Questions

If you guys have any questions then feel free to post under a n entry or drop me an email ; alexjones56@gmail.com .

Knock on effects

So what else did my shoulder separation effect? 

So after a few months off and then designing my own American football style shoulder pad I was able to play again but, it was not just my shoulder which was suffering. 

After a few months of playing I seemed to be on the Physio bed ALOT! But not only for my sore shoulder but for a number of other body parts surrounding the shoulder. I was constantly having a sore upper back, muscle knots where the main issue. My Physio Nick Coleman would be constantly finding new knots popping up all over my back, and they were not fun having them rubbed out. Now, although these knots were painful it was the shooting pain I was getting in my neck. Nick believed that it was due to issues with my nerves running through my shoulder into my neck but who knows, all I know is it was painful. Turning my head would cause shooting pains all through my neck and into my head.

A winged scapula was also forming on my right side, this was causing some considerable instability on my right side.

This meant that Nick was constantly on me about doing my exercises. Which was actually a huge help in terms of developing my muscles around the damaged AC joint such as the rotator cuff.

My lower back also suffered, at the time we did not associate the lower back problem with the shoulder injury but after a second issue with my back earlier this year and a visit to the chiropractor the two were linked. 

The fact that my right shoulder was causing me to carry myself in an awkward position was causing my hips to sit out of alignment and this was causing me lower back issues.

Anyway, from what you have read you can start to understand how many issues that this shoulder injury was causing. The injury which was only supposed to give me an aesthetical issue according to the NHS specialist. 

Post Injury

After the injury happened, I was very keen to get back to playing again. Unfortunately I am one of those people (like many other rugby players) that will do anything to play rugby, no matter what my body is telling me.

I was on the Physio bed ASAP, massage and theraband exercise to try and help get me back. I found that swimming after a few weeks was a great way to exercise and not cause me any pain. 

I think I was back playing around mid-November. I remember my return game was away to Haywards Heath in Sussex. The first bit of contact I hit, I felt the end of my clavicle feel like it had been bit with a hammer. Did I listen? Don't be silly. I went away and built myself a shoulder pad with thick foam and a cut up DVD case in the middle to protect it. My home made pad seemed to work, I could hit contact and not feel anything. Perfect, I looked like Quasimodo but I could play. 

The only issue was the grade three separation was having several other implications on other areas of my upper torso, which at the time I did not feel or know about.

Original Injury

I originally injured my right shoulder in a car accident back on the 11th August 2012. I was thrown into the air and landed on my head and shoulder and was fortunate to walk away with just the grade three dislocation of the AC joint and some scratches on my back and head. 

When I was seen at the hospital I was told that the injury was not too bad, and I would only have aesthetical issues with the shoulder. I was assured that the injury would have no impact on my ability to use my shoulder or arm. Stupidly I believed what this NHS doctor told me (not that I have any issues with the NHS). Below you can see the X-rays of what my shoulder looked like, and decide whether you would have believed, stupidly as I did what the specialist said.

Why?

Why am I doing this? 

Well I have had the operation to stabilise my AC joint in my right shoulder due to a car accident three years ago. I play a lot of rugby, and having a grade three separation of this joint doesn't go well with a contact sport! 

I am doing this blog as when I wanted information on what exactly happens with  the op and post op I couldn't find much from patients. Only things which had been posted by official sources. 

Hopefully this allows you guys an insight into what exactly happens pre and post op. 

Enjoy.