cvgmmartin Posted May 18, 2012 Report Share Posted May 18, 2012 Hopefully Billy Craig is still reading this this forum. In a recent fall I suffered a complete full thickness tear of the supraspinatus with retraction on my left shoulder (this is one of the rotator cuff tendons), there is also some damage on the infraspinatus. I will be having an operation to re-attach the tendon. Has anyone experienced this sort of injury and if so what sort of recovery have they made with regard to riding eg what % of previous strength was recovered, and how long did it take to recover, are there any protective braces that exist for the shoulder that are worth wearing when riding? Any advice/help would be appreciated. The quack tells me I shouldn’t ride again but what the hell does he know. I am 63 yrs old so don’t expect to recover as quickly as a younger person but figure I still have a few years left riding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazzaecowarrior Posted May 18, 2012 Report Share Posted May 18, 2012 (edited) I know it's a different part of the body but I did my knee three months ago. I tore my ACL, MCL and patela tendon. I'm only 36 but I've decided thats it for me and trials. I have only just come off crutches, may have to have yet another operation and it will be a total of 6 months before Im allowed back to work. I think you have to respect the medical profession a bit more. I work in anaesthetics and when my orthopaedic surgeon told me not to ride again I took it on board. If you fall again and damage the same area it is more cost to the NHS and an even longer recovery. I worked out the other day (I am that bored just lying down with my leg elevated all day) how much my injury has allready cost the NHS from ambulance, surgery, cost of replacing me in theatre for six months, physio, countless visits to trauma clinic and 2 days as an inpatient. Lets just say you could buy a small house near me. It's the same argument for why bother treating smokers or alcoholics if they continue to destroy their bodies. I'm probably going to annoy a lot of people for writing this but it's just my opinion. In the meantime, I hope you make a speedy recovery from your injuries. Edited May 18, 2012 by gazzaecowarrior Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billycraig Posted May 18, 2012 Report Share Posted May 18, 2012 Hopefully Billy Craig is still reading this this forum. In a recent fall I suffered a complete full thickness tear of the supraspinatus with retraction on my left shoulder (this is one of the rotator cuff tendons), there is also some damage on the infraspinatus. I will be having an operation to re-attach the tendon. Has anyone experienced this sort of injury and if so what sort of recovery have they made with regard to riding eg what % of previous strength was recovered, and how long did it take to recover, are there any protective braces that exist for the shoulder that are worth wearing when riding? Any advice/help would be appreciated. The quack tells me I shouldn’t ride again but what the hell does he know. I am 63 yrs old so don’t expect to recover as quickly as a younger person but figure I still have a few years left riding. I'd say heed the advice, its a tricky one to rehab. In theory (some disagree, me included) the muscle abducts the arm a little (which has little impact on trials) and also more importantly stabilises the shoulder as part of the rotator cuff group. Its getting it to function as a stabiliser thats the tricky rehab part. I'd say you have every chance of riding again but it really depends upon how much work your prepared to put into it. I'm nursing someone through a similar injury at the moment and if he listens he'll be fine. Is it right shoulder? Buy yourself some great lakes gelatin (green tub) which should be easy enough to get hold of for you, and take it as suggested everyday as it will help reduce inflammation and will also provide you with the perfect source to rebuild. Feel free to drop me an email and I'll do my best to point you in the right direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
classiced Posted May 18, 2012 Report Share Posted May 18, 2012 I had a big crash at the goose neck at Cadwell park. I was thrown in the air and landed on my left arm at 80mph. I shattered my wrist and the shockwave went up my arm and into my shoulder. All this happened 18 months ago. I had my wrist plated and pinned and a shoulder reconstruction. After a few weeks I was told that my wrist may never work again and might have to have it fused but my shoulder seemed to hold up. I then did a 10 week physio class but returned to work in 4 months. This was a bit too early but my sick pay ran out so I had to go back but was pretty disabled for another 2 months. I have given up racing bikes (Lambretta's actually) as I do not have another fall like that left in me but I still race karts and mess about on a trials bike. My shoulder is not as strong as it was and may never be but in my experience you will not want to try much for 6-8months. Sorry but shoulders are slow to get back into shape. You may be lucky though and it might be a bit quicker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davetheclaw Posted May 19, 2012 Report Share Posted May 19, 2012 Hello mate. I rehab quite a few of these as an NHS specialist MSK Physio. Infact, i've just discharged a 64 year old chap who had surgery for essentially the same injury about 9 months ago and we've got him back playing competetive tennis. Highly motivated chap. In my experience, here is what you should expect... 6 weeks no lifting, 4 months of considerable post op pain, about 6-9 months before you get back to riding. So long as you do your Physio there is no reason you cannot get back to trials. As far as rotator cuff tears go, there are hundreds of older people walking around with degenerative cuff tears anyway... who dont even realise... and they function just fine. The shoulder is very clever at learning to compensate so if there is any long term cuff weakness other muscles can learn to help. Shoulder braces are ususally designed to stabilise subluxing/ dislocating shoulders where there is too much capsular/ligament laxity. If you can strengthen up your cuff again and there is no ligament laxity then I doubt you will need a brace. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copemech Posted May 20, 2012 Report Share Posted May 20, 2012 Pretty sure I got some bone spurrs in my right one that do get irritating and such with heavy activity. It chrunches/ pops a bit on full range, but as you stated, it learns its way round. Have also had sub/ dis issues many times in the past with lax ligs. Trying to figure if worth fixing at 55, or just go till it gets too bad. As example it still works when riding normaly and do not overextend, yet may get inflamed from overuse, which may take weeks to settle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigel dabster Posted May 20, 2012 Report Share Posted May 20, 2012 Hopefully Billy Craig is still reading this this forum. In a recent fall I suffered a complete full thickness tear of the supraspinatus with retraction on my left shoulder (this is one of the rotator cuff tendons), there is also some damage on the infraspinatus. I will be having an operation to re-attach the tendon. Has anyone experienced this sort of injury and if so what sort of recovery have they made with regard to riding eg what % of previous strength was recovered, and how long did it take to recover, are there any protective braces that exist for the shoulder that are worth wearing when riding? Any advice/help would be appreciated. The quack tells me I shouldn’t ride again but what the hell does he know. I am 63 yrs old so don’t expect to recover as quickly as a younger person but figure I still have a few years left riding. Had that and a bit more last september rode my first proper trial today. It talkes a good while to settle down, the key is having a good surgeon and more importantly a good physio, with regular attendence, good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigel dabster Posted May 20, 2012 Report Share Posted May 20, 2012 oh fogot to say you need morphine for 48 hours after, and will proably sleep in a chair for a week or so Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cvgmmartin Posted May 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2012 Thanks to everybody for your advice, there were some positive comments that give me hope for a reasonably chance of riding again, and I won’t be a burden on the NHS since I am in Canada. Thanks Billy for the offer of advice re physiotherapy, I will contact you after the operation and have found out from the surgeon how successful he feels the op went. I had both knees replaced in 2007 so I know what sort of patience and work is needed when recovering from surgery, and although I recovered full strength on them, I don’t expect it to be the case for the shoulder. The quality of the repair will obviously depend on the condition of the tendon so I will only know what level of recovery I can hope for until after the operation. It was the left shoulder and I am right handed so it could be worse. I have given up any idea of riding this year so will concentrate on recovering for next year. Unfortunately I will miss Mick Andrews trials school in Quebec this year but maybe he will come back again next year. Vintage trials in Ontario are not particularly strenuous and typically we only do 24 sections in a trial, however silly falls which hurt, usually occur in the most innocuous sections, which is what happened to cause this injury. I will have to put the 500 Triumph away and stick to my BSA to start with and see how it goes and at worst I may have to build a Bantam to continue riding. Thanks again to all your comments and good wishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myzeneye Posted December 29, 2012 Report Share Posted December 29, 2012 I did this injury some time ago.... Recovery I'd say has been 85 -90% Takes time, and st backs are easily done if you don't take care of things but I'm happy with where it is now... I can ride just as bad as I did before 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b40rt Posted December 30, 2012 Report Share Posted December 30, 2012 Thanks to everybody for your advice, there were some positive comments that give me hope for a reasonably chance of riding again, and I won’t be a burden on the NHS since I am in Canada. Thanks Billy for the offer of advice re physiotherapy, I will contact you after the operation and have found out from the surgeon how successful he feels the op went. I had both knees replaced in 2007 so I know what sort of patience and work is needed when recovering from surgery, and although I recovered full strength on them, I don’t expect it to be the case for the shoulder. The quality of the repair will obviously depend on the condition of the tendon so I will only know what level of recovery I can hope for until after the operation. It was the left shoulder and I am right handed so it could be worse. I have given up any idea of riding this year so will concentrate on recovering for next year. Unfortunately I will miss Mick Andrews trials school in Quebec this year but maybe he will come back again next year. Vintage trials in Ontario are not particularly strenuous and typically we only do 24 sections in a trial, however silly falls which hurt, usually occur in the most innocuous sections, which is what happened to cause this injury. I will have to put the 500 Triumph away and stick to my BSA to start with and see how it goes and at worst I may have to build a Bantam to continue riding. Thanks again to all your comments and good wishes. Any update? Get yourself a Bantam as they are really competative these days (if your prepared to spend) Regarding earlier comments about giving up and saving the NHS etc money, obesity would seem to pose more of a threat than a few injuries now and again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigel dabster Posted December 31, 2012 Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 ...or smoking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cvgmmartin Posted January 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2013 Thanks for the interest, I had an operation in June to reconnect both the supra and infra spinatus tendons which had fully separated.( I now have a 2 inch scar as a reminder). The connection was made by putting metal pins into the bone and sewing the tendons back onto these pins. Although the recovery has been slow and it gets sore after exercising it does seem to be on the mend. I tried riding about gently at the end of November and although the jarring through the handlebars made it sore for a week but it did get better quickly. Currently I am doing repetative light weight (4 lb max) lifting exercises and the strength is coming back slowly. One think I have noticed is that with the lack of use, all the other muscles have shortened and atrophied so stretching is a key part of the recovery process. I feel fairly confident that I wlll recover most of the strength back but I will always have to be careful to avoid as much as possible lifting loads above shoulder height. Fortunately the normal riding position is quitre comfortable. I will be getting some shoulder pads since any impact, even a little bump against a tree just where the metal pins are could be disasterous. So I have until April (our first trial of 2013) to build up strength which will be almost 11 months since the operation and 12 months seems to be the norm for this sort of injury. Meanwhile the Triumph, BSA, and Bultaco, have been rebuilt and are waiting for the snow to melt. Bantams however are an unknown species around here. Happy New Year to you all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eugenevd Posted January 8, 2013 Report Share Posted January 8, 2013 Wow, that's a serious op. I've not had anything as serious but I've learned with mine that you need patience, little improvements every day. Range of motion and strength training, which sometimes seem like you just aint getting anywhere, with patience, does eventually break through. Hang in there, but never overdo it. Listen to the physio! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pindie Posted March 30, 2013 Report Share Posted March 30, 2013 Join a Pilates group run by a proper physio. It'll be sorted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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