ok so i lost an argument with a tree stump at the weekend and dislocated my left shoulder. Feeling fairly down as the NHS nurse gave me sod all guidance on what to do following the accident, see the speciallist this afternoon so hopefully i’ll get answers to my questions then. in the meantime regale me with your experiences please.

4 weeks in a sling, another few weeks till gentle riding and up to 6 months till anything gnarrr!

Do ALL your physio exercises and keep doing them. A dislocated shoulder is not like a broken bone, you will have a permanent weakness so ongoing physio is crucial to keeping the stability of the joint.

^Very pessimistic recovery time IMO.

OP- how old are you?

I suffered a separated shoulder 18 months ago, it’s still not right.

The shoulder is probably the most complicated and least stable joint in the body. Sorry, but don’t expect it to ever fully recover.

I still can’t sleep on my left side and it causes problems/pain/clicking when reaching and lifting.

My advice would be to see a dedicated sports injury specialist – it was money well spent in my case.

recumbent to keep your legs in shape!!

If your riding is important to you then get your credit card out and get yourself down a private hospital.

It really depends how bad it was and if the scapula or rotator cuff was damaged. If its a simple dislocation then you could probably be riding a road bike in a month or so and a mountain bike in 2 or 3.

I did mine badly last september, and messed the rotator cuff. I was riding road bikes by October, XC (Gently) by December and downhill with no ill effects at all by March.

An operation will put you in a sling for at least 1 month (with keyhole) and 2 if more invasive so I would think carefully before doing that.

Some useful info here

I popped mine out a good few times snowboarding. MRI showed a bankart leision, stretched capsule and ligments. While waiting to have the op I did loads of physio and was surfing a lot, it got loads of exercise and was feeling really good.

The I had the op, moved inland and got lazy with the physio and 3 years on it’s still not that great. Physio is the key imo, have discipline, do your exercises and you’ll be fine. Thing is they are soooooooooooo boring!

Sling for 2-3 weeks, back riding into work after about 4-5, reckon mountain biking again after 2 months but take it slowly. I was early twenties though when I last did mine. Beware though if you do too much too soon it’s very likely to happen again.

I dunno if mine was properly dislocated but it was out of place and felt like it “popped” back in, then popped out/in again when I got in my car to drive home. Anyway I did that last August and I still don’t have full use of the shoulder back. Get onto the NHS physio as soon as possible, they take ages to get you on as it’s not high priority unless you’re losing earnings through it, I think.

I was back riding within a month or two though.

As someone else has mentioned if you have BUPA etc use it or at least check out private physios, if you are near Sheffield I know a world class surgeon and physio who are used to mountain bikers dropping in including Peaty and the majority of UK track cyclist etc etc

I got some pulleys that hung on a door to get movement back but that was after major reconstruction surgery so check with your physio first, cost £20 from a local specialist

Some serious pessimism above.

I dislocated mine about 7 years ago (rugby, not MTB), with all the associated rotator cuff damage. Did all the physio the NHS recommended (and provided) which was all about strengthening the muscles with resistance exercises using a big rubber band tied to a door handle. Its been absolutely fine since. No pain or instability despite lots of falling of my bike and falling over skiing.

Everyone is different but a dislocated shoulder doesn’t have to mean long term pain and/or an operation.

hi, forgot to mention I’m 45, shoulders are quite strong thanks to forrest and ashtanga yoga. and yes i’ll be keeping up on the physio 🙂

As has been mentioned, if you want to get back riding soon you absolutely must find a good private physio. This isn’t a criticism of the NHS, but they are simply going to help you get well and will follow the ‘rest and let nature take its course’ approach. They aren’t motivated to get you back on your bike as soon as possible.

I dislocated my shoulder last year and had to have a manipulative operation under general anaesthetic to get it back in place, and I was riding again without pain in a month and fully fit in six weeks. The key to this was aggressive physio combined with ice and anti-inflammatory drugs.

No sling, and I was exercising the shoulder the same day I had the operation – hurt like hell!

Everyone is different and every dislocation can be different!

Did my right one at New Year (also tree stump) and did the left 15 years ago.

If you are young then more chance of damage to cup (bankart lesion) – I was told 27yrs old is the 50-50 point, after which chances of cup damage drop drastically.

Left shoulder was out for an hour and was quickly back to doing stuff.

The more recent right shoulder is still giving problems 6 months after the event. It was out for 10 hours and needed GA to get back in. 10 days in sling and 3 weeks off work / probably 8 weeks before I felt happy to drive again. No cup damage but have had problems with joint mobility (“frozen shoulder”). Dye injection for MRI scan knocked progress back about 3 weeks which made frozen shoulder much worse. Still not got full mobility but joint generally feels strong and now out happily riding off road on rigid forks.

There is no magic physio treatment so don’t see the point in forking out on private – the consultants at fracture clinic were very quick to get me urgent NHS physio when frozen shoulder started. Just needed short visits to demonstrate exercises and measure progress – the exercises need to be done on a daily basis as part of your general routine to have any impact.

There is a lot of absolute BS spouted up there. What you really need to understand is that the vast majority of private physios spend most of their working week within a hospital and working for the NHS. They do this purely because the NHS pays for them to go through whichever new training courses come up.

You need to wait until the capsule, ligaments and any torn tendons repair themselves before you start stressing it again. I’d say 2-3 months until you are able to go riding an MTB again.

To help prevent getting a frozen shoulder look up pendular exercises and do them relgiiously. Frozen shoulders are much more of a hindrance and take longer to sort out than a dislocation will.

SBZ – you’re missing my point regarding NHS/private physio, and I agree that frequently they are one and the same person. However, in private practice a physio has the scope to work towards a different agenda such as returning to sport, rather than simply getting well. You pay for it (or your insurance does), but the private route offers a much more precise and involved treatment than you could reasonably expect the NHS to provide. I am quite certain that this was key to my relatively speedy recovery.

Nonsense.

lol, was it like this:

That was number 8 for me 3 weeks ago!!

I did a week in the sling, a week of out of the sling but I wore the sling at night and now week 3 I am back to work taking it easy, driving and doing normal day to day stuff.

As you can see from the picture I have had a ‘bangkok’ leision op (about 14 years ago) and that actually is still doing its job. It used to come out forward so you could see the top of my arm in front of my collar bone but now when it comes out it goes inwards (down) into my arm pit.

Consultant seems to think I have a chip in the bone that’s causing an exit point and I am awaiting a CT scan before op number 2.

My Physio has recommended to me (we are all different) that I take it easy for 6 weeks and start swimming / strength building excercises after that. I am going to ride the road bike next week I think with maybe some MTB come August.

I would totally recommend private physio, NHS physio in my experience are good but offer little ‘hands’ on help. My private physio (Not NHS ‘Private’ but standalone ‘Sports’ physio who was an ex pro rugby team physio) did swimming pool sessions with me and lots of good work whereas the NHS was a 15 min session of what I can and can’t do, a few movements and sent on my way with excercises to do. Not saying NHS physio’s are bad, they just don’t have the time to spend on little cases like me and my shoulder.

Heal quickly and take it easy. I hope it doesn’t cause you the 18 years of 8 dislocations, 4 different countries, 4 generals and 1 going into 2 ops that it has me 😀

I dont think anyone was suggesting that private physios are any better. Its just that they are more available and you can get to see them quicker.

When I did mine, I was given the first available physio appointment, 3 weeks after the event and it would have meant I missed one half of work per week in order to get to the hospital to get it. Going private meant I could pop in before work once or twice a week starting immediately after the accident. Its worth spending a bit of money in the early stages to find out the exercises etc.

When I did mine, I was given the first available physio appointment, 3 weeks after the event and it would have meant I missed one half of work per week in order to get to the hospital to get it. Going private meant I could pop in before work once or twice a week starting immediately after the accident. Its worth spending a bit of money in the early stages to find out the exercises etc.

Think that depends where you live. Some area’s will give better service than others, I got a physio appointment the day after I did on the NHS and then 1 a week for 8 weeks.

However, in private practice a physio has the scope to work towards a different agenda such as returning to sport, rather than simply getting well.

That is utter balls though. If you tell the NHS physio you want to get back to sport ASAP they will give the appropriate exercises and regime. Simple as that. It doesn’t cost them anymore to do it.

I would second the advice that frozen shoulder will be more troublesome than the dislocation!

Exercise is a very fine line because any further dislocations / operations = more time in a sling = more chance of it freezing.

I must have been lucky with NHS physio – probably had 10 sessions, first one was day after asking for it and usually get an 8.10 am slot so just an hour off work. I have a good range of exercises (pulleys, ball, ladders, stretches, pool etc) and a 15-30 min slot with the physio is fine for review – I don’t see how having someone hold my hand for an hour whilst doing them would help in any way (and apart from pool they seem to work best doing short 10 min sessions 5 – 10 times a day anyway).