I got into a mountain bike accident and separated my AC joint by a hair. Will this be a lifeling injury?

Question:

There is a lot of bruising and swelling on the place where i landed after i fell. I was going down a hill and unexpectedly i launched of a foot ramp and landed 15-20 feet away from it. I went to the ER and was told that i didn't break any bones. This happened about a week and 5 days ago, and i do feel it getting better; however, my range of motion is very limited and i feel a big bump on my shoulder. I'm wondering if my should will ever heal or if it will be a lifelong injury that i will have to cope with because of a stupid accident which could have been avoided.

By the way, i'm 19 years old.

Answers:
Strech and move that bad boy to increase circulation and to get those ligments moving. There range will be limited for a while. as it heals more you can start more intese streching. You can also keep it wrapped so it retains heat. It will heal but don't expect it to be to a 100% for many more weeks. The bump will more than likely go away over the period of a month or two. It helps that you are 19 because your muscles and ligements are more regeneritive.

Hard to make a diagnosis online. However, I had a similar injury when I was 17. That shoulder usually doesn't bother me, but I do have some bursitis in it, notice the changes in the weather, and ever since I can't play softball. Swinging the bat I reinjure it every time. Other than that, no other problems. Good luck.

The bump is not the worst thing to have, but if your ROM is limited you need to go the doctor and have this put back into place, you are still young and surely you would want to stay active, this could follow you the rest of your life. They can usually do this procedure arthroscopically, just making a few small incisions.

AC joint separations take several weeks to heal and for your range of motion to return. You say that you separated it by a hair, so I am assuming that it was just a slight separation, or a grade I-II sprain of the joint. That is good news in that there may not be a lot of laxity or looseness, which means a good prognosis for full recovery. The bump may be there forever, depending on whether it is from swelling, or if it is deformity from the clavicle seperating from the acromion.

Work on your range of motion, but only push to mild discomfort. You need to give the ligaments time to heal, and avoid excessive stress and stretching on them. Good scar tissue is formed in about 3 weeks, but it will still be very weak and will continue to mature and strengthen for months after injury.

AC separations usually do not require surgical intervention, unless it is for cosmetic reasons - ie. you can't stand the bump where the bones are separated.

If you continue to have pain, or stop seeing improvement with your symptoms and range of motion, you need to follow up with an orthopedist to look into further diagnostics.

I got into a mountain bike accident and separated my AC joint by a hair. Will this be a lifeling injury?

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