Shoulder soreness after fall

[Sweeper59]

I had a fall 4 weeks ago. I was in a group going single file through a small roundabout, and next thing I know, I was sliding along the bitumen. I don't recall exactly what happened, but I think I probably clipped the edge of the concrete roundabout, and the bike slipped out from under me.
I lost a fair bit of skin from my outer knee, hip and elbows, but that has all healed in the past 4 weeks. However, my shoulder is still sore, and I assume it was caused by falling on my elbow and which caused a jarring through my shoulder.
I had a couple of sessions with a physio, who thinks I've probably damaged the rotator cuff. It seems to be improving slowly, but I still have trouble lifting my arm above shoulder height. Has anyone else had a similar injury? How long does this type of injury take to heal?

[Baalzamon]

You could easily have bursitis. Only way to diagnose is back to docs and get an ultrasound.

[skydance]

It seems to be improving slowly, but I still have trouble lifting my arm above shoulder height. Has anyone else had a similar injury? How long does this type of injury take to heal?

Took me approximately 3 months tor recover after a similar injury. Interesting though, I got back to riding a bicycle in a week or so, and that seemed to make me feel better and heal faster. However when I tried a tiny bit of rock climbing, it got worse so I had to skip another month of climbing.

Anyway it all depends on the age. I know a young lad who had a similar injury and managed to recover in 4 weeks...

[trailgumby]

You may also have split/torn the cartilage inside the joint on which the bone is cushioned and lubricated. This happened to me from a similar fall due to bus fuel or some other lubricant being sprayed full-width across the kerbside lane on the northbound descent to Spit Bridge in Sydney. I estimate I was doing somewhere around 40km/hr at the time. Almost no skin off thanks to the oil, but I'd have preferred the oil wasn't there in the first place, thankyou Sydney Buses.

The shoulder's OK now, occasionally sore if I sleep on my side. Unfortunately I haven't ridden a surfboard since

[gabrielle260]

Only way to diagnose is back to docs and get an ultrasound.

I'll second that! And if the ultrasound doesn't show anything (and they often don't), then get an MRI.
I had a fall some years ago that caused a bone spur which abraded the rotator cuff. So I ended up having rotator cuff repair surgery some 8 years after the fall. Then in Oct 2014 I had a fall that damaged the same shoulder. An ultrasound didn't show anything and the doctor and physio both said it was only bruised but 4 months later I couldn't raise my arm above my shoulder. Turns out a thread from the operation had acted as a cheese cutter and had almost sawed completely through the bicep. So this time I had a more complex operation.
Long story short; torn rotator cuffs do not repair themselves. Weakness in the shoulder needs thorough investigation.
Good luck!
Andrew

[Top_Bhoy]

Keep an eye on it. I broke my elbow a few years back which the medical people believe was the cause of the frozen shoulder which developed shortly after and left me with limited movement for a considerable time.

Good luck

[ColinOldnCranky]

There can be any number of things behind it. Just be warned, leaving it longer increases the chance of a treatable short term injury becoming a chronic injury.

You've spent long enough on the wait-and-see stage. It's time to move from optimist to pessimist.

Get a referral and book into a specialist. Now.

[trailgumby]

There can be any number of things behind it. Just be warned, leaving it longer increases the chance of a treatable short term injury becoming a chronic injury.

You've spent long enough on the wait-and-see stage. It's time to move from optimist to pessimist.

Get a referral and book into a specialist. Now.

Agreed. I waited two weeks after dislocating my shoulder before seeing a physio, following the advice of the A&E registrar.

It was a mistake. I ended up with frozen shoulder and needed surgery to stop it dropping out.

On further reflection I should have mentioned this earlier. Very sorry.

[jpgibson]

rotator cuff, ac joint, clavicular fracture and more.get checked out medically.