle. Well good hear your back out on the bike. Hope you still have enough time to get ready for the Swank. I had originally planned to do it this year too, maybe next year. Just noticed today that the Save the Trails Challenge was this weekend too.

Yes we do need to get together and ride. I'll probably sticking to Dupont for a while before I hit anything in Pisgah. I'll not be on a rigid fork either. I guess I'll just have to see if I like SSing with a suspension fork.


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## Piker (Sep 18, 2005)

Nasty shoulder injuries here!

I did my clavicle pretty nasty in late April, now plated and been back on the bike since July doing most of the riding i was doing before.










Now looks like this and has a big knob of bone around the break area...










I must admit i'm being somewhat cautious on trails i know very well, but the shoulder feels strong and no lost mobility.

Heal well people!

Mark


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## nitrousjunky (May 12, 2006)

Well, went back to the Doc yesterday for my 6 weeks Post Op app. Everything is looking good! 
He cleared me to drive once again and cleared me to let the Physical Therapist get more aggressive. He said the glenoid plate repair is 80% healed and the clavical repair is 50% healed. 
I specifically asked him abour riding a rigid bike again, since I really like my SS 29ers rigid. He told me that when he clears me at my next appointment on Nov 1st, that I can climb back on any bike. He said I will have 0 restrictions and continue on as I was before the crash.

Here are some pics to show you guys how the cuts (scars) are progressing.


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## sdcadbiker (Jun 20, 2008)

Glad to hear that you're healing well Nitrous  Scars are looking good too.
Good luck with that rigid fork... :eekster:


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## nitrousjunky (May 12, 2006)

sdcadbiker said:


> Good luck with that rigid fork... :eekster:


Yeah not 100% sure on starting back with the rigid, but I love the feel of a rigid fork a flowy singletrack. Actually I kinda like it in techy sections too, don't have to worry about brake dive. However there will be a FS29er in the stable too.


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## xcguy (Apr 18, 2004)

nitrousjunky said:


> Yeah not 100% sure on starting back with the rigid, but I love the feel of a rigid fork a flowy singletrack. Actually I kinda like it in techy sections too, don't have to worry about brake dive. However there will be a FS29er in the stable too.


"continue on like before the crash". Wellllll, a lot of body parts need to get back to riding form for that to be true. All of them need to get back into sync before you'll be able to "flow" like before. And remember, you crashed while everything WAS in sync. Take the long view, come back slowly.


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## nitrousjunky (May 12, 2006)

Oh, don't misunderstand me. I was just saying that as I could go back to a rigid bike.

I know it's going to be a slow process and it will take some time before my body (and mindset) will allow me to be shredding like I was before. I want to take it easy and not re-injure any healing muscles.

The crash was a freak thing and it wasn't caused by excessive speed, or pushing my limits. Which I think will make it easier for me to get my head back in it. I know my body probably won't be allowing me to throw the bike around for a while.
I'm figuring probably 6-12 months before I'm back 100% again.


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## Ashevillemike (Jan 8, 2008)

Glad to hear you're healing. I just started PT last week to try to get back some of my range of motion. Other than that I'm riding well, and I've only ridden my full sus one time since I started back. I just want to do what I love (and that would be single and rigid).

I'm still a little twitchy on the wet logs, but I'm not so sure that's a bad thing. For the most part though it feels the same as it was (for me). Hope you get back on soon.

Mike


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## nitrousjunky (May 12, 2006)

Ashevillemike said:


> I just want to do what I love (and that would be single and rigid).


I agree Mike, I'm there with you on that. There's just something about single and rigid. Hope the PT works on fixing the range of motion issues. It's really helping me!


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## Iridethedirt (Jan 20, 2008)

nitrousjunky said:


> Oh, don't misunderstand me. I was just saying that as I could go back to a rigid bike.
> 
> I know it's going to be a slow process and it will take some time before my body (and mindset) will allow me to be shredding like I was before. I want to take it easy and not re-injure any healing muscles.
> 
> ...


Well... Hi nitrous, and I'm glad you're on the mend! i am on day 2 of my recovery from a type 3 separated shoulder (ac joint). i thought it was bad until i saw your xrays! i cannot imagine how badly that must have hurt, because mine was pretty damn awefull. 
I just wanted to say "thank you!" for giving me a bit of perspective regarding my wreck. i can totally relate to what you're saying here about the crash wasnt caused by pushing your abilities or speed... mine wasnt either. freak accident that costs you a lot of time, pain, and money! oh well, thanks for sharing man and good luck getting back on that bike again!


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## nitrousjunky (May 12, 2006)

*Cleared by the Doc*

I had my 3 month and final appointment with my surgeon on Monday. Everything has fused well. He told me there was no need to continue physical therapy anymore. He was very happy with my progress and he cleared me to get back on the bike!!
Him and his partner are the head surgeons for the Carolina Panthers. He explained it to me in these terms. He said," If you were one of my Panthers, I'd be releasing you to train, lift, and run. At month 4, I'd release you to hit and play. So your clear but take it easy for the next month."

We discussed several things pertaining to me modifying moves to immediately start a cycle of P90X to try to get things back where they need to be. Which I actually did the first workout last night and it didn't go to bad.

Exactly 24 hours from the time I walked out of the office, I climbed back on a bike. Man did it fell awesome to back out there!!!!! Some of our riding buddies loaned me their son's new Santa Cruz Heckler for my first ride back out. We rode 9 miles including the trail that I crash on that started all this. I did stop and evaluate the crash scene a little more and figured out pretty sure exactly what happened. After a 1 1/2 mile twisty downhill trail my shoulder was a little tight. It also felt sore once while standing climbing up a rock garden climb. However that was pretty much it, I was surprised at how well it did. My legs and lungs on the other hand, weren't very happy to be back out there. Kinda figured that was going to happen.

My surgeon did tell me that since I cracked the inside plate of the socket that arthritis may very well set in 20-30-40 years down the road. So I'm more than likely going to go ahead and give up rigid forks on my SS for a while (possibly for good). We'll see in a year or so.

I will say I'm shocked to be here already in only 3 months. Having a great surgeon and wonderful physical therapist has made a huge difference!!


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## sdcadbiker (Jun 20, 2008)

That's great news! :thumbsup: I guess youth has its advantages  Question: can you sleep on your damaged shoulder side yet?

I'm about four weeks behind you at the moment, although I have been back on a bike, albeit just at spin classes, for three weeks now. I rode my MTB on the road for an hour so Sunday, I'm definitely not ready for trails yet. Tuesday I had a cortisone shot into the joint to try to relieve some capsular tightness that is limiting my range of motion, it's Thursday now and things are definitely starting to show signs of improvement.

Take it easy, the gnar will still be there a month from now


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## nitrousjunky (May 12, 2006)

Yes, I've been able to lay on that side for about 2 weeks now and actually been able to dose off on that side some in the past week. I don't stay on that side real long though (1-2 hours maybe).

I could have been back on a spin bike for the last 3 weeks, but was lacking the motivation.


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## chromagnus (Apr 19, 2009)

nitrous looks like you just cracked the inside plate of the glenoid. is that correct? i broke the bottom of my glenoid into three displaced pieces. i think i am worse off than you were b/c my surgeons are nervous about surgery and potential nerve damage. i will post up some pictures when i go see the surgeon on wednesday. they are talking about not doing surgery on me b/c of the complications and because i have such a bad fracture that they might not be able to put the pieces back together. they will either have to harvest bone or just let it heal on its own and calcify. definitely a painful ordeal.


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## nitrousjunky (May 12, 2006)

Correct, my Glenoid had just one crack. The bottom of it was almost broke off, but it would have been a clean break and two pieces. Still it was the major concern of the surgery, my Surgeon really stressed how important it was to get it just right. Which he did and was impressed with how smoothly it went back together. I was very lucky that somehow I did not damage any tendons or ligaments.

So I completely understand why yours is a big issue. So hopefully they can figure out the best approach and get your repaired nicely. I will say this too, my plate their doesn't bother me in the least. 

Good luck!


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## sdcadbiker (Jun 20, 2008)

Cromagnus,

Sorry to hear about your injury, sounds nasty. If you scroll up through this thread you will see that I broke a piece off my glenoid, a "slice of pie" about 20% of the total; it was large enough that my surgeon was able to get in and use two screws to get it back together. Yes, there has been some nerve damage but it's limited in my case to numbing of the skin around the scar, I can live with that. If you are not happy with what your dr is telling you don't hesitate to get a second opinion, although it's unusual for an ortho dr to _not_ want to operate so maybe it's not a good idea in your case.

Whatever happens, I wish you the best; nitrous & me are proof that there is life (== riding) after this type of injury :thumbsup:


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## nitrousjunky (May 12, 2006)

sdcadbiker said:


> Whatever happens, I wish you the best; nitrous & me are proof that there is life (== riding) after this type of injury :thumbsup:


Just to ad to this, I'm waiting for my custom frame to be built (which will have primarily a 100mm fork), but temporary bike has a steel rigid fork. So I'm currently back riding a rigid SS. Shoulder is handling it better than I thought it would. I just have to watch charging techy climbs with it.


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## chromagnus (Apr 19, 2009)

Thanx for the well wishes. yeah i think my bones are useless. three pieces. not enough to screw into. they will probably have to harvest and make me a bone if they go in. im hoping for no rotator cuff damage so i can see what kind of calcium i can crank out for a natural feel. bummer is i just bought a dj bike (1 ride at rays) and a new rigid ss (1st ride) and i did this. That is some bad luck right there!:nono:


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## chromagnus (Apr 19, 2009)

*well...*

doc took me in yesterday. 5 hour reconstructive surgery on the glenoid. only small amount of numbness on two fingers. pics when i feel good.


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## nitrousjunky (May 12, 2006)

chromagnus said:


> doc took me in yesterday. 5 hour reconstructive surgery on the glenoid. only small amount of numbness on two fingers. pics when i feel good.


Good to hear, rest up!!


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## sdcadbiker (Jun 20, 2008)

nitrousjunky said:


> Good to hear, rest up!!


+1; take your time, it's worth it!

Mmm... Percocet :thumbsup:


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## MendelMu (Dec 8, 2010)

Well, at least U got, good looking scars. Had a similar op on my clavicle, but with a diffrent plate, casue it was in three pieces. But my scar i nasty looking compared to yours.

So speaking on that, u might feel a pinch and unpleasant feeling in the skin wearing backpacks but apart from that it's rocking. Benchpressed 120 kg before the accident, 4 months after the op couldn't press 20 kg. But now about 7 months I can stress it as used to do before op. 

I can recommend swimming as rehab later on, if U get problems with weak and immovable muscles cause of the cutting through muscles. That was my biggest issue. 

I did a lot of rehab and I think that's really important, as is massage. The progress is slow in the beginning but gets better later on. Do variety of exercises do improve the movement of the shoulder. 

Excuse my english.


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## nitrousjunky (May 12, 2006)

Yeah, I lucked into getting a very talented, highly recommended surgeon. Also didn't know until when they were removing the stitches, that he uses the plastic surgeon stitching methods.

I'm amazed at how it looks now, and yeah I'm getting most of my strength back now too.


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## chromagnus (Apr 19, 2009)

first is a 3d cat scan you can see where i blew two chunks off the front an bottom. doc said it was a challenge and a delicate surgery. Doc seemed happy with it but it is going to be a long time before i can ride b/c i broke off over 40% of the socket rim. Hurts like hell i will tell you that. i think there were three surgeons learning how to do it and they were able to use all they chunks without grafting bone. i have a band and 4 screws holding it all together. second is the post surgery shot. it looks pretty nasty in the pic, but it is smoothing out now. hopefully that old adage of broken bones healing stronger will be true b/c my ligaments attach to the broken parts.


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## sdcadbiker (Jun 20, 2008)

Dude that scar is huge! :eekster: Twice the size of mine... looks like your injury was a worse version of what happened to me. Was the glenoid damage caused by a dislocation? How are you progressing after two weeks? I hope you're not left handed! That was the worst part for me, having to learn to do stuff with my "off" hand for a while.

Good luck with your healing.


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## chromagnus (Apr 19, 2009)

sdcadbiker said:


> Dude that scar is huge! :eekster: Twice the size of mine... looks like your injury was a worse version of what happened to me. Was the glenoid damage caused by a dislocation? How are you progressing after two weeks? I hope you're not left handed! That was the worst part for me, having to learn to do stuff with my "off" hand for a while.
> 
> Good luck with your healing.


 i guess it ws pretty bad in there. Doc said it looked like a bomb went off in my shoulder joint. yeah right handed so i lucked out. they pulled me off pain meds today b/c i am unlucky enough to have had an allergic reaction. we will see how tomorrow goes. i have a feeling like i am going to make another call tomorrow. Tylenol doesnt seem to help much. I can do some very small hanging rotations to keep the shoulder loose, but other than that and a tiny bit of finger walking on the wall i am not doing much. trying to do a little bit even though i am only 2.5 weeks out of surgery so i dont freeze up as much. my buddy is going to do the pt and he thinks everything is going to turn out ok. luckily i sit at a computer all day so i have been back to work but typing is a real pain and i cant capitalize much b/c you need two dang hands. thanks for the well wishes.


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## sdcadbiker (Jun 20, 2008)

Cool that you're doing pendulums already, keep it up! It's going to seem like a long road; couple months from now you'll be lucky if you can reach your left hand in the back pocket of your trousers, but once doc gives you the ok to stretch it out things improve rapidly.
I'm getting ready for my first post-injury endurance race in a couple weeks, I don't even think about my shoulder any more. Depending on how old you are you can probably extrapolate from Nitrous & my recovery times to figure out when you can ride again.


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## chromagnus (Apr 19, 2009)

sdcadbiker said:


> Cool that you're doing pendulums already, keep it up! It's going to seem like a long road; couple months from now you'll be lucky if you can reach your left hand in the back pocket of your trousers, but once doc gives you the ok to stretch it out things improve rapidly.
> I'm getting ready for my first post-injury endurance race in a couple weeks, I don't even think about my shoulder any more. Depending on how old you are you can probably extrapolate from Nitrous & my recovery times to figure out when you can ride again.


i am 32 so not too old. i impossed a 6 month ban. i hate riding in august anyway. i like cold and wet riding. i usually dh in the summer or ride xc early in the am before work. i am just taking a summer off to build up leave again and do house stuff i have put off. i will be chomping at the bit this fall. i am going to try running more too. i think a 5k would be a good goal to get me into shape again. my trails are very rocky and nasty so i just want tons of time to be sure i am good to go. i dont want to be afraid of hurting things and have that cause a wreck.


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## chromagnus (Apr 19, 2009)

*ugh*

not sure if you guys ran into this or not, but i have major frozen shoulder. I did all my therapy (religiously at home too) and moved it what i was allowed (had to go easy at first because of the damage to the rim), but it still ended up freezing. I cant even get on a bike (comfortably) b/c i dont have the range of motion. Hurts like a mofo in the shoulder socket too. All the trail chatter (aka riding in my yard) just goes right into the socket. 2 months of ripping on the therapy table, but the shoulder capsule has some pretty profound tightness. 2 weeks i head back to the surgeon for an eval and i am hoping he wants to go in for capsular release. i guess most of the adhesion in the capsule is because they had to go in through the front and take it off to get to the broken glenoid rim.

Just wondering if you guys had rough therapy on your shoulders or not. I can go on the therapy table just to the point that i feel like i am going to pass out from pain and he has to back off. Even with that amount of hard stretching we cant rip the scar tissue.


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## Mr. IROC-Z (Aug 24, 2006)

Damn...I am not sure if I want to get back on my bike after reading these posts!
Scary stuff for sure!


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## BJL-1 (Apr 7, 2011)

Hey Chromagnus...i'm a PT (and also about 5 weeks out from a clavicle fracture with surgical repair--which is why i was drawn to this thread)--that sucks about the frozen shoulder. The capsular release is usually pretty successful, but anticipate that even after the procedure, it will be tight initially. Doc may have you resume PT right away and go daily for a week or 2. Be steady and consistent with the stretching--harder isnt always better as it can sometimes just inflame things more, create more pain make stretching more difficult and the cycle continues. It will get better, hang in!!


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## chromagnus (Apr 19, 2009)

BJL-1 said:


> Hey Chromagnus...i'm a PT (and also about 5 weeks out from a clavicle fracture with surgical repair--which is why i was drawn to this thread)--that sucks about the frozen shoulder. The capsular release is usually pretty successful, but anticipate that even after the procedure, it will be tight initially. Doc may have you resume PT right away and go daily for a week or 2. Be steady and consistent with the stretching--harder isnt always better as it can sometimes just inflame things more, create more pain make stretching more difficult and the cycle continues. It will get better, hang in!!


yeah right back into it after the release surgery is what will happen. Consistent is what i would call it, but that impingement pain fires up as soon as i start working on rotation. I have a really good PT guy so we have worked into this pretty gradually. The scar tissue is just so thick i guess we cant work through it. I have elevation, but the external rotation isnt there at all. (the front and inferior capsule took the brunt of the shoulder fracture and they got all the attention in surgery.) Bad part is i probably cant be manipulated while i am knocked out, because they are worried that it could refracture the glenoid rim. I guess that means i get to stretch and rip it after they cut the other ones. We will see what doc says in two weeks. I actually got on the bike in the yard again after that last post and the socket pain wasnt there. Just need to get some range back.

Have fun with that clavical!


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## chromagnus (Apr 19, 2009)

Mr. IROC-Z said:


> Damn...I am not sure if I want to get back on my bike after reading these posts!
> Scary stuff for sure!


yeah i wouldnt want to read any of this crap if i hadnt done it myself. I cant even watch TOSH.0 anymore. random images of pain arent funny yet.


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## nitrousjunky (May 12, 2006)

chromagnus- I haven't had any issues with mine freezing up. I can tell a difference if I haven't been keeping it active as much (as in shoulder workouts or stretching), but it is minimal. My only complaints have been those friggin barometric pressure changes (mostly the clavical)!

I've been back riding pretty regular on a rigid/SS/29er for a couple months and unless I take a really hard impact, it hasn't bothered me at all. My new custom SS 29er should be finished in a couple weeks and I'll be back primarily on a Fox fork though.


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## sdcadbiker (Jun 20, 2008)

Chromagnus,

I think my injury was similar to yours: front glenoid fracture that required an open surgery to repair, with two screws. Yes, I suffered from frozen shoulder too; external rotation was very limited and I couldn't reach into my back pocket for several months after surgery. 

You're only two months post-surgery, right? Patience, grasshopper! Your bones will take a minimum of four months to heal properly, the soft tissue will take longer than that. I'm surprised that you are even considering manipulation under anesthesia so soon, the risk of re-injuring your glenoid is pretty huge right now. I waited until my Dr gave the OK for my physio to get violent (4 months post injury) and then told him to push through the adhesions and not worry about me whining. Ask for some decent painkillers to help with this if you don't have any left.

I'm back to racing, finally! First endurance MTB race was April 10th, I sucked but I don't care, I finished! First road event was last weekend, both were completely uneventful shoulder-wise. That's blowing my own trumpet, but I wanted to let you know that recovery will happen and you will have a lifetime to ride your bike provided that you don't f*** up your recovery. Good luck!


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## chromagnus (Apr 19, 2009)

Huh, even though our injuries are similar we still have different issues. two more weeks and we'll see what doc says. No manipulation though, that is off the table for me with how i broke the rim. I am just interested in capsular release if it can help get through the scar and the impingement pain. See i cant even work on the stretching of that front capsule with the impingement pain on the back capusle. It is all back capsule when we try to stretch rotation. Coming off the table, sick to your stomach type stuff and little to no pressure, that i can feel, on that front capsule, and that is without putting much pressure on my arm. I fully plan on taking the long road. i would like a shoulder for the rest of my life, but something just feels wrong with how it fires up so quickly.


Nitro- i think you broke the neck of the glenoid so you probably didnt have that dislocation or capsule damage. I am guessing that helped you skip frozen shoulder. I dont envy you b/c yours looked pretty bad, but the frozen shoulder stuff is for the birds. Glad you are back into riding the setup you liked. I am going to go with suspension though from now on too. I liked rigid, but it just doesnt seem worth it right now. That area of the body could handle some cush.


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## nitrousjunky (May 12, 2006)

chromagnus said:


> Nitro- i think you broke the neck of the glenoid so you probably didnt have that dislocation or capsule damage. .


Yeah mine was the very bottom edge of the glenoid(kinda v shaped part). It basically just allowed the Humerus to drop straight down out of the socket. Which allowed less damage by that type of dislocation and it was easier to reset it during the surgery. I had very little range of motion after the surgery, but it progressed rather quickly once I was cleared to get more aggressive with the physical therapy. One thing that really helped me was getting in a pool and using the near weightless affects to raise and rotate my arm.

Combination of that, having a phenomenal surgeon, and being only 31really helped me out. I consider myself very lucky to have 100% of my range of motions back!! I do think it's kinda funny that the shattered scapula wasn't much of an issue at all. They just said it will heal itself and it hasn't been a problem at all.


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## chromagnus (Apr 19, 2009)

nitrousjunky said:


> Yeah mine was the very bottom edge of the glenoid(kinda v shaped part). It basically just allowed the Humerus to drop straight down out of the socket. Which allowed less damage by that type of dislocation and it was easier to reset it during the surgery. I had very little range of motion after the surgery, but it progressed rather quickly once I was cleared to get more aggressive with the physical therapy. One thing that really helped me was getting in a pool and using the near weightless affects to raise and rotate my arm.
> 
> Combination of that, having a phenomenal surgeon, and being only 31really helped me out. I consider myself very lucky to have 100% of my range of motions back!! I do think it's kinda funny that the shattered scapula wasn't much of an issue at all. They just said it will heal itself and it hasn't been a problem at all.


gotcha. pool would be nice. maybe even a hot tub with beer. Get drunk quicker, pass out, PT rips that shoulder, wake up in the hot tub to more beer and baywatch on a big screen. I would try that at least once.


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## nitrousjunky (May 12, 2006)

chromagnus said:


> gotcha. pool would be nice. maybe even a hot tub with beer. Get drunk quicker, pass out, PT rips that shoulder, wake up in the hot tub to more beer and baywatch on a big screen. I would try that at least once.


Sounds like a plan to me! :thumbsup: 
I can confirm that the hot tub with beer idea works well too!


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## sasquatch rides a SS (Dec 27, 2010)

I didn't read any of the thread, but just skimmed through and saw the pics. That's f*ckin sick man! I get queazy thinkin about it :lol: ouch!!


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## cslrider (Jun 18, 2011)

lucky u broke the clavicle and didnt separate it


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## cslrider (Jun 18, 2011)

nitrousjunky said:


> sounds like a plan to me! :thumbsup:
> I can confirm that the hot tub with beer idea works well too!


lol!


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## Nickbm3 (Nov 10, 2010)

NItrousjuny - thanks for pointing me to this thread. Dude i cant believe you walked out a mile by yourself! I only had to walk maybe 1/4 mile with my other buddy coaching me along. I geuss I got lucky that I didnt break anything else like you guys did! Although I think i may take the cake for worst clavicle-only break :thumbsup: Seperated and overlapped about an inch and a half, with about 5 fragments from the break (surgeon told me, cant see it in the xray though).










Here is my scar today (3 week point)









I feel pretty fortunate that my healing process seems to be going well so far. Im glad your doing better!

Chromagnus - Hope your doing better now!


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## BJL-1 (Apr 7, 2011)

Nickbm-
My clavicle fracture was a lot like yours. Not quite as displaced, but close and multiple fragments. Just over 11 weeks from surgery. Have my next follow up with the surgeon next week. Hoping to be back on the road bike after next week. Mountain biking in about a month,,,,I hope, Glad to hear your recovery is going well.


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## Nickbm3 (Nov 10, 2010)

Could you feel the bones moving against each other if you moved, before they fixed it? i could feel that anytime my arm moved a little bit, kind of a disturbing feeling! This is the first major bone I have ever broken, and was really kind of surprised at how it didnt hurt as bad as I always imagined something like that would (dont get me wrong, it still hurt alot!). 

My next follow up with the surgeon is on july 11th, Im hoping for a good outcome! Should lose the sling on the 1st, which will be nice also :thumbsup: Thanks man, Ill cross my fingers for you to get back on the bike soon too!


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## BJL-1 (Apr 7, 2011)

Yeah, I could feel things grating around in there also. Fortunately I only had to wait 2 days to have my surgery done. That feeling alone was nasty!

This is my first major broken bone as an adult and like you, i didnt think it hurt as much I thought it should have either-but like you said, it did hurt though!

Getting out of the sling is a nice milestone, but be prepared that your shoulder may be pretty stiff. It should work out pretty quickly with PT


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## chromagnus (Apr 19, 2009)

*Just as an update.*

almost 6 months of pt. Shoulder healed really well. Going in for capsular release surgery , manipulation, and about 4 to 5 more weeks of PT. OVerhead range is good, but external isnt too good. Sounds like it will be really fun for the first week. Lots of tearing the scar they cut in capsular release. Gonna be big fun. The bone is healed and that is the most important thing.

i asked them if the pt would be less painful after they cut me and they laughed at me. They said it will probably hurt more for the first few days and then get into hard stretching once the tendons heal inside the shoulder. Gonna be interesting. Impingement pain should be gone so i cant imagine that it will hurt more. Should be a different kind of pain. At this point i dont really care b/c i am just ready to move on to the next phase. I have been riding a bit, but this should get me back to more normal riding. Ready to see what happens.

i get to go in that night while i still have a nerve block in my shoulder so they can move me at pt.


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## xcguy (Apr 18, 2004)

"I get to go in that night while I still have a nerve block in my shoulder so they can move me at pt."

Yes, nerve block is your friend. I remember tears shooting out of my eyes at the sudden pain in my shoulder when I moved it the wrong way. Good times.


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## nitrousjunky (May 12, 2006)

Hopefully this will be the final fix and you'll be ready to shred that sweet new bike when it arrives!!


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