AC joint sprain...

[Acromiller]

I'll preface this with saying the search tool on this forum has sent me to an error page for 2 weeks now. So I know this has probably been asked a thousand times already.

I messed up my AC joint back in December of 2020. I was performing a front squat and had my arms stretched out straight in front of me
and as I descended my form failed slightly and the bar rolled forward over my left shoulder putting a ton of stress on it as I fought to keep my
arm stretched out and finish the rep. This was just the start of it all. My shoulder was sort of in a locked state for a minute until I slowly coaxed
it back to life and finished my workout. I had slight discomfort in it for about a week until the second incident happened.

I was completing my bench press set and as I went to rack the weight I put the bar back into the rack and slowly eased it down into the hooks and
that's when it popped, or whatever it did. I stood up and it was really locked for a good few minutes. That's when I decided to go to the hospital.
They sent me to an orthopedist and they x-rayed me and told me it was an AC sprain and that everything looked fine. I took the steroids they gave me
and did resistance band work but it's been 6 months now and it's not gotten better or worse really. I'm just in a constant state of worry bc I'm always
on red alert about anything that could potentially hurt my shoulder. I do heavy lifting at work being in home improvement and I always feel handicapped
on the job.

I've read countless articles about rehab and how genetics play a role inside your shoulder and how impingement happens if your built a certain way. The thing is I never had to deal with this issue so I don't believe the genetics play a role for me but also if the orthopedist says it was just a sprain then why am I still having this nagging pain in my shoulder that prevents me from lifting to my full extent or even doing everyday life activities without having to worry?

The people around me tell me it's just life and that it'll be that way for the rest of my life but I refuse to believe that. I'm just sharing my story on here to hopefully gain some knowledge that I have yet to find online or to maybe garner attention from others who have also suffered my fate and either have found a way too fully recover and enjoy not only working out comfortably again but also just living an active lifestyle again without the worry or are still in my position trying to find an answer.

Thank you all.

[blackjack2006]

I'll preface this with saying the search tool on this forum has sent me to an error page for 2 weeks now. So I know this has probably been asked a thousand times already.

I messed up my AC joint back in December of 2020. I was performing a front squat and had my arms stretched out straight in front of me
and as I descended my form failed slightly and the bar rolled forward over my left shoulder putting a ton of stress on it as I fought to keep my
arm stretched out and finish the rep. This was just the start of it all. My shoulder was sort of in a locked state for a minute until I slowly coaxed
it back to life and finished my workout. I had slight discomfort in it for about a week until the second incident happened.

I was completing my bench press set and as I went to rack the weight I put the bar back into the rack and slowly eased it down into the hooks and
that's when it popped, or whatever it did. I stood up and it was really locked for a good few minutes. That's when I decided to go to the hospital.
They sent me to an orthopedist and they x-rayed me and told me it was an AC sprain and that everything looked fine. I took the steroids they gave me
and did resistance band work but it's been 6 months now and it's not gotten better or worse really. I'm just in a constant state of worry bc I'm always
on red alert about anything that could potentially hurt my shoulder. I do heavy lifting at work being in home improvement and I always feel handicapped
on the job.

I've read countless articles about rehab and how genetics play a role inside your shoulder and how impingement happens if your built a certain way. The thing is I never had to deal with this issue so I don't believe the genetics play a role for me but also if the orthopedist says it was just a sprain then why am I still having this nagging pain in my shoulder that prevents me from lifting to my full extent or even doing everyday life activities without having to worry?

The people around me tell me it's just life and that it'll be that way for the rest of my life but I refuse to believe that. I'm just sharing my story on here to hopefully gain some knowledge that I have yet to find online or to maybe garner attention from others who have also suffered my fate and either have found a way too fully recover and enjoy not only working out comfortably again but also just living an active lifestyle again without the worry or are still in my position trying to find an answer.

Thank you all.

Was in the same situation. Grade 3+ AC separation. It took around 1.5 years not to think about it every day. But I didn't like the instability and opted for surgery. It's better now in terms of stability but not much, and I ended up with DCO. Work on scapular stability, strengthen rhomboids and rotator cuff muscles. If you don't have winging scapula, you're fine. If you're doing a lot of overhead work, then maybe you can talk with your orthopod, but looking back, I'm not sure if I would do surgery again.