Replacement shoulders

[giropaul]

Has anyone here any experience of cycling with an artificial shoulder joint please?

I’ve a totally cream crackered shoulder ( osteo arthritis, no cartilage left at all ) . Currently just on pain killers to ride ( anti inflammatories had nasty side effects, so dropped those) .

Original consultant said that he would replace the joint except that a replacement joint would not be suitable for cycling, and he’d prefer me to stay active and try to manage the pain.

However, pain is getting worse over last year or so, and I’m becoming more accustomed to the pain killers, and am very aware of problems if I over-use them, so I putting a replacement back in the possible considerations box.

Any experiences would be gratefully received.

[chrisbainbridge]

I can ask a man.

I need a few more details mountain or road, TT or audax, racing with out of saddle sprints or gentle meanders.

[chrisbainbridge]

Oh, and where you live?

[Wowbagger]

Could you not have your shoulder replaced and go over to the Dark Side? At least one member of this forum clocks up many many recumbent kilometres despite having a lump of titanium where, in most people, there is bone.

[giropaul]

I can ask a man.

I need a few more details mountain or road, TT or audax, racing with out of saddle sprints or gentle meanders.

Many thanks for your interest.

Road, age/ability racing so trying to jump out of corners etc. TTs a couple of times in the year , usually abroad so more corners, climbs etc than UK.

Based in Staffordshire to answer your second question.

[giropaul]

Could you not have your shoulder replaced and go over to the Dark Side? At least one member of this forum clocks up many many recumbent kilometres despite having a lump of titanium where, in most people, there is bone.

Thanks for the suggestion. It had briefly crossed my mind, but my real devotion to cycling is around road racing and group riding I’m afraid.

[LEE]

On of the riders on the Tour of Andover YACF camping weekend rode Dark-side with only one arm (Basil?  Sorry for forgetting names).

I have (ride-ending) problems with shoulder/neck pain and just briefly sitting on Rich Forrest's Barchetta convinced me that it could be a bloody comfy solution.

I know you need to train a slightly different set of muscles but the comfort factor seems appealing.

[benborp]

I had the other joint in the shoulder, the acromioclavicular, removed twelve years ago. Replacement of that isn't possible so the remaining bits are lashed together with artificial ligaments. After five years or so I had the first episode where degradation of the materials altered the mechanical range of the shoulder. I was told to expect further episodes before requiring replacement and reconstruction after the expected ten year life of the artificial ligaments. I was told that if I had had the original operation a short while later this wouldn't have been necessary as different materials are now used with a lifespan in excess of my own.
I believe this area of medical science is subject to a large amount of research and development and advances in materials and manufacturing are frequent. Surgical techniques are developed constantly as well - always worth popping back to see if there is now a solution that will work for you. Different consultants will use different techniques and offer different levels of confidence in various solutions - I had quite a range of options to choose from along with consultants opting for completely different approaches.

[benborp]

In terms of cycling a weakness in the shoulder means that a lot of the work that muscles in the back and neck do to stabilise the head is compromised. It takes a fair amount of work to balance the demands transferred to unusual muscle groups. Maintaining core strength is important and lots of work on balancing fine motor control around the rotator cuff. To some extent it is easier for me to identify problems because I'm working with a permanent mechanical fault whereas you would be attempting to keep the new joint healthy before problems occurred.

A difficulty with shoulders is their extreme range of movement. Good muscle strength and coordination helps normal shoulders stay healthy and stable. I don't know if this range of movement poses problems for the longevity of artificial joints or their stability but I would imagine that good muscle strength and control would help minimise the demands that cycling would place on the joint.

[Kim]

On of the riders on the Tour of Andover YACF camping weekend rode Dark-side with only one arm (Basil?  Sorry for forgetting names).

Tigerbiten.  Barakta OTP has a similar one-handed trike set-up, on account of her left arm/wrist/hand being only marginally more functional than a prosthetic in a cycling context^[1].

Recumbents - particularly those with under-seat steering - put no weight on the arms, and (other than extreme racing machines) tend to keep the neck in a more neutral position.

But while they're eminently suited for touring or audax riding, or for racing on their own terms, recumbents aren't much good if you want to race or ride in a tight group with DFs.  Might still be worth considering the merits of having one in the stable as a way of maintaining fitness during the recovery period.  Pootling about on an ICE trike^[2] or similar is infinitely more fun than  a) sitting on your arse   or  b) turbo trainers.


_{[1] She's somewhat better at keeping it pointed in the right direction without using her right hand, and can ring the bell with her little finger.
[2] I'd suggest avoiding bicycles as there's a learning curve^[3], and while offs tend to be less nasty than the equivalent fall from an upwrong, the chances of landing on your shoulder are fairly high.
[3] I'd say about 300 miles to properly get the hang of controlling the bike, and maybe 1000 to develop enough 'bent legs that it doesn't feel slow.}

[chrisbainbridge]

Reply from the man who knows.

No absolute contra indication but the more you stress the joint the less time it will last.

In terms of Stafford recommendation is either Royal ortho Hospital in Birmingham or the shoulder unit in Derby.

[giropaul]

Reply from the man who knows.

No absolute contra indication but the more you stress the joint the less time it will last.

In terms of Stafford recommendation is either Royal ortho Hospital in Birmingham or the shoulder unit in Derby.

Very many thanks for this. I’ll try to take it forward with a referral from my GP initially “armed” ( sorry) with this information. Cheers!

[barakta]

Useful to know the Royal Ortho are good, I think my shoulder needs looking at again and seeing if there's any new options which have become available since 2003 which is the last time I saw the RNOH bods. I'd been sent to RNOH cos no one in Yorkshire would touch it.

[chrisbainbridge]

Derby Liverpool and Nottingham have superb shoulder surgeons.

[giropaul]

Derby Liverpool and Nottingham have superb shoulder surgeons.

Many thanks