"Weightlifter's Shoulder" - Distal Clavicle Osteolysis - Resection Surgery

[chickenwhistle]

NMK2 - I do mean towards the top of the tricep, or that region. Although when I work out triceps it doesnt really hurt so I am not sure it is actually the tricep. My pain description is vague because the pain location is vague, but it feels towards the top of the arm, not the actual shoulder, although the pain starts when doing chest stuff.
So yes I have started looking at bicep tendonitis. But then it doesnt hurt from doing bicep workouts only chest. Weird.

[bstn20]

Hi guys,
excited to find this thread documenting the progress of others that went through what I'm currently experiencing right now. This thread has already been around before I started lifting! I thought I'd contribute my personal progress and experiences with the surgery and my recovery journey.

About me:
I'm from Germany - so please excuse if my English isn't perfect. Just to give you an idea of my sportive situation going into this: I'm competing in Judo, weighing about 220-240lbs @ 6'3, 330lbs bench, 420lbs squat.

The injury:
In a Judo competition I fell on my shoulder quite violently. I didn't go to see the doctor. About two months later pain was still persistent and I was diagnosed with a tossy 1 AC joint injury. Normally that type of injury should heal on it's own, but it didn't. Possibly due to the disc in the AC joint being broken. 10 months later I decided to have surgery.

The surgery:
I had an arthroscopic reduction of bone spurs and soft tissue in and around the AC joint, the joint gap was minimally expanded and the bursa has been cut back. My Arm wasn't fixated and I've been told to move freely as soon as I could.

Recovery so far:
The first pain caused by the procedure itself vanished in about three weeks. Pain in the actual areas that have been worked on - the AC joint and the bursa - is more persistent. 4 weeks after surgery I started lifting very light, just to get things moving. After 6 weeks I've startet light back training, because pulling movements cause very little to no pain and I really needed some form of training. I'ts about 10 weeks now and I can train a little back & arms and in everyday life my shoulder is without any pain. Unfortunately benching or military pressing just a barbell still causes pain.

Plans for the future:
Considering the advice of my surgeon and the experiences I've read about, I've mapped out my recovery plan like this:
After
3 months: Training back and arms moderately heavy and incorporating some light side raises to keep shoulder mass
4 months: Getting a little heavier on the side raises. Bench and OHP just the bar to get the shoulder used to the movement again.
5 months: Light OHP at around 90lbs
6 months: moderately heavy pressing overhead. Light Bench @ 90lbs.

I'd be happy to hear any comments and suggestions from people that have already got experience with this type of injury. Especially I'd love to hear thoughts on icing and if it can speed up the recovery progress.

'Stay strong' to all guys experiencing the same - to one day bench 405

[Nm2k]

Hey bstn20, welcome to the thread! Looks like you are progressing along pretty good! Looks like you got a good plan for the future! Just listen to your body if if hurts the next day after work out give it a rest. My theory on icing ( and antiflomatoty pills) is I usually stay away from it, inflammation is your body's way of signaling where to send the nutrition and building/repairing enzymes.
Keep updates I'm interested how long it will take you to be completely pain free.
I'm at 6 months and 100% pain free in my right shoulder ( ac joint/bursa/slap tear as you probably read the previous posts) my left shoulder operated 4 weeks ago) 85-95% pain free.

[bstn20]

It's soon gonna be 4 months since surgery and I want to give a little update:

I've recently seen my surgeon and he seems happy with the progress we're making. He says, because they have to invade the joint capsule during surgery, irritation can last up to 6 months.

About two weeks ago I started to bench and OHP the bar again. I'm feeling a slight discomfort in the area of my front delt while pressing, but it's not too bad and I think it's good to get things moving. It's working out good so far and the movement is starting to feel better. Hope I'll be able to go on with the light pressing in 4 weeks.

I'm able to hit back and arms pretty heavy, do light shoulder raises and a little bit of Judo. Progress is slow, but I'm happy with the overall situation. Mapping out my rehab with the stuff I learned from this thread definitely helps me to keep patient (:

[Ecto9783]

What does painless popping/cracking when I manually palpate the AC joint indicate? I feel like there's more movement in the affected joint (left shoulder) when I press on it and that it cracks and pops often upon certain movements, but doesn't cause pain. Maybe just stiffness in the surrounding muscles. Could the stiff muscles (neck, trap, chest) actually cause the popping? Loose ligaments?

[saquiwej]

Hello grebnehtor. I hope you still follow this thread. I have read all your posts in this thread, so I know your case pretty much in detail. I reckon this is the most informative and to the point of all threads on this site on the mumford procedure. I myself am a candidate for this shoulder surgery. But I wouldn’t like to waste your time, so I put my question straight away. In some of your last posts, you give an account of your recovery from the surgical intervention a couple of years later on. You write that you can work out even better than before the surgery, your shoulder is fully okay. Could you tell me please, if you can correctly perform the straight-arm front delt raise exercise with the problematic shoulder? I mean this one:

(unfortunately, I am not allowed to post a link, but you can find the exercise on this site.)

The reason why I am asking you this is that the AC joint, the one you haven’t got any more, serves precisely to perform this movement, that is, to lift the arm above the head. I am curious to know your experience with this exercise. What is the difference in strength between your healthy shoulder and the affected one? How much is your 1 rep max with the two shoulders. I myself had to stop this exercise, because the difference between the two shoulders got too big and I wanted to avoid any visible asymmetry. I used to practice this exercise with one hand at a time for better concentration. Now I am using a barbell instead of dumbbells, for a better distribution of the load, so as to spare the injured shoulder (the healthy one helps out the other).

[Leadfoot77]

Checking back in - my surgery was about 10 months ago. Things were steadily improving, I was going very slow increasing shoulder lifts which was really just front/side raises, various rotational exercises all with pretty low weight. I started mixing in very light dumbbell flies (15-17.5 lbs) and then started adding dumbbell presses (started at 20lb got up to 40lb). Recently, over the past few weeks I've been noticing pain in the joint that got operated on and have backed off on these exercises. When it hurts, there is a noticeable swelling right at the joint, it's like the bone is popping up or something. Anybody else experience anything like this? Obviously, I probably need to go see the surgeon....

[grebnehtor]

Hello grebnehtor. I hope you still follow this thread. I have read all your posts in this thread, so I know your case pretty much in detail. I reckon this is the most informative and to the point of all threads on this site on the mumford procedure. I myself am a candidate for this shoulder surgery. But I wouldn’t like to waste your time, so I put my question straight away. In some of your last posts, you give an account of your recovery from the surgical intervention a couple of years later on. You write that you can work out even better than before the surgery, your shoulder is fully okay. Could you tell me please, if you can correctly perform the straight-arm front delt raise exercise with the problematic shoulder? I mean this one:

(unfortunately, I am not allowed to post a link, but you can find the exercise on this site.)

The reason why I am asking you this is that the AC joint, the one you haven’t got any more, serves precisely to perform this movement, that is, to lift the arm above the head. I am curious to know your experience with this exercise. What is the difference in strength between your healthy shoulder and the affected one? How much is your 1 rep max with the two shoulders. I myself had to stop this exercise, because the difference between the two shoulders got too big and I wanted to avoid any visible asymmetry. I used to practice this exercise with one hand at a time for better concentration. Now I am using a barbell instead of dumbbells, for a better distribution of the load, so as to spare the injured shoulder (the healthy one helps out the other).

Thanks for your compliments! I am able to lift, (no issues in shoulder) more weight at higher reps (225 @ 11 reps on third set) than ever. Range of motion is 100% before as it was after; however, as I have highlighted numerous times, my shoulder never has felt factory fresh.

As this is the 10-year anniversary of this thread, I have learned a lot since this dark cloud has come and gone. For starters, my beautify daughter was born, so my time in the gym has been less. In the three years of my daughters life, I have increased more in weight lifting maxes (and more in fat weight obviously:-)...) because I have been able to fully recover between workouts. I am blessed to have my family, and being able to focus on the two most important people to me rather than myself has been the most honorable and pleasant card I have ever been dealt in life. I am not saying any of you are selfish nor do we need to extrapolate hidden meanings on this decade digital footprint. My point: For those nerds out there, I will call my perception of recovery like the raven paradox. You may not know what you think you know.

Summation: a three year old and wife has taken time out of my day to workout and eat right. There may be more babies to come. Focusing on the makes me recalibrate what I understand about myself.

Left shoulder is good. Right shoulder periodically flares up. I know the stove is hot so I take it easy and rest. Chasing the same weightlifting heigh that we all crave and live for may take extra work for me.

Anyway, let’s move forward team!!

[bobbydenard]

I posted here in 2014 asking about the surgery I finally got the distal clavicle resection in 2015. I wish I had done it sooner. Pain relief was almost immediate. Took a while to find the groove on the bench press, but other than that there have been no issues.

[chickenwhistle]

Well I have had some interesting developments with my left shoulder.

I have been unsure as to whether it is DCO like I had in my right shoulder. But many of the symptoms seem similar.

However I initially had an X Ray scan and an ultrasound scan and neither showed any DCO. Nor did they show anything else.

I went back to see the same orthopaedic surgeon. He sent me to get an MRI scan. I actually had a claustrophobic freak out from the MRI scan and couldnt go through with it. Even though I have had it before. So the staff at the hospital just put me into a CT Scanner - which I think is like a high powered X-ray.

The surgeon left a message on my phone advising that there is no bone damage or cartilage damage unlike last time and nothing needing surgery. He said it is likely just some sort of bursitis or inflammation and that I should keep doing what I am doing and hopefully it goes away. He said nothing about rescheduling another MRI (there is another machine with a much bigger hole that I could go to plus get sedated so that I dont get issues again).

I am still getting shoulder issues now. I am not quite sure that they are the same. But I do get the dull achy pain. It tends to be mainly around my left trap rather than the ac joint itself. I still have not resumed any chest workouts. But I have been able to do yoga classes fine, unlike when I had DCO last time which was a problem. The pain periodically comes and I am not always sure what has caused it. Whether its from non chest weights at the gym or not. I find that sleeping on my shoulder sets it off. So does certain angles of leaning on it. Such as sitting up in bed on a laptop or reading a book.

Can anyone else shed light on what this might be?

I wonder if I should insist to the surgeon that he reschedules another MRI scan. As I feel a bit in the dark still.

[bstn20]

It's been about 10 months since my surgery now. Shoulder is feeling good. I'm back to heavy overhead pressing for some time now and recently started to incline bench. Flat bench and decline/dips still cause some discomfort. Overall I'm super happy with my progress. It's been a while, but I'm back to pushing hard on Judo and training heavy - feels damn good (:

That post by grebnehtor is the dopest All the best to you and your family. Guess we'll all undergo that change but until then I'm continuing to chase those gainz - if this thread persists for another 10 years, I'll come back too.

[chickenwhistle]

So the doctor referred me for a second attempt at an MRI for my left shoulder. I managed to do it this time. BY the way for people with claustrophobia I definitely recommend going for a wide bore MRI scanner as the hole is quite a bit bigger and makes the experience much easier.

I now await the results.

I am now doubtful that it will be DCO, since none of the scans suggest it was, not the Xray, not the ultrasound, not even the CT Scanner. But we will see. I really have no idea what it will be. I am hoping it is something subtle and easily resolveable since nothing has been able to detect it yet.

[chickenwhistle]

Ok I have a rather puzzling situation going on now.

I went to see the orthopedic today. He said none of the scans show any problems at all with my left shoulder. So thats an ultrasound, an X-Ray , a CT Scanner and even the MRI does not show any issues.
Yet I still have some shoulder pain.

The doctor said this can happen to people sometimes with minor shoulder issues which are too minor to show up on scans but people tend to recover and not go back to see him.

I was also starting to think whether it could be a neck issue with transferred pain. I suggested this to the orthopedic. He said he did not think so.

I am hoping it will just come right. It is not as severe as the DCO was but it is still a problem. Felt like **** after swimming for 40 minutes yesterday and get occassional flare ups.

I am hoping it heals on its own.

Do orthopedic's deal with neck issues or is that a different type of doctor?

[Goldengoal]

Hello, 28 y/o male here. I've been struggling with this issue for over a year now. I'm considering doing surgery, however, the pain is only like a 1/10 (only because I've heavily altered my chest workout). I've had to avoid bench press (although I can reverse grip bench press with 20 kg weights) and I can incline smith as long as I keep the reps above 10 per set and really focus on locking the shoulders back. After a chest workout there is always minor irritation and the intensity I'm going at is like 60-70% of what I could do before. I feel grinding in my shoulder if I move my arms vertical and they sometimes annoyingly click when I reach across.

My question is for those of you who have had surgery would you recommend it? I've had MRIs that confirm I have DCO. I want to be able to press heavy again but I'm cautious surgery could make it worse.

[chickenwhistle]

@goldengoal. I recommend the surgery. Well if your DCO was similar to mine anyways. I had an exceptionally long recovery but totally sorted out eventually. The orthopedic said it would not heal on its own. So it also depends how far advanced your DCO is. I think it gets to the point where it cant heal on its own but if it is not too far advanced then it might be able to do so. You should see a specialist orthopedic surgeon and seek there advice on likelihood you can recover without surgery.

[chickenwhistle]

Update - post all my scans showing nothing, my left shoulder pain now is completely gone. How bizarre. I thought I was in for another saga like with my right shoulder. Must have been some minor neck or shoulder issue which has healed. How lucky am I. Hopefully I dont need to spend any time here ever again!

[Goldengoal]

@goldengoal. I recommend the surgery. Well if your DCO was similar to mine anyways. I had an exceptionally long recovery but totally sorted out eventually. The orthopedic said it would not heal on its own. So it also depends how far advanced your DCO is. I think it gets to the point where it cant heal on its own but if it is not too far advanced then it might be able to do so. You should see a specialist orthopedic surgeon and seek there advice on likelihood you can recover without surgery.

Thanks bud. Any idea on the probability of success? (Not success in the general population sense but success in pain free bodybuilding). I've had to severely alter my workouts and it's been really depressing. I have full range of motion, pain is a 2/10 but always hurts when doing any chest or bi workouts. Ive tried chiropractor and rotator cuff strengthening, dropped my chest workouts to 50% of what it was but I can't seem to be able to shake this.

Do you find most weight lifters are able to be pain free from the surgery? I just don't want to be in a worse place from where I'm at now.

[chickenwhistle]

Goldengoal - I dont know the answers to your questions. I think you should see an orthopedic and ask them.

This guy here has an awesome guide on recovering from DCO without surgery http://www.osteolysisguide.com/my-ex...le-osteolysis/

[MantiRay]

Hi guys. I haven’t read through this entire thread but some of it has been helpful. I had this operation in early June 2018. The surgeon shaved off 7 mm of my left collarbone. It’s now been 4 months since the operation and my pain level is pretty significant. I’m taking Tylenol and Advil every day and have to place an ice pack on my collarbone for several hours throughout the day. My Dr. is not sure why I am still in pain as none of his previous patients have still been in pain 4 months post-op. I’m actually in pain while at rest. If I try to workout with even very light weight, I am in severe pain 2 days later.
My goal was to just get back in the gym doing light to moderate weight but I am nowhere near being able to do that. Dr. offered to give me a cortisone injection in the area where he performed the surgery. I decided to hold off on the shot for at least another month to se if my healing improves. Does anybody have any ideas or advice? Have any of you had this experience with a Distal Clavicle Excision?

[sowilson]

MantiRay. Your doctors suggestion (cortisone) might be a good one. Sometimes with inflammation and associated pain your body just becomes hypersensitive and won't calm down. A cortisone shot might be the needed boost your body needs to start acting normal. You could also seek a second opinion from another Orthopedic Surgeon. The one off cortisone shot shouldn't have the negative side effects (cartilage deterioration) that many are concerned about.

[MantiRay]

The surgeon recommended a cortisone injection in the ac joint area so I went ahead with it on Saturday. Within a few minutes of the injection, I’d say I felt 50% percent better which I guess is a sign that the ac joint area is the source of the problem and not something else. By Tuesday, the pain was right back to where it was before. Just a dull, burning pain where the clavicle was shaved down. I’m not really sure what to do next. Doc says that I shouldn’t feel pain at rest this far after surgery (4.5 months). And if it hurts at rest after 4.5 months, how long will it be until I can do pull-ups, rows or chest without pain? I’m thinking that it is going to be a long time.

I do want to say to anybody considering having this procedure to think twice unless you were told it is absolutely necessary to do so. This whole process has been a nightmare. I have been in pain (to one degree or another) since the operation and it doesn’t seem like it is going away anytime soon. At the rate this is healing, I may not be able to perform upper body movements in the gym pain free for another 4-6 months and it could be longer (this is just my estimation).

Anybody have any ideas or suggestions? He told me that physical therapy would not help in my case.

[sowilson]

Cortisone shots have a local anesthetic in the shot so you will feel temporary relief in the area just after they have given you the shot. The full effect of the cortisone is around 3-5 days after the shot. It is not effective in everyone which sucks if it happens to be you (I've had it go both ways, effective in knee and shoulder, not effective in fingers) so YMMV.

What to do now? You can certainly research the internet for ideas on pain management for ac joint, you can also seek out pain management specialists, or visit with another Orthopedic Surgeon for a second opinion (find someone who is a professional sports team doctor). Instead of railing against the surgery you had you really do need to realize that not all outcomes are perfect. It really does suck when your particular outcome is not what you were expecting. I know this from personal experience. You probably made a good, informed decision to have the surgery. Now you have a less than optimal result so work on finding a solution to that. Keep asking relevant professionals for help - you'll find a solution sometime.

You might want to contact the authors of this article for advise https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20711054

[MantiRay]

Thank you for the link. I do plan on contacting the authors of the journal article. I have been instructed not to perform any movement that causes pain (in my case, there is very little pain actually performing a given exercise but the more significant pain will emerge a few days later). Are you aware of any upper body exercises that are least likely to aggravate a sore ac joint? If I could find just one or two exercises to perform for back I would probably be satisfied at this point. I could maintain at least some degree of the strength and muscle I’ve built up. But as it stands right now, it is just demoralizing having to do nothing for so many months with no end in sight.

My doctor told me not to take over the counter pain killers before working out because this will just mask the discomfort and I will probably just make my condition worse in the long run (I don't think that he regularly lifts weights). I guess this sounds reasonable but that was when I thought I could lift pain free at some point soon. But what if I can never get to a point where lifting is pain free? Does that mean I’m done with upper body weightlifting? I’m only in my early forties. Also, if another cortisone shot is recommended, and if it is successful in eliminating the pain, am I doing damage to the joint in the long run by using it after the cortisone just kind of artificially eliminated the pain and inflammation? Any advice or ideas are appreciated. I know that there are guys with many years of experience on here. Thanks.

[sowilson]

yeah, be careful with using NSAIDs too much. A safer, effective alternative is icing for pain relief and reducing swelling. You can be proactive in this; icing after your workout and post workout stretching/foam rolling. 15 minutes of icing at the end might help reduce pain and swelling. As for workouts, you might try some typical AC/RC/Scap/Labrum rehab work which is also used by overhead athletes for training/prehab. Lookup "thrower 10" program. A reasonable one is http://www.ortho.ufl.edu/sites/ortho...rowers-ten.pdf . See if you can do these pain free. If you can then you might look at adding Cuban presses, push up plus (or OHP Plus), face pulls, band a parts, and YTWL routines. As for cortisone, the shot you have had and maybe a couple of more probably won't cause long term negative effects, those occur when you're using cortisone on a frequent long term basis. As always do some research and consult your doctor.

[anonymous]

I've been having crippling pain and a lot of noise in the front of my shoulder for the last few weeks, which has been getting progressively worse

2 weeks ago My ortho gave me a cortisone shot in the AC which did literally nothing to help it, but the pain was massively worse afterwards. After a weeks rest I tried to work out and couldn't lift even light weights without severe pain.

before the shot I could press the 120's for 10 paused with no pain. Now I can barely move my arm

Doing a 'pendulum' motion with my shoulder relaxed is horribly painful and the shoulder makes a ton of noise doing it

An MRI with contrast showed nothing apparently, other than some spurs on the AC joint.

Going to see another ortho next week because I'm getting a little desparate now. I've had 2 labrum repairs on the back of this shoulder and a bicep repair on the same side so DREAD another surgery and seeing my arm wither to nothing again


If I need the DCR, what are the chances of a deformity AC separation gap from the surgery? My ortho is massively downplaying the surgery but they always do that ****

[hrfdwhale]

Although this thread is over a decade old, lots of great material still out there. Not sure if the procedure or technology has improved, as I had the same procedure as everyone else.

Surgery - Was pretty simple. Two small incisions and had 5cm of bone shaved off to create space in the AC joint as I had the grinding and squishing going on during normal arm raises/shoulder exercises. They did give me a nerve block that had my arm hanging like a piece of meat for 24 hours, but it also meant zero pain after surgery. I'd ask for this if it's not already being suggested


Days 1/2 - After the block wore off, I was slightly sore, but no real heavy pain. Took meds to ensure i slept through the night, but not sure it was even necessary. Slept on my back to ensure I kept my shoulder elevated. Sling was off after 30 hours never to be put on again. Iced often as well as Advil on schedule.


Days 3/4 - Impingement when moving in certain directions, but range of motion doubled as the swelling went down. PT both days, and they were surprised how well things were going. Light exercises without weights, plus massage as the muscles are very tight in the shoulder/bicep/lats. Just advil. Also cleared to do walking/biking. Did inclined walking for an hour without issues, except some additional soreness in my lats from the back holding me upright (which were already sore)


One week - Many motions are back to 100% with little to no pain. Some others are limited (behind back, reaching across) with some light stiffness, so I just refrain from dong those. Additional exercises have been added (even with a 5lb weight!), as well as stretching for the sore muscles. Continue to do inclined walking, but usually every other day due to slight soreness that builds up. PT continues every 3/4 days.


Next Up - Continued PT/home exercises. See the surgeon in 6 days for the follow-up and removal of stitches.

NOTE:There is certainly some discomfort, but I never had any true "pain". There's also some of the grinding/squishing going on, but from this thread sounds like that's normal while the healing takes place.

[tbxv]

Although this thread is over a decade old, lots of great material still out there. Not sure if the procedure or technology has improved, as I had the same procedure as everyone else.

Surgery - Was pretty simple. Two small incisions and had 5cm of bone shaved off to create space in the AC joint as I had the grinding and squishing going on during normal arm raises/shoulder exercises. They did give me a nerve block that had my arm hanging like a piece of meat for 24 hours, but it also meant zero pain after surgery. I'd ask for this if it's not already being suggested


Days 1/2 - After the block wore off, I was slightly sore, but no real heavy pain. Took meds to ensure i slept through the night, but not sure it was even necessary. Slept on my back to ensure I kept my shoulder elevated. Sling was off after 30 hours never to be put on again. Iced often as well as Advil on schedule.


Days 3/4 - Impingement when moving in certain directions, but range of motion doubled as the swelling went down. PT both days, and they were surprised how well things were going. Light exercises without weights, plus massage as the muscles are very tight in the shoulder/bicep/lats. Just advil. Also cleared to do walking/biking. Did inclined walking for an hour without issues, except some additional soreness in my lats from the back holding me upright (which were already sore)


One week - Many motions are back to 100% with little to no pain. Some others are limited (behind back, reaching across) with some light stiffness, so I just refrain from dong those. Additional exercises have been added (even with a 5lb weight!), as well as stretching for the sore muscles. Continue to do inclined walking, but usually every other day due to slight soreness that builds up. PT continues every 3/4 days.


Next Up - Continued PT/home exercises. See the surgeon in 6 days for the follow-up and removal of stitches.

NOTE:There is certainly some discomfort, but I never had any true "pain". There's also some of the grinding/squishing going on, but from this thread sounds like that's normal while the healing takes place.

Please keep us informed of your progress. I've been delaying this surgery for years. Was it athroscopic or open? How long did you live with this condition before you decided on surgery? Thanks.

[hrfdwhale]

Please keep us informed of your progress. I've been delaying this surgery for years. Was it athroscopic or open? How long did you live with this condition before you decided on surgery? Thanks.

I certainly will.

I only had it for about 6 months. I did the whole rest/shots thing for the first 4 months. The doc pretty clearly laid out that I could live with it, or get it fixed with surgery. Since I’m 38 and always active, it honestly was an easy choice for me. I did get two opinions and ended up going with a highly regarded surgeon. It was done arthroscopic, which is highly recommended if possible.

[asavi4]

38 years old
4 weeks post op . They shaved off 1 cm
Feeling great and stronger everyday! FROM no pain and started doing decline pushups at PT this week
Each person recovers at their own pace of course
They key to this surgery is to go to a great PT and do the excercise they give you religiously 5-6 days a week. A good PT will also stretch you properly to avoid frozen shoulder and other complications and that shock machine with the cold pad works wonders. Don’t push it especially as you start becoming more confident . Do exactly what they tell you and you’ll be back at it in no time. Can’t wait to snowboard in 4-8 weeks and begins lifting again!

[hrfdwhale]

2 Week Post-op
Met with the surgeon today. Had the stitches removed, just two maybe 1/2" incisions left to heal - will be very minimal scars in the end.
He showed me scoped pics of the surgery. I had some tendon fraying that he cleaned up while in the shoulder. Also showed where there was 0% cartilage left in my AC joint. This just further solidified that without the surgery, it would have constantly been bone on bone despite any shots/PT/etc.

Mobility is ahead of the game. Can move almost 100% in all directions. Only areas that give me trouble are across the body in front, arm at a 90 degree angle with elbow out to the side raising above head, and a little going behind my back. I'd say I'm around 85% from a mobility standpoint.

Still never encountered any true pain throughout this whole process. Soreness on the joint and surrounding muscles for sure. Still slight bruising on my chest around the incision point. There is also a tendon/ligament "clicking" or rollover around the joint when I move in certain directions. This is from them being extremely tight after surgery, along with the adjoining muscle. As scar tissue builds up in the now AC joint void, and everything relaxes, this will subside. The crunching/squishing noises are pretty much negated now.

Cut back on PT, but doing it every day at home. Now able to run (have been doing inclined walks every day), and some light weights (just not pushups, chest press, or anything shoulder related). Getting strength in the supporting back/shoulder muscles is key. I have not once tried to overextend myself or load weight that was too much. Still 2 weeks out, and while it sucks not lifting, the healing is going well and I'm going to listen to the docs/PT.

Go back to see the doc in 4 weeks. I'll provide a weekly update to any progress, whether it be good news or bad. As of today, I'd say the surgery was a success and worth it.