My three peaks went v badly this year and I ended up limping down Whernside in a bit of a state. Thanks to the nice people who stopped and checked I was ok, the guy who pulled my cramping legs so I could move off the path and particularly to Phil whose bike had broken and walked down with me. Your assessment of my shoulder as being buggered was more correct than my stoic ‘I’ll be fine… just let me get back on my bike’ spouted at the time 🙄

The A&E nurse who looked at my X Ray was ace – no reproving looks for falling off a pushbike. But then he did have his own grazes from riding his orange in Calderdale.

However the follow up consultant could hardly have been more disinterested… confirmed what the nurse said – grade 2-3 rupture of the shoulder joint – and asked me whether I need pain killers. I don’t. Booked me for physio in two weeks. I asked about riding and he said 2-3 months! Nothing about specific stuff to help myself apart from both rest and keep moving it and don’t lift anything up.

He was so unengaged that I forgot to ask about anything else I could or should do – like swimming, running, turboing.

I feel like I could be road biking in a week at current rate of improvement – is that really such a bad idea?

Hope to get to see the physio I take my lesser niggles to in the week as she’s got exercises for everything, but I’m self-employed so it’s not straight-forward.

Anyone got any experience?

I did mine grade two, three weeks before doing Passporte du Soleils last year.

Doctor in A&E took the piss quite a bit but was very helpful. The hospital physio was a bit average but my local doctor’s surgery has an excellent physio who gave me various exercises to do (‘stirring the bucket’ was a killer) and got me back in a couple of days before I went to the Alps to check progress. He gave me a tutorial on how to strap up the shoulder and then did the strapping for me. He was a bit sceptical about how it would hold up but said go for it. I did the exercises religiously for three weeks and wore a sling but didn’t do any riding until a couple of days before the trip – just to check it out.

I bought some of the two sorts of strapping tape but in the end just left on what the physio had installed. The riding was fine – just the occasional twinge if I hit a stopper unexpectedly. It was pretty sore lugging a bike box round the airport but fine on the bike. Now have a permanent lump on the shoulder but it works fine for riding.

I had done a lot of archery in my youth and may possibly have had a better developed shoulder as a result which healed faster, but I’m fairly weedy so I doubt that was a factor. I would stick to the exercises you’re given for 2-3 weeks and then crack on and see how it feels.

can you point me to any sites which have the exercises on pls.

I managed to seperate my shoulder at the same time as I fractured the radial head of my elbow several years ago and I had physio for the elbow but the consultant said there was nothing they could do for the shoulder and it would be better in 2-3 months and it still plays up

I was windsurfing with in 4 weeks and on the bike about the same time

I had a grade three ac joint separation a few years back. Was on road bike in about three weeks on on MTB in six. But I had very easy access to a first rate physio and did my exercises religiously.

Don’t start me on medical ‘professionals’. I think many forget who their client is half the time. I’d place many in the same bracket as MPs, Estate Agents and paparazzi. Grrrr!

Thanks! My glumness is lifting. I will get to the physio when I can to start on remedial exercises. Motivationtastic 😀

I don’t think Mr Consultant had been on a bike (or done any other form of exercise) in his life and this really lowered my respect for his opinions. The A&E nurse, on the other hand, was really great and helpful. Wonder what the relative pay scales were…

Just wanted to say thanks for the advice. I got back on my bike and did a local loop two weeks and six days after the accident.

It was just about ok. So I decided to take mountain bike on holiday. This was why I was sooo pissed off about the shoulder damage – we had booked a holiday in the Pyranees – (the Altitude Adventures Summit to the Sea trip). My plan b had been to take the road bike and just meet up with the group in the evenings. But then found myself unable to face not packing the mtb. Our fine host said ride until it hurts … amazingly, faced with technical trail my brain totally focussed on that rather than aches and pains. It was fabulous.

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IMG_6836 by BeateKubitz, on Flickr[/img]

Glad I checked out Singletrack… thanks again. 😀

Looks great – glad you had a good time. 🙂