I started weight lifting aged 15 and aged 17 I had suffered a grade 1 acromioclavicular (AC) joint sprain from rugby. I landed on an out stretched arm. After 2 weeks I healed up fine and continued doing ALL weight lifting exercises as usual as well as being back to playing rugby.
Aged 24 I was still weight lifting 5 days a week at high intensity. I was in the process of dropping body fat for a show and my left shoulder began to feel quite tender around this AC joint. I was late for training one day and started with barely warming up. My grade 1 injury progressed to a grade 2 injury. My fault completely for not warming up and being so lean (around 5% BF). I had MRI’s and weight bearing x rays done AND consulted 2 orthopaedic surgeons who said, rest it for a month and start with with shoulder stabalisation exercises and you’ll be back to normal in no time.
Aged 26 (two years later), my AC joint doesnt feel the quite the same but I get on with it and still train 5 days a week. Im meticulous with the following before I lift and upper body weights:
Scap stabalisation excercises
Scap retraction & protraction
Glenohumeral internal and external rotar cuff work
Stretching
AND deep tissue massages twice a month.
Recently, however, Ive noticed a slight clicking and grinding in the sternoclavicular joint. So I went straight back to see an orthpaedic surgeon who then sent me for an MRI. The MRI showed no degeneration of the SC joint and no increase in joint space. In fact both joints look congruent. He said keep training - its nothing to worry about.
Im not convinced this is the case. When I lift my arm over my head and also sometimes when I rotate my glenohumeral joint 360degree I get clicking from my sternoclavicular joint. I think its ligament laxity due to the opposite end of the collarbone being separated at the AC joint and my years of training.
So in short, i think prolotherapy seems like a has proven effective for ligament laxity in the SCJ (for some cases at least) and was wondering has anyone here experience of this treatment??
This recent study is promising. : “Microperforation prolotherapy:…”
Any help would be much appreciated.