mdadams1

Broke collarbone on oct 18th... Surgery yesterday. Broken in 3 pieces... Slng for 6 weeks. Anyone in this age group had similiar experience?

Biker395 

I have matching broken collarbones.

I didn't need surgery for either though. All I had to do is wait for it to heal.

I don't know if this advice is relevant for you (since you had surgery), but I found using a mix of a brace and the sling to be best. The problem with the sling is that you can't really use that arm at all ... not to type ... not to eat ... not anything. Not only is that a PITA, it also allows the arm to atrophy, which is not good news.

I had much better luck with the brace. That allowed me to use my arms, but still keep the shoulder in place.

So why EVER use the sling? Well, the brace is tiring on your upper back. Sooner or later, you'll want to take if off for a while ... and that is when I went to the sling.

Anyway ... YMMV. Good luck to you.

BTW, of all the things that can befall you on a fall from your bike, a broke collarbone is one of the better possibilities. When they heal, they generally are as good as new with no problems. Separated and dislocated shoulders are a lot more iffy.

NYMXer

I wonder why a sling if you had surgery? I broke mine, and they fixed it with a stainless steel plate and screws. I stayed overnight for observations, was released in the morning and later that day, was shopping at the mall with my daughter, who picked me up from the hospital.

I was riding within a week and now, 7 years later, I hardly recall breaking my collarbone. Almost an invisible scar, no numbness, full range of motion and strength and the plate is still inside me.

If you had the plate done, you should be able to do about anything that doesn't cause you pain. The quicker you start using it for the everyday stuff, like washing your hair, brushing teeth, etc, the quicker you can move on and put the break behind you.

Good luck.

700

Just to chime in, My neurosurgeon tells me that steel is not used anymore for bone repairs as you may need an MRI in the future. (Can't have your collarbone ripping from your body and sticking to the machine.) :-) Titanium FTW.

NYMXer

Now that you mention it, I think it is titanium. Good catch there 700 and thanks for the explanation too.

Darth Lefty 

I've done it twice but neither was bad enough for correction. Here's some ibuprofen, don't do anything for eight weeks, see you later

digibud

Crushed my collar bone way out in Denali Park before the tourists arrive, just after passing by a large grizzly near the road. Took 5-6 hours of agonizing riding on dirt roads and bumpy highway to get to the hospital. My naturally low heart rate combined with my heart meds and the pain meds they gave me took my heart rate and blood pressure so low they had to stop the ambulance and contact the hospital. I have a titanium plate with half a dozen screws in it. It will be bad news if I fall on it again. It won't break nicely.

revchuck 

The first time I broke my right collarbone (touched a wheel in a road race) I got a plate and 14 screws and a sling, stayed off the bike for six weeks. The sling is more to keep you from doing stupid stuff than to support the arm. Even with follow-up physical therapy, I ended up with reduced range of motion. About six months later I was just riding along and a guy on a cross street came to a dead stop at the stop sign, looked both ways for cars, and pulled out about 20 feet in front of me - the Garmin's last reading was 18.2 mph. The ER doc looked at the x-ray and told me there were no breaks. I did a follow-up with my bone doc later that week and he pulled up the x-ray and started laughing - my right collarbone was obviously broken and the plate bent at about a 20-degree angle. He told me to take it easy and stay off of NSAIDs for about six weeks, it wasn't worth going back in to fix it. It healed fine, and for whatever reason my range of motion improved, though not to pre-break level.

Looigi

2 places, no sling, riding gingerly 10 days later. I think it was largely due to the position (distal end) and nature of the breaks. I saw three orthopedic docs and recommendations varied from surgery to do nothing. I went with do nothing.

donheff

I did the same thing in June - flew off a bike in France on the same day Kerry flew off his. I broke my left collar bone in several places and fractured the shoulder blade as well. I now have a plate with 12 screws on the collar bone. I have been back on the bike since the beginning of September and feel no impact on riding. I was a bit surprised at how long I needed to stay away from upper body weight training -- I still am not back to it. I was also surprised at how much impact the injury/repair had on range of motion. I have been in PT for several weeks and have made a lot of progress. Definitely worth while.

Note: my doctor didn't clear me to get back on the bike until 12 weeks after surgery. I think I would have been fine on the bike sooner and suspect that the doctor was primarily concerned that I might fall again and bang the repair. I did get on a spin bike at the gym about 6 weeks after surgery to keep my cardio up.

Biker395 

Oh, I almost forgot. On the subject PT to restore your range of motion:

PT did little for me, frankly. I think the problem was the exercises concentrated on either range of motion or strength, and the exercises were boring and even when done religiously ... not enough.

But worked swimmingly well (pun intended) was swimming. The crawl stroke, in particular, is great for regaining both range of motion and strength at the same time. I recovered full range of motion in short order when I started doing that.

YMMV, of course.

Pamestique 

sure... haven't most cyclists broken a collarbone? Broke the same one twice. Second time needed surgery. It healed well but now and again the plate and screws bother me (the screws catch on soft tissue and tear and pull).

BTW after the first break... I did a century after 6 weeks of recovery. I probably would not recommend that. Doctor explained that the first break didn't heal all the way (because I as likely doing too much - and yes I was) through allowing me to break it again at the same place...

First break: No sling or brace. Doctor explained the pain will keep me still... he was right. I had 4 weeks of fairly bad pain; had to sleep sitting up; could not lay down. Miserable. I still (again probably not good) was using a spin bike every day after the first week.

Second Break: Surgery got scheduled. Next day, only restriction was not to raise my arm over my head (I had to spend the night in the hospital because I had a bad reaction to anesthesia). Had I know how easy surgery would be, I would have done that the first time. There was little or no pain at all.

Pamestique 

Geezus... what a story! I would love to heard all the details; an incredible adventure and ordeal...

rootboy 

I would listen to your doctor. Or , if you don't trust him, get another doctor.
But broken in three places may well require surgery. That's way different than a simple single break
in that relatively short bone.

mdadams1

Wow so many broken collar bones...day 3 done a lot of walking...not much pain lot of itching...visit doc on monday...wife is my doc during day....great help...

BlazingPedals

Not carbon? (note the date)

79pmooney

Welcome to the club. Now you can say you are a cyclist. (A friend of mine is in both the bicycle and motorcycle industries. At the trade shows, many of the cyclists have distorted shoulders, the motor guys wheelchairs.

Both sides twice. (Took me a while to get the symmetry right.) Nothing the first time, slings for the rest. Last time I was on the trainer in 12 days. Two more weeks for the road.

Ben

sauer1911

Took out my vintage Peugeot with new shimano pedals, one side spd, the other flat pedal. Yeah its coming, I am fairly new or getting re acquainted with street riding.

I was approaching a freeway onramp exit and ended up looking over my shoulder to cross to the thru lane. Being careful I slowed down and looked over my shoulder, saw a car coming and tried to wait. BUT I forgot I was clipped in. Yeah, well I just didnt have total coordination at such a slow speed, didnt get my right foot out and s l o w l y fell over away from traffic. Down the 3 foot embankment of sticks and dried leaves, under the dried branches of the dead plants woven in the chainlink fence.

Now, alot of things go on the second or two it takes to fall. Amazing things went thru my mind, "WTF?, oh crap, boy these branches are dry, and the leaves! soo many leaves! Gee I wonder if I have poked holes in my body? Hey my bike is above me!"

Stuff like that. Well I had my Bell mips helmet on and luckily no branches went into the vent holes of the helmet, alot of scratches but it was a champion! Lost my cateye7 in the leaves, many scratches but luckily I have a BIG ol bottle of Costco Ibuprofen! My right collarbone is kinda sore but full range of motion.

I CONSIDER MYSELF VERY LUCKY, EMBARRASSED AND VERY LUCKY.

I took the Peugeot home and got my Trek Xcal 7. Went the back road way to the San Gabriel River Bike path. I really hope that doesnt happen again.

Lucky Chuck

Rubble

Great, is that what I have in my future?

To the "steel". I have a stainless screw in my shoulder from an operation 42 years ago. I've had numerous MRI's in the past 10 years with no problem. There's a med grade of stainless that isn't magnetic but, yes, these days they use titanium because, you know, there's no limit to what is paid for medical costs......

John E

Been there ... done that ... got two bumps under my t-shirt.

At age 26 I was on a 20-25mph descent when an errant motorist abruptly left-crossed me into her driveway, resulting in a double fracture of the left clavicle, permanent scarring over my left cheekbone, and a concussion. I wore an elastic butterfly strap for three weeks, and I was back bicycling in a month and carrying luggage in the snow on a business trip a few weeks later.

The clavicle is one of the most easily and commonly broken bones in the entire body. On rare occasions when I drive a car (shoulder belt pressure) or lift weights, my double bone calluses bother me slightly, and my left shoulder is slightly shorter than my right, but there are no significant lasting impairments.

If you are going to break a bone, this is a good one to break.

wphamilton

I had stainless steel a couple of years ago, so they still use them. It's non-magnetic so I don't think that MRI's are a problem. Disappointing, that, since I was hoping to hang magnets on my collar.

I've got titanium now but I think it's because I asked for a low-profile plate this time.

70sSanO

Here's the story as I understand it...

Just because you had a plate put in and a bunch of screws doesn't mean you can just go out and about. If you hit that repair you'll probably pull the screws out, same thing might happen if you decide to move your furniture around or do a lot of heavy lifting. I shattered my clavicle (plate and screws) a little more than a year ago and it took me a good 8 weeks before I was allowed back on the bike. I was in a sling. Do what the doctor tells you to do.

And, as an additional word of advice, the minute you get back on the bike, the rest of your shoulder will probably not be ready to take abuse. I jumped on my mountain bike as soon as I could and unfortunately I clipped a branch and partially toe my rotator cuff tendons. Just the way it is. I probably should have done some PT or at least worked my shoulder before jumping in headlong, but I was chomping at the bit.

Good luck with your recovery. At least it happened in the Fall and not the Spring or Summer.

John

mdadams1

8 days after surgery. Rode recumbent trainer today. main problem is sleeping... my wife broke her collarbone a week before me....also cycling....

mercator

Yeah, but I was 18 at the time.
Not planning on doing that again.

BlazingPedals

Bent riders don't break collarbones.