Well, after 44 years of skiing with no injuries, I finally did it. I was demo'ing some Head Super Shape Titans to see how they would do with our recent torrential rain inspired icy conditions. They did great on 3 or 4 runs.....until the final run to the bottom to return the demo's when I skidded out when trying to stop. My arm was extended when I hit the ground and I dislocated my shoulder. Went to the Somerset Hospital to have it popped back in. EXTREMELY PAINFUL!!!!!!!!.

I was wondering if anyone else in the DCSKI community has experienced this injury and what long term (or short term) side effectes you experienced? Did you have surgery? How long was your recovery.

Unfortunately, I think my ski season is over :-((

Sorry to ear this. I hope you recovery goes well.

Loaded questions. If simply dislocated youll be fine in a couple of weeks. Im similar age and out of shape, had same issue and was fine in a couple of weeks. Now if you tore stuff in there it could nag you for life or years as mine do from other injuries past.

snowsmith wrote:

Well, after 44 years of skiing with no injuries, I finally did it. I was demo'ing some Head Super Shape Titans to see how they would do with our recent torrential rain inspired icy conditions. They did great until on 3 or 4 runs. The final run to the bottom to return the demo's I skidded out when trying to stop. My arm was extended when I hit the ground and I dislocated my shoulder. Went to the Somerset Hospital to have it popped back in. EXTREMELY PAINFUL!!!!!!!!.

I was wondering if anyone else in the DCSKI community has experienced this injury and what long term (or short term) side effectes you experienced? Did you have surgery? How long was your recovery.

Unfortunately, I think my ski season is over :-((

I can empathize with this given my recent shoulder injury.  I also separated my other shoulder 9 years ago when I was hit by a car while riding my bike.  

If I were you, I would give it a week for the swelling to go down, then follow up with an ortho.  Unlike me, I don't think you are at heightened risk for injury if you fall.  But just like me, you probably have pain and greatly reduced range of motion and strength in the shoulder.  

Physical therapy has been a positive experience for me.  The therapist manipulates the shoulder which is uncomfortable at the time, but brings back range of motion and feels great afterwards (an hour after I leave the session, I feel terrific).   They also show you stretching and strengthening exercises to do at home.  

I suspect you could probably ski again in a few weeks (3?), but may opt not to.  It might be prudent to let all the soft tissue heal.  I still have bruising visible on the arm, and the injury was over 5 weeks ago.

 

Sorry to hear it. Good luck with the recovery.

 

I've never dislocated a shoulder, but I did do an over the handlebars on bulletproof and landed on my right shoulder. It turned out to be a level 2 separation - not quite bad enough for surgery. It hurt for a year, but I took a month off and was back at it - albeit with pretty wimpy pole plants for a while.

All the best for a speedy recovery.  Follow the docs orders, do the rehab and don't sweat all the LOUSY weather in the next week plus.  I do not think you will miss any powder days.  It's going to be 72 in Pittsburgh tomorrow with some rain. 

You'll be ready to roll before you know it.

snowsmith wrote:

Well, after 44 years of skiing with no injuries, I finally did it. I was demo'ing some Head Super Shape Titans to see how they would do with our recent torrential rain inspired icy conditions. They did great on 3 or 4 runs.....until the final run to the bottom to return the demo's when I skidded out when trying to stop. My arm was extended when I hit the ground and I dislocated my shoulder. Went to the Somerset Hospital to have it popped back in. EXTREMELY PAINFUL!!!!!!!!.

I was wondering if anyone else in the DCSKI community has experienced this injury and what long term (or short term) side effectes you experienced? Did you have surgery? How long was your recovery.

Unfortunately, I think my ski season is over :-((

I got a inferior posterior shoulder dislocation while racing the WSI circuit at Roundtop - got lots of air off the knoll 1/2 way down, landed it good but got bucked by the ruts and flew through the air. Landed on my side with my arm pulled back behind me (it sucked because I had the fastest split time).

Yes I had a friend that was both shot and had a similar dislocation (not at the same time lol) and he claims being shot hurt a lot less - I would agree. Thank goodness a doctor was actually skiing there and reduced it for me with the assitance of two ski patrollers.

You'll be fine - no lasting problems for me. No surgery or anything. I just did the "wall walks" and wore my brace for about 1 week. I did do some careful skiing about two week later, with my arm bound up against my torso.

I had a shoulder PT session this morning, and asked my PT for her recommendation.  She agreed you should probably have it seen by an ortho just to make sure nothing is torn.  

Most people recover well from simple dislocations, although there is generally some soft tissue damage, including to the shoulder capsule.  A lot of what I'm paying for is her to stretch and massage my shoulder to promote range of motion.  You can probably find a lot of the stretching and strengthening exercises (like the "wall walks" Crush mentioned) online.

This must be a common injury. I dislocated mine two weeks ago. Landed hard on left shoulder. I was both lucky and unlucky. Had two (or three) small fractures but non displaced. Some nerve damage. But no torn rotator cuff (the cuff probably pulled the bone and caused one of the fractures but itself didn't budget much). Ortho says PT only. No surgery needed. But season is over and 3-5 months recovery.

Sorry to hear it.  Heal fast, heal well.