Sternoclavicular Joint Dislocation and Shoulder Flexibility

Hey all,

Its' an honor to finally post for the first time on this board. There truly is a wealth of information here and I've been devouring all the information I possibly could from this board for the last week.

A little about my situation.

Earlier this past summer I had what I was told was a Sternoclavicular dislocation in both of my SC joints. This was put back into place by a chiropractor and since then I have had no issues with it redislocating. As a person who has dabbled in Crossfit, I've put my shoulder girdle through exercises that likely I was unfit for at the time and I'm certain that was the cause of the original problem. (Kipping pullups with no prehab or flexibility training before hand) After getting my clavicles popped back into place I returned to doing things far more cautiously and I had no further dislocating. (Was it just a subluxation then?) Since then I've had a dull ache to mild pain in my left shoulder following any type of shoulder activity. Stretching to a certain point results in a somewhat burning sensation. My right shoulder is similar but the pain is only about a quarter of that which is in my left shoulder. Neither pain is severe, at all. The highest either one gets is perhaps a 1.5 out of 10. Very recently I had a PT tell me that my clavicles were rotating only about 50-60% of the amount that they typically do when i move my arms above parallel to the floor. They slide the rest of the way which seems to be impinging on my shoulder joint capsules.

Now, I have searched the internet far and wide for other athletes that have had similar situations. Unfortunately, I've had no such luck, and this has lead me to asking the following question here.

Here are my questions:

1. Is there any hope for properly rehabbing this issue? My PT seemed to believe that I might be able to overcome any pain by strengthening and stabilizing my shoulders with some generic PT exercises. Unforunately his office has moved and I haven't been able to return to him over the last couple of weeks.

2. Should i continue to attempt stretching my shoulders? Do I risk further complications by stretching my shoulders? They do tend to ache after I stretch. Maybe I'm just overzealous in my stretching? Perhaps I should be icing after flexibility work with my shoulders?

3. Would I benefit from a shoulder stabilization routine like Ido's? How often should I do this? Should I be worried if i suffer that same pain I usually have post exercise?

Thank you for listening to my long winded post :? . I really appreciate any input anyone might have to offer, and I look forward to hopefully sharing my progress with you all as I rehab this injury and get started with ring work eventually!

Edit: Forgot to mention that movement above parallel to the floor does result in popping and clicking in my shoulders.

I believe I'm over-dominant in the front of my shoulders as opposed to the rear. I'm attempting to balance this issue now.

I'm not sure if myofascial release is wise. There are definitely tender spots around my rear delts and scapulae but I'm not certain if these are trigger points or inflamation.

I'm currently on 6g's of Omega-3's a day as well. (10 g's of fish oil)

I am double jointed in my shoulders, and they have never been a problem for me. Actually, I'm double jointed in my hips, thumbs, and wrists too.

Strengthen every muscle that controls the shoulder and you will eventually be fine. Front, back, side deltoid. Pecs, lats, and traps too.

My two, very obvious, cents.

Seiji said:

I am double jointed in my shoulders, and they have never been a problem for me. Actually, I'm double jointed in my hips, thumbs, and wrists too.

NO YOU AREN'T, YOU HAVE EXACTLY THE SAME NUMBER OF JOINTS AS EVERYONE ELSE, THEY ARE JUST HYPERMOBILE.

although seriously, I don't really think I qualify to advise you on this.

Skagen said:

Hey all,

Here are my questions:

1. Is there any hope for properly rehabbing this issue? My PT seemed to believe that I might be able to overcome any pain by strengthening and stabilizing my shoulders with some generic PT exercises. Unforunately his office has moved and I haven't been able to return to him over the last couple of weeks.

There's no reason that you cannot rehab this issue and return to full function without pain. I would agree with your PT, strengthening and stabilizing, along with the proper amount of flexibility (both dynamic and static) should rectify things.

2. Should i continue to attempt stretching my shoulders? Do I risk further complications by stretching my shoulders? They do tend to ache after I stretch. Maybe I'm just overzealous in my stretching? Perhaps I should be icing after flexibility work with my shoulders?

At this point, try stretching for relaxation of the area, not increased flexibility. hypermobility without strength/stability causes issues as well.

3. Would I benefit from a shoulder stabilization routine like Ido's? How often should I do this? Should I be worried if i suffer that same pain I usually have post exercise?

YES. Ido's routine is one among many that you could use in order to re-align the tissues and strengthen/stabilize your shoulder girdle.

Thank you for listening to my long winded post :? . I really appreciate any input anyone might have to offer, and I look forward to hopefully sharing my progress with you all as I rehab this injury and get started with ring work eventually!

Edit: Forgot to mention that movement above parallel to the floor does result in popping and clicking in my shoulders.

I believe I'm over-dominant in the front of my shoulders as opposed to the rear. I'm attempting to balance this issue now.

Try refraining from any pressing exercises for 3-4 weeks, focusing on pulling and rotator cuff exercises. When you return to pressing, do twice as many pulling movements during each training session.

I'm not sure if myofascial release is wise. There are definitely tender spots around my rear delts and scapulae but I'm not certain if these are trigger points or inflamation.

Myofascial release would most likely benefit you greatly. inflammation does not cause pain, it is a response and indicator of a problem. Your soft tissues are probably not aligned or functioning properly due to structural change caused by the injury. even though the clavical has been re-aligned, the soft tissues will continue to be "stuck" in a neurophysiological pattern. Manual body work, as well as mobilization techniques, are usually able to correct this disfunction.

I'm currently on 6g's of Omega-3's a day as well. (10 g's of fish oil)

So between beginning trying to find trigger points in my shoulders/arms and stretching out my shoulders hanging from a squat rack yesterday... My shoulder's don't hurt at all today. Though I'm sure that would be just temporary if I didn't continue to focus on doing all that I can, at least it's a start.

Anyone have recommendations on how frequently I should attempt rehab work?

nickvb said:

Seiji said:

I am double jointed in my shoulders, and they have never been a problem for me. Actually, I'm double jointed in my hips, thumbs, and wrists too.

NO YOU AREN'T, YOU HAVE EXACTLY THE SAME NUMBER OF JOINTS AS EVERYONE ELSE, THEY ARE JUST HYPERMOBILE.

although seriously, I don't really think I qualify to advise you on this.

lol.

Double Jointed is a term used to describe people who have loose ligaments. I know I don't have two joints. Because of my ligaments, I can do certain motions most people can't. Like taking the ball of the shoulder out of the socket.

I have shoulder issues too, and using tennis balls and a foam roller I am slowly fixing them Stretching would help too lol!