Ac reconstruction

Grade 5?! I thought it only went to 4. Yikes. Good luck bud. Looks like you've done what can be done and you're healthy otherwise. Pay attention and wrap some muscle around it. It will never be the same but make it the best it can be and safe riding. I ve had 2 grade 3 on my left and rotator surgery on top so it's a wobbly mess but I'm out there tearing it up! Give em hell.

Im sure different docs consider it different grades. I severed every ligament connecting the collar bone to the shoulder. The next grade he said was colar bone sticking out of the skin. Lol. Luckily i had muscle when i crashed or it would have been much worse.

I'm curious on this also. I went down last week separating my AC. I was told a stage 6. Is that even possible ??? LOL!!! The surgeon advised me to wait 3-6 months to decide on surgery. He knows me personally, and told me of a long healing process, tearing easily again, and permanent loss in range of motion. The giant lump on my shoulder looks horrible. My wife is PO'D because I informed her that this was not stopping me from racing. My relatives, and co workers think that I'm nuts also. Now, the best part is I'm 41 years old, and just got back into Moto after a 12 year break (wife, kids, mortgage). I guess the next question is has anybody not had surgery, and been ok? Sorry if I hijacked your thread..

No worries justin, i had surgery after 2 years when my shoulder finally got so loose from riding that the shoulder dropped pinching the nerves that go to my arm causing total loss of strength and numbness. I assume it was my muscle mass thst held me together thst long. I went to 2 different docs both stating it was a grade 3 maybe a 4 and if i could live with the lump i wud b fine. They were wrong after the mri revealed the truth. So unless they do an mri on you no one will probably really know.

Justin517 wrote:

I'm curious on this also. I went down last week separating my AC. I was told a stage 6. Is that even possible ??? LOL!!! The surgeon advised me to wait 3-6 months to decide on surgery. He knows me personally, and told me of a long healing process, tearing easily again, and permanent loss in range of motion. The giant lump on my shoulder looks horrible. My wife is PO'D because I informed her that this was not stopping me from racing. My relatives, and co workers think that I'm nuts also. Now, the best part is I'm 41 years old, and just got back into Moto after a 12 year break (wife, kids, mortgage). I guess the next question is has anybody not had surgery, and been ok? Sorry if I hijacked your thread..

Stage 6! WTF? All they say about Stage 6 is that it's very rare. Dude, wikepedia doesn't even have a picture of stage 6. Your shoulder is fuct up! Best of luck man. Be diligent in your recovery, the shoulder is a complicated mother and so important.
I'm surprised surgery isn't the only option. I'm interested how this turns out for you. Keep us posted and great luck!

kingpin772 wrote:

Ive been trying to read up on this topic but everyone has a different story. I had a grade 5 separation and went ahead with ac reconstruction surgery in november of 2016. It consisted of a 4 inch incision above the clavicle where they drilled two holes in the colar bone and ran a allograft ligament through the colar bone down under the coracoid bone then back up through the colar bone where two plastic screws were placed to hold it secure. Ive attached an xray of the area. 10 weeks in an immobilizer then gradual pt to regain strength for 6 month post op. Sometime during recovery i stretched the allograft somehow so now it psysically looks like i have a grade 3 separation but dr says its still intact. I still do not have full range of motion and dr said i 12-15 months to full recovery. Since we all know how dr's are and he highly stressed no riding to a guy who lives mx i decided to see if there is someone that has had the same surgery. I have rode 3 times in the last couple weeks, just testing the feel of riding and jumping again. I had no pain during but the next morning my shoulder is poping and i feel a grinding sensation. Any feedback would b appreciated. There is also a bit of discomfort along with stiffness.

Hey Kingpin,

I had a Grade 4/5 ACJ separation from a hiking accident and decided to have ACJ reconstruction with graft. It also involved a Tightrope procedure with FibreWire.. Thought I was going to have arthroscopic surgery but it turns out it had to be open surgery.

I struggled with the decision right up until the day of the surgery. Will be 6 weeks post op next week and still struggling as there is not much I can do with my arm. Next week should begin PT.

Wouldn't wish this injury on anyone and never want to go through anything like this again as I am 65 and live alone.

Do your PT and heal!