Recovery Time Before Riding After Dislocated Shoulder?

I dislocated my shoulder pretty badly on Stairsteps at Aliso a week ago Saturday. The orthopedic surgeon that I went to on the following Monday indicated that I almost certainly fully tore the ligament that attaches the top of my humorous to my shoulder socket (he said something about a Bankart tear), but that everything else looked very good (tendons were still functional, etc.). He said the xrays showed that everything is back exactly where it should be, and that there aren't any visible bone fractures, etc. One interesting thing the doctor mentioned is that at my age (36), I only have a 2% chance of redislocation, as opposed to a 90-95% chance if I was in the 18 to 20 year old range; it is actually a good thing that my ligament tore (common in people over 30), rather than stretched (common in younger people).

I am to wear an immobilizer most of the time until my 2 week followup visit, and at some point, I will lose the immobilizer and begin physical therapy. The doctor indicated that he expects my recovery to take approximately 3 months, but I am not sure if he meant on the trails/surfing in 3 months.

For those of you out there that have been through this type of injury, is it realistic for me to expect to be back on the trails or paddling a surfboard in 3 months, or am I being overly optimistic?

 

weights

i have a friend who had this similar injury and he lifted a 2lb then a 5lb straight out in front and over head and sped up recovery by weeks but u should check with doc 2 c if you r a candidate 4 this. Physical therapy is the wa 2 go the more you work it the stronger it will get. Good luck on a speedy recovery.

 

healing vibes...

dis located my shoulder earlier this year.. Wore a "gunslingef" sling for 6 weeks and rehab for another 6 weeks after.. I started light trail riding 2-3 weeks afyer rehab... Follow what they tell.. Alittle extra time spent healing the "right" way will save you alot of trouble down the years...

also big word of advise... Stay far away from ebay when your out.. I almost went brooke..

 

i had a major shoulder injury in the army and let me tell u swimming is the fastest way to get your shoulder back on track.. take it easy at first then do walking laps while waving ur arms for the first 2-3 weeks then real laps swimming 3 months sounds right however its up to u to work out but not over do it! good luck!

 

http://www.socaltrailriders.org/forum/rider-down/36497-chewys-dislocated-shoulder-update.html

I was on the bike in ~6 weeks or so after....
slowly got back into the other types of riding, now i'm 99% good

 

except that 1 percent might be brain damage...#-o:beer:

 

Here is another thread on the same topic. I posted my story in that thread. Heal fast!

http://www.socaltrailriders.org/forum/rider-down/20770-disclocated-shoulder.html

 

Sorry to hear about your spill. Heal up quick Eric!

 

I had a tear in my rotator cuff years back from kickboxing and after it healed I went back to training but my shoulder was never the same. I noticed when I would get tired during training my shoulder would dislocate if I twisted it a certain way. I just learned to deal with it and kept training. Years later when I injured it mtbing I had to have surgery to fix it. After surgery the dr said I should have had surgery years ago because the joint in my shoulder was really worn out from the 1st tear and he almost had to cut me open and rebuild my shoulder. So if you have a torn ligament get it fixed now so u don't do anymore damage to it in the future. Hope u don't have the same problem I did and heal up quick so u can get back out riding or surfing.

 

I separated my shoulder. It was 5 months before I could ride with no pain. I'm talking heavy DH

 

A lot of it depends on your rehab. If you stick to it, granted you ahve good rehab advice, I would bet you are back in action in 3 months. But, as mentioned above, it might be a while before you ahve full strength and no pain. I'd say it was 6-9 months before the strenuous pain went away and almost 2 years before my shoulder was 98% back to normal and I forgot about the injury.

 

Thank you all very much for the good vibes and excellent input.

I have an appointment with the ortho tomorrow - hopefully he will tell me that therapy starts soon, and that I can lose the immobilizer (I am getting tired of explaining to strangers what happened). Based on how little I have improved so far though, I have a pretty good feeling that full recovery is a long way off.

 

Don't get discouraged. As everyone has already mentioned, follow the ortho's instructions and stay on top of your physical therapy once you get going, and you will be riding within 8-10 weeks. I dislocated my shoulder at the end of September, wore the Gunslinger immobilizer for 3 weeks and started PT. Saw my ortho last week and he cleared me to do some light riding.

 

Hope you heal up soon!

 

King,

Did you wear the slinger 24/7 for those 3 weeks, or did you wear it most of the time and take it off while sitting at a desk, on the couch, etc.?

I find myself taking it off while sitting at my office desk, on the couch, in the shower, etc., because it is a pain in the arse.

 

I wore it 24/7. Slept with it, etc. A real pain. According to the ortho it really helps with the healing process. Only took it off in the shower. Also if you need a referral for a PT place, check out ProSport in Newport Beach. Been there for 3 different injuries and they are awesome.

 

I'd check with a doctor first. But a friend of mine had a similar injury and he literally took about 4 months to get back to riding. Probably also depends on the person.

 

Grasshopper

It will take a year to fully recover... oh, you'll be riding long before that... but anytime you traumatize the body like that, it takes a long time for the body to completely heal its self.... I speak from experience (unfortunately)

 

+1

 

Dude get better and don't rush it, get some physical therapy/strength training when ready.