Great Lakes - Broken Collarbone Update

Just got back from my orthopedic specialist. The break is worse than first thought at the ER. The clavicle was broken in three pieces, which means a longer and more painful healing (I knew the pain part). I have to go back in 6 weeks for another set of x-rays. The bones are still no where near realigned so I have to use perfect posture (think throw shoulders back) as often as possible to try to get the bones to realign properly.:bike2:

I am going to try the exercycle tomorrow and see if I can handle it.

bummer. i just read you "accident" post. heal up fast man. later.

I had the same kind of break in '06. They gave me a "figure 8 brace" to keep my shoulder in position. It was good. Now, no one can see a difference if I have my shirt on. Which is most of the time.

I had the same kind of break in '06. They gave me a "figure 8 brace" to keep my shoulder in position. It was good. Now, no one can see a difference if I have my shirt on. Which is most of the time.

Your fans are always complaining about that. I thought you had this image thing down already.

Now, no one can see a difference if I have my shirt on. Which is most of the time.
What a waste of all that time you spend in the tanning booth.

You shouldn't give a kid candy every time he asks for it. I always leave them wanting more.

BTW, ColorChange, sorry to hear this latest bout of bad news.

:(

Set it and forget it.

Recursive, how long did your bones take to realign?

What training did you do and when after the break?

Recursive, how long did your bones take to realign?

What training did you do and when after the break?

His training consisted of avoiding/running away from the riotous mob of his fans which follows him everywhere.

Recursive, how long did your bones take to realign?

What training did you do and when after the break?

My case was complicated by the fact that I had my spleen removed around the same time. (and due to the same incident)

The pain was my guide. Basically, I allowed myself to do anything that hurt less than x, where x is some quantity of pain that seemed safe.

It was 6 weeks before I got back on the bike. I wasn't able to do any training during that 6 weeks as I was barely able to walk for most of it. (that was the spleen, not the collarbone) After that, I mostly didn't do any structured training, just easy riding. I avoided sprinting or otherwise putting pressure on the shoulder for a few weeks. It took about 4 months (from the injury) for the pain to go away completely, by which time I was riding as normal, minus the drop in fitness of sitting on a bed and couch for 6 weeks, which was actually less than I would have thought. After that, my shoulder worked exactly as before. Same range of motion, no pain. I just have an Awesome lump where the bone fragments joined together at a goofy angle.

You may be able to do something in the intervening period, like ride a trainer sitting up. My spleen situation prevented me from doing that. You'll be back in form with plenty of riding weather left in the season. I timed mine perfectly after the season in early November, so it was late December when I started riding again.

JBWeld is still holding my rear wheel together. I can spare a little to set that collarbone if you want. Seriously though, best wishes for a speedy recovery.

It was 6 weeks before I got back on the bike.


Remember also Collarchange, he's a lot younger :(

Remember also Collarchange, he's a lot younger :(

That was just plain mean spirited and hurt.


I'm after you next year buddy! Start training now you alien goat!

:roflmao2:

I will be riding at the club tomorrow. I'll try for an hour and see how it goes.

My plan is to try to control my weight and at least maintain base aerobic fitness, power was never there and is out of the question for quite a while.

And thanks to all you guys, it's pretty darn depressing and you guys are making it easier by bothering to care. Thanks.

And thanks to all you guys, it's pretty darn depressing and you guys are making it easier by bothering to care. Thanks.

Shoot...I was hoping this was going to be good news. :( Take care of yourself. You will come back strong....although now you might have some bad juju to deal with for calling cyclpsycho an alien!!! :roflmao2: I loved that!

although now you might have some bad juju to deal with for calling cyclpsycho an alien!!!

even though it's actually true? I guess it makes sense. Alien technology can probably dispense any form of juju.

even though it's actually true? I guess it makes sense. Alien technology can probably dispense any form of juju.



Laughed so hard you made my damn shoulder hurt bad! :roflmao2:

Alien technology can probably dispense any form of juju.


Boo!

:roflmao2::roflmao2::roflmao2:

Boo!

:roflmao2::roflmao2::roflmao2:

Hey!...don't you have a job??!! ;)

Hey!...don't you have a job??!! ;)

:lol: Day off! Going to zoo though, no ride :(

OK, I was able to ride fairly hard at the club. I have more bruising afterward (interal bleeding from bone scraping muscle and skin I'm sure), but it's not terrible and I can handle the pain.

They are going to allow me to change the pedals on one of the lifecycles to my speedplays so I won't destroy my stroke just mashing. :)

Dear Tiger,

Don't hurt yourself even more.

You're needed for the Ryder Cup, you know.

Best regards,
Paul Azinger

Pain is one thing. You may be risking further injury. I ain't no fancy doctor or nothin', but that sounds like trouble.

I'll give the doc a call but my biggest worry right now is the bones aren't even close together yet. I am trying to keep my shoulder pulled back as much as possible to force them to stop the overlap. Until then, I think the sharp ends are just going to keep cutting stuff up inside.

I'll try to get him to e-mail the x-rays and show you guys. I'm not some macho jerk but as long as I'm not doing serious damage, I want to try to stay in some kind of shape.

Don't worry, round is a shape. ;)

CC, seriously, there is all the time in the world to get back into shape. You can get it back. Get your skeleton back in order first.

One thing they learned me in my experience was that the bone ends need to be rough to bond together. If they keep scraping, they will ensmoothen themselves and make it even difficulter to heal.

But like I said, I ain't no fancy doctor guy.

But like I said, I ain't no fancy doctor guy.

Your explanations of complicated medical terminology and your penmanship are much easier to understand.

Understood. Right now I have one bone laying on top of the other, and another small chunk floating around in the neighborhood. Once I get them to not overlap ... I'll definitely lighten up for a while and give them a chance to heal. I'm worried that they're not going to move enough and I'll have to have surgury. It bothers me that more than 10 days after they aren't even close to lining up yet. :(

I'll try to get him to e-mail the x-rays and show you guys.

I think I need my beer goggles :D

I'm going to post this in the road forum to try to get some doctor's responses.

OK, this is one of the x-rays. This is 10 days after the crash.

http://www.pbase.com/image/99122876/original.jpg



I have some questions please!


1. How the hell are the bones supposed to move far enough to get rid of the large overlap? There are three pieces, 2 huge and 1 small.

2. I can’t feel this big overlap anymore but used to be able to feel the sharp bones after it happened. Normal?

3. I am still trying to pull my shoulders back in an effort to eliminate the overlap so the bones can actually try to heal. This hurts but should I continue? How do I know when I have eliminated the overlap and should then stop trying to pull the bones apart as that would now be hurting healing?

4. Isn’t it important to eliminate the overlap?
a. Bones have outer hard part and marrow centers. If I don’t align those (at least partially), how the hell with this thing ever heal?
b. If the overlap doesn’t need to be eliminated, will the bones be as strong? I don’t care much about a lump.

5. Could/should I wear the figure 8 brace tight to try to pull the bones apart and eliminate the overlap? The doctors say no. They say no sling and no brace. Just pull your shoulder back with as good as posture as possible and then come back in 6 weeks for more x-rays?

6. WTF???!!!!!!!


I am able to ride the lifecycle at the club (they even allow me to attach my Speedplays so I won't ruin my stroke). It hurts a little but not too bad.

cool x-ray, but seriously, if you want a second opinion get a real one and in person. there are plenty of excellent orthopeadic docs in the Chicago area. later.

Ok....deep breaths....you need to

Do what your doctors tell you. This will heal IF YOU WILL LET IT!

Take my advice. I have been in your shoes and learned about the importance of doing what is right for your body.

You need to quit worrying about your weight and eat properly...good, nutritious food to promote healing. If you gain a few pounds, no worries....they will melt off when you can resume your training with vigor. Stay off of that Lifecycle if you have any pain. You should NOT have pain!!!

The reason I can tell you this is because I have been in your shoes regarding a serious running injury and nearly messed myself up for good because of my obsession to my sport and my overall fitness. So when I'm pointing the finger at you, it's only because I care and I've been there.

Enjoy vegging in the gorgeous weather. By all means address these issues with your doctors if you need more clarification.

My 65 yr old mother broke her ankle last winter and took 4 months completely off and ran her best marathon of her senior years 10 mos from the break. She accredites it to all the rest she had during her healing period and her ensuing enthusiasm to resume training.

Heck...you might even make it up hills faster than, say, an alien goat!

Take care of yourself!!! Crystal

Thanks Crystal, I know. I don't use that arm while I'm riding so it's not much more acitivity than normal walking around. I have low level pain pretty much constantly. If it hurts a lot more, I'll shut it down.

I have a similar break on the other side dating back to last october. I was having pain all the time, especially when standing or sitting without a firm brace for my shoulder and back.

I went back to the doctor in January to grill them on what was going on with this pain. They basically told me this was normal (while it should dissipate) and to man-up (more like down!) for a few more months. I left the office upset only finding it should go away in X amount of months with no definitive fix in sight!

Well, here I am today. While it doesn't hurt standing or sitting any longer I still can't sleep on it and while riding i need to change positions to no-hands to straighten my elbow once and awhile.

I did abstain from doing what I'd rather have been doing per the Doc's orders... I've got to recommend taking a break from what you'd typically do for a while, then slowly reintroduce what you were used to. It really burned me for awhile there but at least now I can start getting back on track without pushing the envelope.

good luck to you!

Okay, I'm no doctor ... but I do play a nurse at work for the past 10+ years (and am trying to get out).

I believe that the idea is to get the bones close, so they join, then that connection will mold itself to strengthen. It's the whole osteoblasts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osteoclast)and osteoclasts thing going on. If there's little hope of them joining on their own, then you buy some expensive nuts and bolts. That's about all I know because I'm more of a cardiothoracic nurse ... if you start having chest pain, then we'll talk. :p

Edit: Oh, since you're asking ... that XRAY looks pretty ugly. (from a non-ortho guy point of view). I'd take it easy. :D No, that bone will never look 'normal'. You may not ever feel a lump, but I'm sure there will be a good one in there and a good amount of soft, scar tissue holding it together as well.

I'm no doctor. Nor have I played one on TV. Try not to move. :D

That looks like it hurts! :eek:

You know us old guys shouldn't be diving off our bikes :rolleyes:

life is too short. get a second opinion. if you want a referral for a solid ortho let me know and i will track one down for you. later.

It could be worse ... it's not like that sharp pointy end is threatening to puncture his lung or sumthin'.

http://emoticons4u.com/happy/045.gif

I broke my collarbone a few years ago and had a similar problem, only without the floating chunk. When I intially went to the ER the bones were together and it looked like a clean break...until my mom ran over a huge pothole on the way out of the hospital. And then they were separated. When I went to the orthopedist 10 days later I was shocked to see that my bones weren't even touching, there was a large gap of about a full cm between them.

I had been tempted to rush to surgery so I could get on the road to recovery and be done with it. However, the doctor and my second opinion doctor both suggested I let it heal naturally. I wore the figure 8 brace and I would suggest that you do too...but I'm not your doctor. I know it helped me keep my shoulders back and keep everything stabilized. It really does take a LONG time for the healing to start. I broke it in Feb and didn't have my final xrays until June. After about 3 months, the bones finally started to fuse.

I am fully healed now, although my bones overlap by a good half inch. It's a little goofy to the touch, and of course the xrays look ridiculous. At the point where they overlap, my collarbone is a good inch thick...lovely. The overlap is ok. The marrow etc that you're worried about doesn't matter. What does matter is the natural blood and nutrients surrounding the bone. That is what will help the new bone to develop. The doctors told me if I had surgery to put a plate in, they have to disrupt that coating and it would take longer to heal in the long run. The overlaping bone should be stronger than it was orginally....

Anyway, just try to be patient. I know I thought the bones were never going to come back together...but they did...eventually!

EAT YOUR TUMS!!!

Good report!

I suggest going to lots of outdoor summer concerts ... just sit in the geriatric seats rather than the front row. :)

If you've gotta be hurt, do it in the summer when you can bum around in the warm sunshine.

EAT YOUR TUMS!!!

Guinness has more calcium, right? :lol:

cool x-ray, but seriously, if you want a second opinion get a real one and in person. there are plenty of excellent orthopeadic docs in the Chicago area. later.

Midwest Ortho @ Rush = AWESOME

My doc is Bush-Joseph @ Rush. :)

http://www.smh.com.au/ffxImage/urlpicture_id_1063625129447_2003/09/18/quack.jpg

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=74839&stc=1&d=1214613644