AC Joint Separation

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Ad Nauseam

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Has anyone ever had a shoulder separation and after subsequent surgery and/or therapy been able to roll again?

As per the sticky re medical advice, please note that I'm not asking for medical advice. I'm merely asking for a ray of hope.

Thanks.
 
Describe the injury? It like where your collarbone attaches to your shoulder and chest right?
 
I have some AC joint damage -- not sure of the particulars -- and I'm undergoing surgery on Tuesday. The doctor gave me a pretty depressing prospect of 10-14 weeks worth of recovery time. Hopefully I'll come out of it close to 100%, but I won't know for a while.

Unless there's more damage than he can see on my MRI, I've been told the procedure involves shaving away some of my collarbone.
 
The anatomy of the injury is somewhat confusing to me since there are far more moving parts in the shoulder than I was aware of. I've had little time to research as the injury just happened to me on Wednesday. I saw my doc yesterday and he diagnosed it as an AC separation. The results of the x-rays should be interpreted today.
 
Here's one resource from a quick google search:

Shoulder Separation - AC Joint Injury - Separated Shoulder

I had an AC separation a couple years back. The real determining factor, according to my doctor, was what Type it was. Type 1 or 2 generally heal on their own (I was in between the two and it took about a month before I could roll light, another month before I was feeling back to my old self). Type 3 or higher is where you start discussing surgery.
 
gotobread said:
I have some AC joint damage -- not sure of the particulars -- and I'm undergoing surgery on Tuesday. The doctor gave me a pretty depressing prospect of 10-14 weeks worth of recovery time. Hopefully I'll come out of it close to 100%, but I won't know for a while.

Unless there's more damage than he can see on my MRI, I've been told the procedure involves shaving away some of my collarbone.
Click to expand...

Not to kick a man when he's down, but that is depressing (i.e. missing the training time). It sounds as if you have a more serious level of AC separation, as I've read that only those require surgery. Hopefully the procedure will serve you well. Best wishes for a quick recovery.
 
one.armed.jack said:
Here's one resource from a quick google search:

Shoulder Separation - AC Joint Injury - Separated Shoulder

I had an AC separation a couple years back. The real determining factor, according to my doctor, was what Type it was. Type 1 or 2 generally heal on their own (I was in between the two and it took about a month before I could roll light, another month before I was feeling back to my old self). Type 3 or higher is where you start discussing surgery.
Click to expand...

Thank you for sharing your experience (and the link). You just provided the ray of hope that I was looking for, especially since my unprofessional assessment of my injury is that it's a Type 1 of Type 2.
 
I separated my AC joint about 9 months ago. I landed directly on my left shoulder from standing thanks to a nice de la riva sweep. I was completely sidelined for about 4-5 weeks and was limited to just drilling for about 2 weeks following. I was able to roll pretty hard at 2 months, but it probably took about 3+ months to get to the point where I was completely pain free. You'll really notice it when you elbow escape on that particular side. Hope that helps and best of luck w/ the recovery.
 
Ad Nauseam said:
Not to kick a man when he's down, but that is depressing (i.e. missing the training time). It sounds as if you have a more serious level of AC separation, as I've read that only those require surgery. Hopefully the procedure will serve you well. Best wishes for a quick recovery.
Click to expand...

Thanks (for the well wishes, not the kicking). The doctor claims it's a fairly common injury amongst lifters, which is funny because when I didn't know what exactly was wrong with me, I was trying to think back on when I must have injured it rolling or sparring, not once thinking that it could have been from lifting.

But outside of the recovery time, which is a major bummer, the doctor seems to think the eventual result will be very positive.
 
I have a stage 3 AC seperation which basically means my collar bone no longer connects to my shoulder. It kinda floats above it and it sticks up about an inch or so. Took close to 2 1/2 to 3 months before I could roll again and took almost 6 to develop full range of motion back. Doctor told me it couldn't be fixed. If I did fix it there was a good chance I wouldn't have full range of motion ever again.

GOOD NEWS!!! I have no trouble with it. There is rarely any pain. It looks gross but that's really about it. I've fought MMA and done many grappling tournaments since and never had a problem with it other than it muscle fatique a little quicker than the other shoulder.

Don't sweat it, it's not the end of your grappling career unless you had severe rotator cuff injury as well.
 
It's happened to me about 5 times over the years in judo See a doc to get it assessed, go to a physio and give it time to heal.
 
Totally depends on severity. I had a less severe AC separation, and I at least TRIED to roll a week and a half later. Hurt like hell, but I was able to really get back into things about 2 1/2 weeks after the incident. It did bug me to some extent for a while after that though.

Note: Assuming you have something similar to this, I self-treated with ice and advil for the first 3-4 days or whenever I tweaked it at all getting back on the mats. When it was less inflamed I used lots of tiger balm on it, and increased my fish oil intake.
 
I had a Level I separation in fall of 2007, but didn't know what it was and trained on it for about 3 months before finally going to a doctor. Luckily it wasn't that serious and he recommended a month off. After that, I was totally fine. Same shoulder has been bothering me now for a few months but I thought it was from over use after the shoulder surgery I had last year on my other shoulder. But I'm thinking now I may have separated it again. Time to go back to the doc I guess...
 
I have a grade 3 or 4 ive had it for almost 5 years it started getting much worse as soon as i started training i started getting strange pain ive noticed it gets very soar fas5er than my other i used to do construction and dug many ditches i think jujitsu and boxing are so much more on that joint 2 other people i train with have had surgery too correct it and both are insainly good at jujitsu going to get the surgery but its going to be 6 months out feels good to be refered to a dr that fixed one of my friends arms who taps me out every tine i roll though im sure hel do a good job ill say that ive noticed pain in my shoulder blade
armpit and my ac joint on my right shoulder and my left wich was suposedly uninjured ac joint gets kinda soar but nowhere near as bad i think jujitsu or mabee the moves i rely on are a huge straighn on the ac joint wgen im doing stand up ive noticed my right arm is very hesitant sometimes thriwing a cross is hard
 
I had a type three shoulder separation, I did not do surgery, it took about 3 months before I could start training again. A lot of Doctors want to put you under the knife because the surgery is big money for them, get a second opinion if so, a lot of times the body will heal itself. Also, it is extremely painful so the Doctor will try to prescribe you Oxycodone, Vicodin, or some other type of opiate. Use Tylenol, that stuff is very addicting.
 
I had a type 4 AC separation in 2009, had surgery, was back to training wrestling and kickboxing within eight weeks, and besides a few days of mild soreness, haven't had any problems since. I stuck to my doctor's rehab plans to a T which I believe was the most important factor. Obviously I'm not suggesting that you go back sooner than your doctor says, of course, and the eight weeks off was tough, but it was so great to be able to start training healthy and not reinjure myself. Find hope in being healthy again.
 
TS you ll be fine. Grade I and II are not permanent.

BE SMART however. Don t rush it and you 'll be fine.

A little surprised about needing a surgery for it. Do get a second opinion.

When you grapple you mess up your shoulders. When it happens it feels like it s all over but it heals.

Over the years I have had AC separation, impingement and a nasty rotator cuff one. They all healed. In the big scheme of things being sidelined 3 months is nothing.

Good luck !
 
KBE6EKCTAH_CCP said:
TS you ll be fine. Grade I and II are not permanent.

BE SMART however. Don t rush it and you 'll be fine.

A little surprised about needing a surgery for it. Do get a second opinion.

When you grapple you mess up your shoulders. When it happens it feels like it s all over but it heals.

Over the years I have had AC separation, impingement and a nasty rotator cuff one. They all healed. In the big scheme of things being sidelined 3 months is nothing.

Good luck !
Click to expand...

Can you tell me about your rotator cuff issues?

I was diagnosed with a rotator cuff impingement 12 months ago. I sat for 3 months just doing stretches, bands and light weights for physical therapy. I was completely pain free with full range of motion. I went back to grappling and all the pain came back right away. I rested again for another 3 months doing the same thing. Came back to grappling and pain came right away again.

Now I just roll through the pain since resting didn't seem to help. Part of me feels like maybe I should rest longer. But would it really help since I was already pain free twice. Doctors say it's not serious enough for surgery. I'm out of ideas. I'm really frustrated. I'm not sure how to get back to 100%.
 
The impingement wasn't related to rotator cuffs.

The rotator cuff one was doing judo randori. I tried a soto makikomi on a heavy guy, messed it up and fell flat on my arm that was across my chest, with the guy's weight on my back.

So it kind of pulled my arm out of the shoulder and I heard popping sounds.

Apparently nothing was ripped but only sprained. Did some PT and didn't do anything but run for the first 6 months. Then started slowly doing some body weight stuff. Started judo again after another ~ 6 months.

I still don't have all range of motion and overhand movements are possibly over for life...........but it doesn't bother me in combat sports any more...

The impingement was likely (it's been a while now since it happened) triggered by grappling, but was enhanced by bad posturing at work and apparently stiffness in my chest.

How did your impingement happen?
 
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