General Cycling Discussion - Broken Clavicle

Has anyone had experience with this? I broke out of my clipless last Sunday and botched my landing. Needless to say my shoulder broke my bikes fall and now I am sitting in a sling waiting for my appointment with my orthopedic surgeon. I apparently broke the end right off. I have a pic of the x-ray but nowhere to hot it to show you.

What are common opinions. Will I most likely need sugery? Or just some kind of brace/splint for 2 months? What is recovery time before I can get back on my bike (on average?)

Thanks,
Jon

Sorry to hear about your accident. Good luck on your recovery. Sorry, I don't have any info on recovery times.

I believe it depends on the severity. I have had two friends and both required surgery.

So in other words you were freeriding with clipless pedals.....thats not a good thing to be doing. Get some platforms.:D

I have the misfortune to have broken both my right and left clavicles in separate accidents.

The first time I was put in a figure eight sling and the second time just in an arm sling. They both healed the same but the arm sling was more comfortable and easier to deal with. I didn't have surgery either time.

If I recall correctly, after the first fracture, I was back on the bike in about 4 - 5 weeks. I took it easy for a while since I didn't know what to expect. After the second, I was riding again in three weeks although I might have pushed it a bit. I hiked up the bars on my MTB and lowered the seat so I could have better control with just one hand on the bars. ( Riding the bus to work got old very quickly!)

Your doctor will have better advice when he sees your X-ray.

Also, if you are in an arm sling, be sure to straighten your arm out from time to time. On my first break I didn't do this and it was a real problem getting full extension for a long time.

It's going to feel real strange riding again for the first time after it heals.

Good luck!

A fractured clavicle was one of the injuries I sustained in October last year when knocked off my bike by a car. The fracture was at the distal (outside) end of the bone, and there was 1cm displacement between the main pieces. I was in a sling for eight weeks, and needed physio to get the elbow working again. It took about three months before any callus formation started. When I saw the specialist last month, there was 'exuberant callus formation', but the fracture line is still clear. I next see him in December.

So I am now walking around (and cycling) with a non-united fracture. It doesn't cause me any particular discomfort or disability. I conduct choirs, and got very sore towards the end of Messiah last December (nearly three hours). In May I conducted another big one (Haydn's The Seasons), and although there was no discomfort during the performance, I did pull up rather sore the next day.

One professional cyclist I know told me he was riding again a couple of weeks after breaking his collar bone, but I think his fracture was at the medial end. My physio explained that my specialist's ban on getting back on the bike was a safety thing, because if I had another similar fall, bone fragments could go all over the place - there's a fairly major nerve junction called the brachial plexus in that area. However in January the specialist let me back on, remarking that we could always wrap ourselves in cotton wool all our lives if we really wanted to. I was very thankful for his attitude.

So far surgery has not been mentioned. Obviously each case is different, so do listen to advice.

Another thought - have a look at http://www.medmedia.com/orthoo/56.htm

Well, the orthopedic surgeon decided that surgery would be of no real benefit, so I am sitting in an arm sling for 6-8 weeks.

Apparently the only thing I would gain would be a smoother shoulder (remove large bump) but the healing time would be nearly double. I decided to wait. According to a link I found at John Hopkins, the surgery can be done 5-10 years down the line.

I stretch 2-3 times a day to keep the rest of my arm functional.


As for the accident, I wouln't call it freeriding. It was a smallish jumt (>1 ft.) in a field. Just poor luck. I wasn't doing anything "extreme"

I do have a pic now:

http://www.onfal.com/dcforum/User_files/3d3beb3b048fadb3.jpg

The clavical is the most commonly broken bone in the human body. The reason? When we are falling, we instinctively put out our hand to "catch" our fall. The impact causes the clavical (Tangent to the arm) to snap like a twig!

My advice to other riders is to learn how to fall. It's critical to tuck and roll as opposed to spread and splatter! If you roll, you may get more scrapes, but they're usually less severe!

I used to race BMX, and when I was first starting out, one of the older kids (whom we looked up to!) had a clinic on falling! It must have been hilarious to see a bunch of kids in a grass field, intentionally falling off their bikes. (We started from standing positions and gradually moved to the bikes). Regardless, it was a hoot of a time. At one point, we learned to roll and end up back on our feet! Our moms weren't too pleased trying to get the grass stains out of our clothes! After that clinic, our track didn't have a broken bone for something like 4 or 5 years!

BTW, you ought to have them change the description on the x-ray, "fell off bike"? How about "Hit by Car on bike".

L8R (Clavical Intact)

The crash happened relatively quickly. Mine was one of those "rare" instances where the clavile was broken due to a direct blow. I mean to say my shoulder hit the ground first and broke due to the impact, not my are being outstretched.

And yes, their caption is a little demeaning. I wanted the to put "skydiving accidnet" or something like that. No dice...