Dislocated Shoulder

[jeduardo]

Went down hard (large rock jumped out at me:rolleyes:) while doing some MTB hill climbing this past Saturday. As we all know what goes up must come down and I sure did, because I dislocated my shoulder and bruised my collarbone.
I'm in my late 30's, and recovery from other recent "minor tweaks" has gone painfully slow (lower extremity injuries thanks to playing futebol), but I'm quite sure that others have had similar injuries on their bikes, so...
I don't want to lose my current cycling fitness which I've worked hard to gain and so I'm wondering, what did you do in order to get back on the bike as quickly as possible?
BTW: If this influences your suggestions in anyway, I was able to ride on my trainer, with minimal discomfort, for the 1st time last night

[MattTuck]

You can be off the bike for a couple weeks and not lose much fitness, and if you were training hard prior to that, you may actually come back stronger.

Other than that...

1.) Rest
2.) Eat well. (And I mean, REALLY well, proper amounts of protein, natural fiber, veggies, leafy greens, bright fruits, etc. Avoid sugar and other artificial ingredients that might contribute to inflammation. Drink a lot of water.)
3.) I can't speak to that injury specifically, but stretching may help either with recovery or with mobility/range of motion after you heal. I'd ask your doctor to be sure.

Hope you get well soon.

[slowgoing]

follow physical therapist's advice. This will help you avoid frozen shoulder or whatever they call it today, plus tighten things back up so you're not a perennial dislocator.

I put on the speed skates to maintain fitness. Not recommended if you think there's a chance you'll go down.

[AngryScientist]

with a shoulder injury, it seems like the trainer is an ideal solution. bring it outside and ride in the driveway.

heal up quick!

[jeduardo]

I think my doc's shoulder mobility exercises are working very well, but the idea of proper hydration/diet aiding me in keeping inflammation down sounds very good. I try my best to eat a rather "raw food" diet so I'm hoping that will bring-on some positive healing.
Well, the sun was out for the later part of the day here in CT so the healthly left hand/arm dragged the trainer out onto back deck for a 45min high-spin (presumably very low-watt) session
Shooting to be back on the road for med-light duty by next Fri
Thanks for the positive responses.
BTW: Henpecking the keyboard really sucks

[eippo1]

My only advice is to keep up the exercises way longer than the doctor says you need to - like do them forever. I had complications from my shattered collarbone leading to a dislocation later in a minor crash.

I went to pt, did the exercises, felt better, stopped the exercises and that's when things went downhill. After about a dozen more dislocations, I had to get sme hardware installed so that my arm would stop attempting to run away. Happened while zipping up my fly, sneezing in the shower, rolling over in bed (that was fun to wake up to), but the one that my friends have never let me live down is when I dislocated it in a pillow fight. That one even came up in a toast at my wedding. So do your exercises unless you really want some stupid stories to tell your grandchildren.

[Honey]

My only advice is to keep up the exercises way longer than the doctor says you need to - like do them forever. I had complications from my shattered collarbone leading to a dislocation later in a minor crash.

I went to pt, did the exercises, felt better, stopped the exercises and that's when things went downhill. After about a dozen more dislocations, I had to get sme hardware installed so that my arm would stop attempting to run away. Happened while zipping up my fly, sneezing in the shower, rolling over in bed (that was fun to wake up to), but the one that my friends have never let me live down is when I dislocated it in a pillow fight. That one even came up in a toast at my wedding. So do your exercises unless you really want some stupid stories to tell your grandchildren.

me too. I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to eat at Tbone again without shuddering as a result of them cutting and moving bones and soft tissue around in my shoulder.

more importantly, are you just sore or has it slipped out when putting your seat belt on, buttoning your shirt, putting the dishes away?