Broken shoulder

[proximalhumerous]

Please can I have lots of positive stories about how your broken shoulder healed quickly with no lasting effects or loss of movement?

Quite worried about how I will manage in the short term and also the long term prognosis.

I broke my shoulder about 5 years It was probably one of the most painful injuries I'd experienced and I seriously doubted I get back full range. I'll be honest it did take quite some time to become painfree but once the fracture had healed after immobilization the hospital booked me in for physio and gradually I got back a full range of motion. I still find it stiffens every now and again so I up the exercises to loosen it. I'd say don't be in a hurry and give it time to heal before you attempt to build your strength and motion back up.

I’m 10 weeks on. Still limited range, strength, sensation and sore/achy but much of the movement is coming back. Excruciatingly painful for first month or so, lots of physio, rest and painrelief. Those I’ve come across who are year or more down the line, and older have got most of their movement back,

I’m over 20 years on! I never regained the full range of movement - do your physio!! I still get pain if I move my arm the wrong way.

I dislocated my shoulder and broke my upper arm falling over whilst walking the dog.
It took about three months before I could drive,regular physio exercises helped.
I now have full movement.

My 85 year old aunt broke hers 2 years ago, said it was the worst thing she had ever experienced and literally wanted to die. The specialist told her she might not be able to do things like brush her hair, fasten her skirt etc.

Within 6 months she was stiff but able to do everything she had previously. Now after 18 months she has full range of movement.

I popped round there the other day. She and uncle were building a shed and she was helping hold the roof up! (Needless to say I intervened, but it shows how well she has recovered!)

I asked for positive stories!

Wow! That is encouraging. Good for her!

I'm 13 months post break/surgery. This isn't a sprint, it's a marathon and you need to prepare yourself for that. I still can't lift my arm above my head much. I can wash my hair but can't easily tie it up. I still can't put my hand behind my back at all. I take paracetamol every 4 hours, every day, but the pain doesn't keep me awake at night any more.

I slept sitting up for 3 months and then gradually lowered myself to flat after 6 months. 4 months until I could drive, although I still find it painful sometimes.

Be kind to yourself and give yourself time to heal. Don't be surprised if you cry a lot, purely from the overwelming burden of it all.

I must be quite fortunate. When I'm not moving it there's only a slight ache and that's without pain relief.

Gosh. I'm on day 2 and am sleeping lying down and not taking painkillers.

I hope you make a full recovery.

I fractured mine two years ago. I got referred for physiotherapy and did my exercises exactly as prescribed and attended a group shoulder rehab class at the local hospital. I do fairly regular Pilates and keep up with some weights/resistance bands. It very occasionally has a bit of an ache, my range of motion is 90% of what it was and my function is fine now. My shoulder make all sorts of weird clicking noises though!

My sibling broke their shoulder six months ago. They had to have surgery and still can’t fully lift their arm.

Definitely! I was regularly waking up crying in pain in the night for first few weeks on codeine.

Sounds horrible. How did you break it?

I’d say it took nearly 3 years to get ‘full’ mobility but now it’s still not 100% (19 years on)
But mine was misdiagnosed for the first 6 weeks as a pulled muscle!!

Fell over !

Blimey. Is it a relatively simple fracture and are you going for natural healing? I was off my head on opioid painkillers for the first 8 weeks and they only took the edge off the pain. In my defence, my shoulder had completely exploded into several pieces which took hours of surgery to reassemble. The worst pain though was the muscle pain in the muscles around my shoulder blade. That was torturous.

Yeah, me too.

@proximalhumerous I expect it depends how bad the break is. Did you have a metal plate put in?

Yes, I think it's very straightforward. No surgery and natural healing.

Sounds like yours was an utter nightmare - don't know how I'd cope with that.

And me. Tripped over my own sodding feet.

No, no surgery required. Just given a sling.

Feet are dangerous things.

I tripped over my dog while out on a walk three years ago. Dislocated my shoulder and fractured the top of the humerus. Had to have it relocated and set under general anaesthetic, but then the fracture had slipped two weeks later so needed another op to reset and pin it. So so painful 😥.

But gradually the pain reduced and I started to be able to gently exercise that arm and shoulder. Saw a great physio who really encouraged me to see all the little gains I was making over several months.

As a pp said, do keep up with the physio exercises, that is what helped me to progress so now I have great every day function on that side , plus about 90 % of my previous range of movement. No pain at all.

It’s very important to do the exercises. With a sling only they are usually successful.