Shattered collarbone & moving range

[Sessy]

Hey guys. As a child, I had my left collarbone shattered and considering my mom only found out about it 2 days after the incident, the pieces were also moved all around before a doctor saw it. The doc was unable to put them back in order as they should be because of some arteries or something, so they just immobilized my shoulder and arm with a cast and eventually, it grew together. However, I've never been able to for example stand on my hands because my left shoulder would give in.
Also, in ballet, we're to hook our hands behind our back, one arm over the shoulder, the other from beneath, I can only do this one way because of the shoulder. And I've got trouble bringing that arm to the back or very far up all together. Now, for the past year that I've been skating, it's grown somewhat more flexible. I can have it at an acceptable angle during my back crossovers.

But the inability to put it back is bothering me for different reasons.

I was thinking, does anybody know how to speed up the process of it growing more flexible?

[Team Arthritis]

wow Sessy sounds like you are doing well, keep at it! I'm a big fan of yoga, but like you, I'm limited in what I can do. If it makes you feel any better I can't grab my hands behind my back over/under shoulder (binding) at all because I'm built wrong and still muscle bound after working on it a little at a time for years. So I use a yoga strap made into a loop to get what bind I can.

I suppose all I can suggest is to be patient and keep working at it and be willing to accept our current limitations without judgement, i.e. they are physical limits not flaws in our being. For me, this is still one of the most difficult aspects of yoga.
Lyle

[flippet]

Also, in ballet, we're to hook our hands behind our back, one arm over the shoulder, the other from beneath,

As far as I know, the main reason to do this is to stretch out the tricep of the upper arm. There's a bit of back/shoulder flexibility involved too, but if stretching the triceps is the reason you're doing it, skip the linking fingers, and just place the 'top' arm as you would, and then press gently on the elbow with the other hand. When I do this, one of my shoulders actually 'clicks' and drops a little lower than the other--it's just the way I'm built, I haven't broken anything.

I don't know if doing this would also help collarbone area flexibility. Maybe grab your hands behind your lower back and stretch them back, pressing your shoulders back at the same time?

[Sessy]

I don't know if doing this would also help collarbone area flexibility. Maybe grab your hands behind your lower back and stretch them back, pressing your shoulders back at the same time?

Yeah that's another thing I can't do with that shoulder :lol: No pain or anything, it just doesn't move that way like you can't bend your knee in the opposite direction. Though I can do it about an inch - maybe 1,5 more than I used a year ago...

As far as I know, the main reason to do this is to stretch out the tricep of the upper arm. There's a bit of back/shoulder flexibility involved too, but if stretching the triceps is the reason you're doing it, skip the linking fingers, and just place the 'top' arm as you would, and then press gently on the elbow with the other hand. When I do this, one of my shoulders actually 'clicks' and drops a little lower than the other--it's just the way I'm built, I haven't broken anything.

I just tried that, and then, I can actually push my arm back pretty far!!!! I'm amazed, this would be MORE than enough for my bielman if I could do this without pushing the arm with the other arm. Unfortunately as soon as I let go of the pushing it just drops back like 30-45 degrees... So the passive flexibility is there, but not the active flexibility...

So I'm thinking... You know when I broke my collarbone, I couldn't lift my arm. The collarbone is used to lift your arm, among others... You think this might be a muscle strength problem from scarring or something?

[Mrs Redboots]

Also, in ballet, we're to hook our hands behind our back, one arm over the shoulder, the other from beneath, I can only do this one way because of the shoulder. I totally can't do that, although using a Theraband helps a bit. But then, I am a middle-aged woman who has never been flexible all my life!

One of our skaters has broken her collar-bone very badly at least three times and it hasn't affected her skating (other than the necessary down-time while she healed).

[Sessy]

Well it's not affecting my jumps or spins, it only affects the bielman spiral somewhat - I'll have to stretch my back some extra so the skate will end up over my head, where I CAN grab it with the left arm. Though I'm also kind of missing a vertibrae so that should only be a matter of patience.

It's mostly in the clockwise crossovers that it annoys me, they just look off when one arm is further back than the other. :x