Pop and Lock

Preseason injuries are taking their tole on the Team Indiebike p/b Angie's List cyclocross roster. For the second time in three weeks a crash during practice has resulted in a serious shoulder injury for one of our riders. Three weeks ago, Justin completely dislocated his left shoulder after laying it down on some slick, wet roots on the side of a hill. Last night, Ryan was practicing his bunny-hop over the barriers. After a few attempts he seemed to be getting the hang of it, but just as his confidence peaked, in an attempt to get the back wheel over the second barrier with not quite enough momentum Ryan shifted his weight a little too far forward and proceeded up and over his handlebars. He appeared to cushion his landing and roll out of the crash relative smoothly but as he remained in a crouching position holding his left arm it was apparent that something was wrong. He had suffered a complete acromioclavicular separation. You will notice those two bones at the top of the x-ray image below. Nothing is broken but those should be connected. Ouch! Fortunately Dr. Tim Weber, from our partners at OrthoIndy Trauma, lives about a mile away from the field where we practice. Always willing to help, Tim was on the scene in a matter of minutes to asses the damage and get Ryan proper treatment. It was kind of a good news/bad news scenario. No bones were broken and the shoulder was not dislocated (good news). However, there is no treatment option to repair a separated clavicle other than pain meds and a sling (bad news). In a sport where such injuries are unfortunately all too common we certainly appreciate having the expertise and resources so readily available, though ideally we would prefer to never have reason to call on them. Hopefully all of these incidents are out of the way for the remainder of the season. Ryan and Gus, heal up quickly. The rest of you be safe!