I was on a wave that crashed me and my boat upside down in about 6" of water today... I landed primarily on my left shoulder and felt/heard a "tear" when I landed... although at the time it wasn't a sharp/stinging pain. I have a significant amount of pain moderately high and forward in my shoulder that really hurts when I move it. I know to ice it and then use ice/heat tomorrow etc... my question is should I go to a Dr. immediately or can I afford to wait and see if it's just gonna be sore? Should I immobilize it with a sling or just try to avoid moving it? Halp!

3/28/2007 5:39:14 PM

1) doctors are good

2) what kind of boat and what were you doing?

3/28/2007 5:42:25 PM

paging skip

3/28/2007 5:43:08 PM

consensus: You better go to the doctor.

But yeah, I want to know what you fell on when your boat turned over

3/28/2007 5:47:38 PM

My "boat" =

3/28/2007 5:48:52 PM

oooooh













yeah, you're gona die.

3/28/2007 5:52:08 PM

Oh Noes!

3/28/2007 6:00:24 PM

death awaits.

Oeuvre, M.D.

3/28/2007 6:37:02 PM

sounds like you did something really bad, like tore your rotator cuff. i dunno. better go see a doc.

3/28/2007 6:44:40 PM

Can you raise your arm above your head? If you can't without an immense amount of pain it might be a broken/separated clavicle.

3/28/2007 6:53:05 PM

I can lift it, it's just when anything more than the smallest bit of tension is put on it that the shit hits the fan. Also there was not a pronounced "POP" sound.

[Edited on March 28, 2007 at 7:02 PM. Reason : pop]

3/28/2007 6:58:01 PM

Might be just a severe bone/muscle bruise, but should go to the doctor to get it checked out. Prolly have to get a Xray or MRI.

3/28/2007 7:01:49 PM

Will it hurt to wait a few days?

*literally no pun intended*

I would describe the sensation at the time it occurred as "sinewy straining." Like the sound of metal groaning in a submarine except higher pitched. It's hard to describe.

[Edited on March 28, 2007 at 7:05 PM. Reason : creaking]

3/28/2007 7:03:09 PM

You're one of those guys that always gets in my way when I'm trying to surf.

Oh, and sucks about the shoulder, go see a doctor.

3/28/2007 7:10:03 PM

http://www.boatertalk.com/forum/BoaterTalk

people ask shoulder advice all the time on there

3/28/2007 7:10:08 PM

If you're really concerned about it, just go see a doctor.

There's no way someone can really evaluate or help you without a physical exam to assess the actual injury.

3/28/2007 7:35:34 PM

Beardawg, I think from the trajectory you described the fall and since it hit you on the left side. You have aids.

3/28/2007 8:01:32 PM

Did you hear it or feel it when the shit ripped?

3/28/2007 9:01:15 PM

It seemed like both (I was underwater)

3/28/2007 10:00:49 PM

If you literally heard a pop, you fucked something up. Even partial separations take awhile to heal.

3/28/2007 10:12:15 PM

all i know is i didnt follow up with a doctor when i tore something in my shoulder and now it pops and hurts all the time. go see a doctor

3/28/2007 10:18:39 PM

oh noeeessss he has teh aids

3/28/2007 10:32:21 PM

Marcus Welby, MD, recommends Sanka. . .



[Edited on March 29, 2007 at 12:04 AM. Reason : . . .and percocet! ]

3/29/2007 12:02:27 AM

plz dont die says:



[Edited on March 29, 2007 at 12:27 AM. Reason : .]

3/29/2007 12:27:06 AM

Not being a huge vagina would help.

3/29/2007 12:28:41 AM

^^It's my little buddy Lawry!

3/29/2007 1:06:59 AM

just ignore it and it will go away

3/29/2007 1:25:39 AM

3/29/2007 6:59:20 AM

i hurt my shoulder during wrestling practice back in january. I never got it looked at and ignored the pain, and it is still bothering me. I reckon i'll get it looked at over spring break.

3/29/2007 7:08:52 AM

The fact that it hurts wouldn't be the thing that bothered me. If you did feel/hear something pop/tear, that would be the thing that bothers me. It seems like every couple of months I'll wake up one morning and can't lift/move my arm at all and it'll last a day or two.
But all thats just from sleeping on it wrong, which is in no way the same thing you went through. But I still feel that it qualifies me to give proper medical advice

3/29/2007 7:23:47 AM

i mean, i'd take medical advice from a history major.

3/29/2007 7:30:30 AM

Here's some things that could have happened.

1) You dislocated your shoulder for an instant. Doubtful since it hurts like a motherfucker.
2) You put enough pressure that you caused a split in the miniscus. The padding your joint rolls in. Those are LONG TIME recovery type and they hurt for a long time. Sometimes requiring surgery. This is kind of the opposite of dislocating (pulling out of socket).
3) you bent your arm hard and tore a ligament or ligament connection to bone. Both of which heal over time.

Here's how you can get a mild test (Regardless you need to visit a doctor and get some xrays).

1) Take your arm and extend it in front of you. If it hurts too much to do that it can be any of the above. If it doesn't hurt it's not #3.

2) Now rotate your arm to it's limits in a slow... very slow circular movement. If it hurts consistently it can be 1 or 2. If it hurts at specific points and you REALLY notice those points it's probably #2.

Now... regardless of what I just said. You need a medical opinion aka a doctor. Trust me... see a doc and don't go taking any muscle relaxants because that can do more damage than good.

3/29/2007 7:34:24 AM

i mean, i'd take medical advice from a textiles major.

3/29/2007 7:34:58 AM

Hey Beardawg
Change of subject, I know, but that pic in your gallery with the caption "notice the folding chair"
Where is it? I've spent about 5 min staring at that pic trying to find it

3/29/2007 7:43:43 AM

Center of the picture. The football player is holding a white chair on the field.

3/29/2007 8:01:32 AM

^^^ hmm well the fact I used to compete in martial art competitions for 4 and a 1/2 years going up against people that like to slam you into the ground hard wouldn't attribute to my knowledge or anything. But even if I hadn't. My points are correct, go check them and even then I'm still telling him to go to a doctor.

Yup... I guess I'm a world of disinformation

[Edited on March 29, 2007 at 8:39 AM. Reason : can't spell for shit]

3/29/2007 8:39:42 AM

in what position was your arm when you felt the "tear"

3/29/2007 8:58:34 AM

do you feel pain when someone moves your arm for you?

go to the doc.

3/29/2007 9:34:09 AM

Hopefully you didn't tear your rotator cuff.

3/29/2007 12:45:27 PM

The impact that caused the injury would be the equivalent of a downward slam on the shoulder. I just got back from the Dr. He wasn't at all concerned he said the rotator cuff was intact and that the muscles/tendons on the top of my shoulder were badly strained but not torn. So I'm on an anti-inflammatory now.

My next set of questions are how can I best facilitate the healing of said muscles/tendons... would low/zero impact exercises such as flatwater paddling and swimming move shit around and help it heal? How long should I just leave it alone altogether? I'm anxious to get back on the water.

3/29/2007 5:42:12 PM

Just curious, but why didn't you ask the doctor about how soon to start doing rehab? I'm hoping that you saw an orthopaedist...if not, that would be the logical next step.

Without knowing exactly what's going on, there's no one-size-fits-all approach to rehab. But, in a typical case, pain will be a good guide as to what's "too much" to do early on. You want to keep your range of motion as much as possible, but don't anything involving heavy resistance at this point. And if anything makes it hurt more than a little, don't do it. After a week or two, the initial inflammation should subside and you'll be able to gradually do more.

For smath's likely upcoming comment, "I'd take medical advice from a math major," I spent several years as the athletic trainer at a local high school prior to coming to NCSU.

3/29/2007 5:51:32 PM

i've had two knee injuries that were intensely painful (much worse that what you described from that first post) and my roomie is a licensed physical therapist who helped me rehab both times.

more than likely, your shit out of luck and it's going to take a long time (3-6 months?) to get back to normal. The first time I hurt my knee, I was sure I had ripped a tendon, at least partially, or had a torn meniscus, just from the amount of pain and immobility. I had the x-rays and the MRI and visits with ortho surgeon.

And basically they were like "nothing we can do." The second time my (other) knee was injured, I didn't bother. Just kept weight off it for a week or so, iced, elevated, and took it easy on the knee-intensive activities for a couple of months.

3/30/2007 1:57:53 PM

Quote :

"My next set of questions are how can I best facilitate the healing of said muscles/tendons.."

jesus christ just rest

give it a couple weeks of letting it heal

3/30/2007 2:08:08 PM

Some people say to put heat on it. Some people say to put ice on it.

I'll tell you my trick: heat the ice.

3/30/2007 2:32:14 PM

oh my...

3/30/2007 9:18:35 PM

Quote :

" For smath's likely upcoming comment, "I'd take medical advice from a math major," I spent several years as the athletic trainer at a local high school prior to coming to NCSU."

AND THAT MAKES YOU AN EXPERT

3/30/2007 9:20:24 PM

^ I wasn't a student athletic trainer, I was THE faculty athletic trainer who took care of injured athletes for 29 interscholastic teams.

Let me put it another way...becoming a certified athletic trainer (ATC) requires a 4-year degree in athletic training and 1000-2000 hours of internship experience, before being able to sit for the national board exam. Additionally, practicing as an athletic trainer in NC requires licensure by the state government.

So, to call myself an "expert" would be pushing it, but a "professional" is appropriate.

[Edited on March 31, 2007 at 9:50 PM. Reason : .]

3/31/2007 9:49:05 PM

This is severely cutting into the diversity, intensity, and overall quality of my fapping. : \

4/1/2007 3:12:07 AM

is there a large bump on your shoulder where there is normally just a bump?

you could have partically sepperated your AC joint... like a grade 2ish...

I was snowboarding and flipped over my board and dug my shoulder directly down into the snow heard a tearing sound and suddenly couldn't push myself up anymore... I completely tore all of the tendons that hold the clavical down and it was just flapping in the wind...

4 hours later they gave me a sling and some vicodin and said "it'll heal, go see the orthopedist this week" so I went to the ortho and he didn't do crap, he just said go to physical therepy and come back in 3 weeks... Vicodon didn't do anything for the pain,2 Naproxin Sodium made the swelling and inflamation managable...

its been a month, and I have full motion back and I'm starting to be able to use it normally again... but I was healing so fast I skipped the P-T b/c I didn't have time... I might start going now that I have motion so perhaps I'll finish healing faster... (sorry for spelling errors... I don't currently have word on my computer )

4/1/2007 7:13:34 PM

4/1/2007 9:03:33 PM