AC Shoulder Sprain

Has anyone out there experienced an AC joint shoulder sprain/ separation? I was climbing a week ago and my shoulder popped, I finished the route but on the way down I noticed pain above my shoulder on top of the AC joint. I have full range of motion but it's still really hurts doing certain things. If there's anyone out there with any knowledge on the AC joint area of the shoulder blade I am open to thoughts and opinions.

Thanks in advance

I'm recovering from a similar injury. Lots of pain at first, but full range of motion. Over the last two weeks, I've had a lot of improvement just through emphasizing rotator cuff strengthening and scapular stability. Scapular pulldowns on a pull-up bar, exercise band rotator cuff exercises, and T- and Y-Flies, done at lower intensity, and avoiding gaston moves and locking out the injured shoulder, should go a long way towards helping healing. And ibuprofen on off days to keep inflammation down.

Now that I think about it it was a Gaston move that made my shoulder pop in the first place. Thanks for the advice and the exercise regime. I'm going to wait another week before I start rehabbing. Good stuff

Abandon,

I assume the separation was from a heavy shoulder impact with the ground? AC joint injuries seem more common that way

Sounds like you guys kept climbing through the healing process? Or how long did you rest before getting back into climbing?

Hi Cole. I had a complete separation of the AC joint in 2008 in a high-speed bike crash.
After ER, I had the shoulder immobilized for about five days when I saw the Ortho. I started PT and mobility exercises two days after that (six days out). I was riding a bike trainer two days after the accident, and running in a sling four days after. PT strengthening started about ten days after the accident, and I swam 400m after 2.5 weeks. I competed in triathlon nationals four weeks after the accident supported with kinesio tape. I continued to use kinesio tape for about two months, which is also when I started climbing again. I probably could have started climbing about 30 days out, but it would have been uncomfortable.

One important point, the ortho told me that my AC joint essentially was no longer attached to anything, so I could not do anything to make it worse. This meant that I was free to do what I could tolerate. However, if you still have intact or partially intact ligaments this may not be the case.

My separation was a grade III, meaning that it was complete, but not displaced. IV and V are complete and displaced, while a VI is displaced wit a punctured tissue in the shoulder..