blk

I was having the ride of my life last week when I was clipped by a car mirror and sent off the road, breaking my clavicle. The driver did not stop. I am having a hard time coping with the prospect of not moving my left arm and being off the bike for the next eight weeks (according to the GP who saw me at urgent care; I see a specialist next week). For those of you who have gone through this, how did you manage? Were you able to find another routine to stay in shape? Were you able to start riding again during recovery, or were you able to get on a trainer or similar equipment?

Busta Quad

Oh man, that sucks. Are your quads ok???

Now it double sucks. This is why I started riding with my rear-facing Muvi setup.


Sounds like the most you'll be able to do is walk. My best advice is to think of this as a recovery period for your legs. At least it's near the end of the "season". It could have happened in April...

zandoval 

Just leave the upper body to heal - The more you move it the longer it takes to heal - If the specialist offers you an option of fixation I would take it - With fixation you will heal faster because of less movement...

Walking long slow distances with leg weights is probably your best work out for now...

MrTuner1970

You can probably get on the trainer pretty soon. Haven't broken a clavicle yet, but had a friend (general surgeon actually) who was on his trainer within 2-3 weeks time.

I'd listen to your doctors, and also let pain be your guide.

TrojanHorse

1) urgent care doctors... ugh. Did they do anything for you? See if you can get into a specialist earlier. For all you know, the urgent care guy was an ear nose and throat doc.
2) Physical therapy is important, when possible.
3) Exercise within the bounds established by your doc. Your PT place should have recumbent bikes or something similar you can use that won't strain your shoulder. I highly recommend not rushing back, you don't want nagging shoulder issues for the rest of your life.

Best of luck, that really sucks that you got hit but double sucks that the hack took off.

msincredible

I broke my clavicle in a bike accident many years ago. They put me in a figure 8 strap and I was fine on a stationary bike (sitting upright) pretty soon thereafter. No lasting issues. I also did lots of walking.

Hope you heal up soon!

duckracer

Broke my left clavicle in a motorcycle crash. Just did walking to keep in shape for the 3 weeks I was off the bicycle/motorcycle. And listen to your PT they know what they are doing and will speed your recovery!

rbrsddn

I got hit on my motorcycle the end of June'03, and broke my right collarbone, and spent a good part of the next couple of weeks watching the TDF. Drooling from Vicodin. Good times! 8 weeks later I was back in VT blasting around the NE Kingdom at 80+. Gotta get back on...

jdswitters

I just broke mine on Memorial Day this year, back to commuting in 5 weeks. It was on my beach cruiser, speed was factor

Lots of walking, (my car is a 6 speed, no driving for a month either), and started working on range of motion after three weeks when I could feel it had started knitting back together. Eat lots of yogurt, get all the vitamin d and calcium you can. The irony is that I had sold the tandem two weeks before the crash, otherwise I could have had the oldest son help me peddle around rather than drive me.

Age and fitness obviously make your recovery time variable, so for some comparison, I was 45 at the time and only ride an average of 40 miles a week. I also had three cracked ribs and that slowed me down more than the clavicle for the first month.

Ruby13

I didn't break my clavicle when I was cut off and id a endo but put my right hand down and separated my shoulder. It was grade two so no operation unless I want to get rid of the bump. Put me in a sling for two weeks with sleeping being the hardest part. It took me a good six weeks before I could get on the bike and put pressure on the shoulder and believe you will have the same feeling. At about eight weeks all was pretty good and riding without to much discomfort.
Good luck.

Ruby13

I didn't break my clavicle when I was cut off and did a endo but put my right hand down and separated my shoulder. Worst part for me was I had exactly one mile on my new bike. It was a grade two separation so no operation unless I want to get rid of the bump. Put me in a sling for two weeks with sleeping being the hardest part. It took me a good six weeks before I could get on the bike and put pressure on the shoulder and believe you will have the same feeling. At about eight weeks all was pretty good and riding without to much discomfort.
Good luck.

twainmark

Sorry to hear it.

Broke my left clavicle in July 2006. No motorist involved -- some bad pavement on a bridge spilled me over. The bone did not heal correctly on its own, and I ultimately had surgery in January 2007, and resumed riding in March of 2007. Walking was my main, if poor, substitute. So you'll have to see how your particular fracture recovers. Definitely agree with the advice about seeing a specialist -- one with an orientation towards resumption of cycling and other strenuous pursuits. And use the PT to assure full range of activities.

LeeRoySD

I elected to have Surgery (Strap and screws) which was undergone about a week and a half after the accident. I was back on the stationary trainer 4 or 5 days post surgery. I was back on the road in 3.5 weeks in "reasonably safe" conditions. I resumed racing about 6 weeks post surgery. My delay in resuming activities was really more fear of the damage that could be caused by a subsequent crash before the bone had a chance to start re-calcifying than inability to ride. I eschewed all pain medication (other than whatever was administered during the actual procedure) as I feel that it can slow the body's healing processes (provided that you can still rest well... you HAVE to actually sleep well to heal rapidly). Every situation is different though, so please listen to your doctors and/or PT's. Several months after, I am still happy with my decision to have mine surgically repaired. I have some numbness due to severed nerves that unfortunately is just part of this procedure. However, I have absolutely no loss of strength or range of motion which was important to me. Sorry to hear of your accident and good luck with the healing.

Lazyass

I wiped out in a MTB race in '97 and had a compound fracture, broke it in three places. About 2-3 weeks after surgery, still high on percocets, I started pedaling on my indoor trainer with one arm.

cderalow

Having had a plate and screws put in to fix mine in May 2008, I can tell you that it is not the option I would choose if I were to break my other side. 4 years later, it can still cause excruciating pain when faced with genuine impact. I've also had to have the screws reset as they can migrate back out as the bone recalcifies around them.

I was back on a recumbent stationary a week after during PT sessions, and genuinely back to full exercising (running) about 4 weeks post surgery. YMMV

It took almost 2 years for me to regain about 95% of the sensitivity of my skin around mine. I lost a minor amount of ROM, but it's easily fixed with a back scratcher.



In all fairness, I had shattered mine. I spent two weeks waiting for it to start healing on the recommendation of one orthopaedic surgeon who only took x-rays, before I got a 2nd opinion from one of the best orthopaedic surgeons in the country. One MRI later, he scheduled me for surgery, giving me a 3 hour estimate for being under. In the end, it took twice as long as he had estimated, and he needed another assistant surgeon to get it done.

All told, it made me glad I had health insurance, as the final bill was north of $50k for my surgery. It left me with a scar from the center of my chest to the end of my shoulder, and a 2nd smaller scar about 1/2" long above that (couldn't reach all of the screws from one incision). He's reopened that smaller scar once to reset those two screws.

It was an interesting experience that I would not want to repeat if I could avoid it.

J45oN

I fractured a bone in my shoulder while riding an atv in 2009. The hospital (out of state in the boonies) said it was just a torn ligament and sent me off in a sling. When I got back home from this trip I saw a specialist (1 week later) who informed me that I had badly fractured a bone in my shoulder. And stretched the nerve trunk.

Take things slow, good luck man. Thats scary to think that someone would hit you and not stop, some people are scum bags.

zandoval 

Yep - About three to five weeks with fixation and 6 to 9 weeks no fixation is the average in the patients I have treated - But if you have a shattered clavicle or other complications this may not be the case - Even in some very simple separations some doctors have elected to offer fixation temporarily because the patient had a history of poor healing - Or an urgent need to get back to duty... Good luck...

oujeep1

I'll see your clavicle and raise you 3 ribs and a pelvis. I had the clavicle pinned 3 days after injury need it to get well asap to assist in rehab of the pelvis

mothman

Broken Clavicle, 3 breaks in my scapula, two cracked ribs, collapsed lung, and road rash everywhere. Let's just say I won't be riding for a while. However I discovered hiking mountain trails helps keep my legs strong, and too keep my fitness up. Nice break from the trainer if you need it.

JohnDThompson 

Sounds like what happened to me three weeks ago, except mine was a grade III separation:



Pretty sore for the first 2-3 days, not so bad after that. Still feels weird and tends to move in odd directions at times. Dr told me 8-10 weeks for full recovery (no surgery), but I'll always have the separation. 5# lifting restriction on that arm means I can't work. And I was supposed to do my ACLS re-certification this week, too.

But it could have been worse! My helmet was destroyed, but my head is fine. And so is the bike!

mothman

I wish I had my X-rays here, it looks pretty bad haha.

Beaker

I high sided while sliding out in a corner earlier this year and landed on my shoulder at 15-20mph. I ended up having an intramedullar pin installed (a.k.a. a "fabian rod") and was trainer ready in ~1wk. I also mixed that with some running over the following weeks.




To be honest, I'd first of all get a proper opinion from an orthopedic surgeon. Then follow his instructions - it'll be frustrating for a while, but you won't be out of action for long in the big scheme of things. Beyond the xrays, no two injuries are the same, and when you factor in the rate at which people heal, you shouldn't really judge your progress by anyone other than yourself. There can be a big difference in the amount of muscle, nerve, connective tissue damage that you can't see on an X-ray that will affect how you feel versus other folks.

For me, I ended up taking a little longer to fuse after surgery (~4mo) but am effectively back to normal now after having the pin removed last month. Very happy with my ortho and the procedure. Good luck.

cellery

Ouch - how bad is the fracture? After I broke mine it was about 6 weeks for me before I was back on the bike. However, road vibrations and bumps really sucked until about three months later. It still bothers me over two years later when I wear any type of loaded backpack or lift weights.

Make sure you do the exercises to press and hold your shoulders downward when the specialist says you're ready. Follow through with PT. The muscles in the area atrophy and you'll need to rebuild strength in the area before doing much load bearing on your arms, such as grasping handlebars. Also, make sure you wear the sling, no matter how much you hate it.

That's really too bad about the driver... The woman who hit me stopped and I was able to collect a settlement which paid for my medical expenses and a new bike. It's a long shot, but I hope you are somehow able to identify the driver at some point. Here's to a speedy recovery.

richard_dupp

I call with a clavicle and two fractured cervical vertebrae.

sam83

2007 right and 2009 left. Right one did not heal. 4 months later I stumbled on a doc that specialized in putting MXers back togeter and did road biking. I was back riding 13 days after surgery. Broke the left in late 2009 and had surgery the same week. It's Ti! BTW, he's 12 hours from my home by car. Best Dr I have ever met. I have is home and cell numbers, just like all his patients.

Learn everything at this link. My Doc.https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/32-health-fitness/