No shoulder surgery needed for teenage football player

July 27th — admin

My 17-year old son separated his shoulder playing football. The doctors say ‘no surgery’ just rest and let it heal on its own. Could he get back to playing football sooner with an operation?

There are lots of problems with operations trying to repair the AC (acromioclavicular) joint. In fact more than 60 different ways to surgically repair the AC joint have been tried.

Wires and screws don’t seem to hold. They break or move causing problems. Sutures to hold the joint together don’t seem strong enough. Many times the joint starts to move apart again.

Surgery isn’t an option unless the person doesn’t recover with conservative care or the injury is so severe an operation is the only way to treat it.

If your son follows his doctor’s instructions he should heal in two to six weeks. Rehab should be completed before resuming football to prevent re-injury.

For more information on this subject, call The Zehr Center for Orthopaedics at 239-596-0100 or visit www.zehrcenter.com.The information contained herein is compiled from a variety of sources. It may not be complete or timely. It does not cover all diseases, physical conditions, ailments or treatments. The information should NOT be used in place of visit with your healthcare provider, nor should you disregard the advice of your health care provider because of any information you read in this topic.

Posted in Shoulders. Tags: , . No Comments »

What is meant by a separated shoulder?

October 14th — admin
I recently separated my shoulder in a car accident. Can you explain what exactly this means?

 
There are many parts to the shoulder complex. Most people think of the shoulder as the upper arm bone in a socket. That’s technically correct, but the “socket” is just a small part where the arm moves and turns. Above the socket, the collarbone attaches to the shoulder blade as it comes around from behind. A band of strong ligament holds these two bones together. Where these two bones meet is called the acromioclavicular or AC joint.

A shoulder separation occurs when the ligaments at the AC joint are torn or damaged, and these two bones are disrupted. Shoulder separations are graded as I, II, or III depending on the seriousness of the tear. An X-ray determines this. For example, if the ligaments are completely ruptured, the collarbone becomes dislocated. This is a grade III shoulder separation. A grade I is a minor ligament tear, and the bones stay in place. Grades II is in between these two extremes.

The information contained herein is compiled from a variety of sources. It may not be complete or timely. It does not cover all diseases, physical conditions, ailments or treatments. The information should NOT be used in place of visit with your healthcare provider, nor should you disregard the advice of your health care provider because of any information you read in this topic. For more information on this subject, visit www.zehrcenter.com.

Posted in Shoulders. Tags: . No Comments »
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