fractured scapula

[boscoman]

Good afternoon everyone. I have broken my shoulder blade (scapula). This is on my right (dominant) side. It is comminuted (3 or more pieces) and displaced. I stepped backward off the swim platform and fell flat on my back onto the gravel floor of the boat storage. I saw the orthopedic surgeon yesterday and he said that since the joint wasn't damaged, I wouldn't need surgery. He gave me some exercises (pendulum) to do and told me to get rid of the sling and wean off pain pills asap.

 

If anybody here has had a similar injury, I would appreciate hearing of your experience. Also, what exercises in addition to the pendulums did you find particularly helpful?

 

I'm free skier and I am hoping to start skiing again at the beginning of next season. Any opinions as to whether that is a realistic expectation?

 

Thanks very much,

 

Bill Montgomery

 

[Rw3]

Thats not a fun injury to recover from, but I would just stick to pendulums for the next couple of weeks, then get yourself into a PT to help with maintaining ROM...mostly passive at first. Strengthening will come when healed....prob around 6-8 weeks. The scapula has 17 muscles that attach to it, so super complex, but heals well especially if fracture is extra-articular (not in joint). Sorry to hear about your injury, but you wont have any problems getting back at it by next season.

[boscoman]

thanks so much, Rw3. At least I have the offseason to recover

[jetpilotg4]

Sorry to hear about your injury speedy recovery!

[vtmecheng]

What @Rw3 said. I broke my scapula and collapsed a lung in a bike accident. Took serious time to heal but eventually did. 15 years later I still feel it when I get really cold but that’s about it. Be patient.

[Not_The_Pug]

@boscoman I fractured my scapula a few years ago and was back skiing in 6 weeks. Should not be an issue to ski by spring.

[boscoman]

Thanks, everybody! I'm down to one pain pill per day at bedtime and I'm leaving the sling off completely during the day. followup with ortho doc 2nd week in Dec.

[boscoman]

Hi everybody, I'm now 11 weeks out, cut loose from doc and I cut myself loose from PT. I'm doing most of the PT stuff at home. ROM is fantastic, just working mostly on strength now.Question: Does anyone injure their shoulder waterskiing? If not, what kinds of activities are hazardous for shoulders? Also, does my injury make me more vulnerable to other injuries such as rotator cuff, etc?Thanks again,Bill Montgomery

 

[lpskier]

Hurt your shoulders skiing? Ha! Never! Shoulders, particularly torn rotator cuffs, are one of the most “popular” water ski injuries.

 

[boscoman]

And the culprit is the pull I would guess?

 

[boscoman]

Bearing in mind that I'm not any sort of competition skier, not real sure I'll ever get exposure to a course, just free skiing, trying to make turns, etc....are there ways to decrease my risk of shoulder injury?

 

[swbca]

@

lpskier

Rotator Cuff surgery has tough recovery . . my main snow ski friend is out for the season.

How does this injury happen in water skiing. Is it from skiing or is it from falling. 

 

[boscoman]

I am super happy to report that after 14 or so weeks, I am very close to being back to normal. I have no doubt that I'll be able ski at my pre-injury level when the water warms sufficiently. My only range of motion deficit has to do with reaching behind my back both down from the top and up from the bottom. I do have a lot of 'clicking' during certain movements. I presume this is from the pieces of bone moving against each other. When I reach into a cabinet for a cup or plate in the kitchen, as my arm returns to neutral position, it hangs up. Then with effort the motion overcomes the hangup and i feel that 'click-pop-crack' and motion proceeds normally. None of this is really painful, I would just call it uncomfortable. Question: will this eventually go away or will it be a permanent feature of my post-injury shoulder.

 

Thanks everybody for all the advice and support

 

Bill Montgomery

[Rednucleus]

Have you had recent xrays to evaluate healing?

[boscoman]

nope, last xray was at 6 wks and they saw some growth/healing. I spose another xray would be necessary for a definitive answer, but don't want to tax the budget for little reward in the end.

[RGilmore]

@boscoman - the "reward" from a check-up x-ray is not observing minor improvement. The reward is discovering something bad you didn't know you had. Or NOT.

[boscoman]

RGilmore, thanks...point taken, but with one catscan and 2 xrays in the last 3 months, I think I've reaped all the benefit imaging can give me

[Rednucleus]

"Click pop crack" should probably be physician evaluated before having a tug of war with a ski boat. At 14 weeks there should be little/no bone movement if fractures are healing normally. You said you had comminuted displaced fractures. If fracture edges are far enough apart and have too much motion, they cannot heal. 14 week xrays should look much different than 6 weeks if healing is progressing well. My usual diisclaimar: I'm a veterinarian, not a physician!

[ToddL]

My completely unprofessional reaction to this is simply: If there is movement (clicking) where movement should not be, then things are not ready for normal activity. I would be a bit more concerned. Hopefully, all you are hearing/feeling is soft tissue trying to slide/move over a formerly smooth but now rough bone surface.

[boscoman]

Thanks everybody. I'm doing all my PT every other day, seems like if there was anything really wrong it would hurt more. But I'll probably check in with the ortho doc.