Last February I was involved in a collision with a car (me on my bike). My main injury was a fractured right femur. That's coming along nicely, thanks to the addition of some internal titanium scaffolding. I've been back on my bike for quite awhile, have pretty much full range of motion in my knee and hip, and have recovered much of my leg strength. At times I can even jog short distances with little or no discomfort.
Secondary to that I also dislocated my left AC joint. At the time, treating it seemed relatively unimportant as I needed both arms for crutches for several weeks, and my physical therapy focused on my leg. I haven't been in the pool in a long while. I tried a couple times after I was mobile, but decided I wasn't ready, and went so far as to give up my pool membership.
My AC joint still pops out in a number of situations, so I think I might need more than more r&r. I did get some attention from my physical therapist and do a couple exercises pretty regularly (standard horizontal rotation, and rolling my scapulae back and down), but wonder if there is more I could be doing. I'm coming up on my one-year follow-up, and plan to discuss options with my doctor. In anticipation of possible surgery, or just continued rehab, I'm wondering what other exercises I could do to improve strength around the joint.
I am an Occupational Therapist, Certified Hand Therapist (Specialty in Upper Quarter Rehab), and Manually Certified in Orthopedics . I have been a therapist for 19 years. I treat a lot of shoulders. AC joint dislocations usually do fine after several months. Scapular stabilization exercises (lower trap, middle trap, rhomboids, Lats. serratus anterior exercises are all helpful) also you want to keep the rotator cuff strong. The problem with dislocations are that if its bad enough, you may not be able to achieve enough stability to keep it from dislocating without surgeon intervention. (Although, I must say, AC joint ligament repairs are not that common) Have a good discussion with your PT to see if indeed you are having an instability problem (they can usually screen that pretty easily and then help you communicate with your physician). Keep up with the home program until you see your physician. Hopefully you can get things sorted out soon!
I am an Occupational Therapist, Certified Hand Therapist (Specialty in Upper Quarter Rehab), and Manually Certified in Orthopedics . I have been a therapist for 19 years. I treat a lot of shoulders. AC joint dislocations usually do fine after several months. Scapular stabilization exercises (lower trap, middle trap, rhomboids, Lats. serratus anterior exercises are all helpful) also you want to keep the rotator cuff strong. The problem with dislocations are that if its bad enough, you may not be able to achieve enough stability to keep it from dislocating without surgeon intervention. (Although, I must say, AC joint ligament repairs are not that common) Have a good discussion with your PT to see if indeed you are having an instability problem (they can usually screen that pretty easily and then help you communicate with your physician). Keep up with the home program until you see your physician. Hopefully you can get things sorted out soon!
