Shoulder Pain from Martial Arts and Weight Training: The Culprit - Osteolysis of the AC Joint

Osteolysis of the AC joint. That's what the doctor told me. . .

I finally visited a Sport Medicine and Orthopedic doctor yesterday. The doctor treats a lot of mixed martial arts fighters such Dan Henderson and Jason Lambert, so I was happy that he knows what he is doing and is familiar with the sport and how fighters train.

When I had my Xray done, it was pretty cool to see all these UFC and Pride posters authographed by fighters who go to the Orthopedic clinic. Anyway, within minutes, the xray results were placed shown on a monitor that I could clearly see. The first thing that popped into my head was, "Oh, f#$k." Now, I'm no doctor, so when I looked at the Xray (the doctor wasn't in the room yet), I could see a clear white strip of bone (my clavicle) with a black gap in between that bone, and another. Basically, it looked like a solid piece of bone that was nearly cracked in half. I was thinking to myself, "S$3t, I'm definitely going to need surgery. There goes fighting."

When the doctor came in, he did some physical tests on me: asking me to place my arm in different postitions, push and pull against certain resistance, and continually asking me about the pain I felt. I told him in short, everything hurt like hell. Then, the Xray. I knew what he was going to say, "Your bone is broken." (Or something like that). However, the first thing he tells me is not to worry about the black gap and that it's normal. Thank God I'm not a doctor and was completely wrong.

In a nutshell, what I have is something that many lifters and mixed martial artists are very prone to getting some point in their lives. But, athletes usually suffer from osteolysis of the AC joint when they're in their 40s. The worse thing about this injury is that it comes on very slowly. A person doesn't really know they're injured until it's too late. It starts as a minor pain that is similar to the feeling of brusies or sore mucles. Athletes generally continue to work out or train because it doesn't seem serious--which is exactly what I did for over a year.

He suspects, and I agree, that lifting heavy was what probably aggravated the injury. We don't know what caused it because there are many possible reasons, but I may have lifted too heavy while my AC joint was already injured. Again, this is the kind of injury that a lot athletes think is minor, but it isn't. Muscles can take the weight and stress, but the joints can't.

We discussed a whole lot of other issues and possible remedies. I was going to get a special MRI, but it would put me out of the training for about 2 weeks, so I said forget it. It's not the typical MRI where there is no down time. I just got a cortisone shot and we'll monitor everything too see how things go. I may need to get another shot or that MRI if there is no improvement in the coming weeks. The worst scenario is a minor operation; which, I don't want because there will be downtime.

My doctor was cool, and before I left, he mentioned he knew I was going to keep training and nothing he said or did would probably stop me. He recommended that I take it easy for a couple days though and just work technique. So, what did I do? I went straight from the Ortho to training and I sparred for more than hour. Well, he said he knew nothing he said or did would stop me from training, right? lol! Oh well.

What's the point of all this? Connected with the power training entry I wrote a few days ago, I wanted to reiterate how important it is to use perfect form when lifting heavy. It's extremely important. You might injure yourself and you may not feel the pain until weeks or months down the road. If lifting heavy, I recommend that you should avoid locking your elbows during the bench press, use a narrower grip on the bar, and avoid bending your elbows past horizontal.

Tags: shoulder, pain, joint, mixed martial arts, weights, injury