Ken’s shoulder is back to normal following acromioclavicular joint surgery with Professor Ali Noorani

Ken’s injury was most painful when raising his arm and it meant he could no longer play tennis or enjoy gym activities. He could however still manage everyday activities except for the occasional pain when reaching up to get something from a cupboard.

Ken’s private health provider gave him a shortlist of local consultants, specialising in shoulder injuries. Having studied their profiles, he opted for Professor Ali Noorani due to his vast experience with sport-related shoulder injuries.

At Ken’s first consultation in March 2019, Professor Noorani arranged an MRI Scan and X-ray and non-operative treatments such as injections and rehab were discussed. When acromioclavicular joint injections and physio proved ineffective, surgery took place in August 2019 in the form of an acromioclavicular joint excision (damaged tissue and bone removed to prevent painful contact between joints) along with complete bursectomy (removal of small fluid sac cushioning bone structures) and subacromial decompression (removal of bone and tissue to increase space under the acromion, the bony projection on shoulder blade).

Three weeks post-op, Ken’s shoulder had healed well, and he was in no pain. After three months, following physio, his shoulder was back to normal and Ken was able to perform his daily living and recreational activities effectively.

Professor Noorani said: “I am delighted at Ken’s progress so far. He has done better than most people at this early stage and with the necessary precautions, we should get a complete resolution of symptoms in the long term.”

Ken’s shoulder is now almost back to normal and he is continuing with his physiotherapy to build up its strength. He hopes to be back on the tennis court again by the end of January when he has completed his course of physiotherapy.

He advises anyone with similar problems to “go to see an experienced specialist like Professor Noorani as soon as possible.” He tried acupuncture, which helped relieve some tightness but, with hindsight, realises that the early intervention of a consultant like Professor Noorani would have led to a speedier resolution of his condition.

Ken summarises: “Playing competitive sport is a huge part of my life so when I got injured, the prospect of having to stop was unbearable. After some research I chose Professor Noorani and could not be happier. He did a tremendous job of walking me through the process and now, some 6 months after the surgery, I am able to play again, pain free.”