Stopped short and had my lock/chain catch on my bar stem... oversteered the wheel and BAM, went down HARD on my left shoulder and broke my collarbone and dislocated my shoulder! It's NOT going to be a very fun next 6 weeks.

To add insult to injury the taxi I was turning to miss just drove off, running over my glasses. It was totally my fault, but a simple "are you OK?" would have gone a long way.

Needless to say, although I recieved no head injury, I will be wearing my helmet from now on.

X-Ray pics to follow once I can deal with looking at the CD they gave me.

PS: My old work's insurance covers me until the end of November... Whew!! Ambulances are not cheap!

sorry to hear that, heal fast.

anyone with this injury in the past: Im a little worried about how I should be holding my arm in the sling, how rough was the the recouporation? This is my first broken bone and it's killing me unless Im laying down on the sofa with the left arm bent over my chest and the upper arm aainst the back of the sofa. Any time it's left on it's own (in the sling) it's shooting and throbbing and I can feel the bones shifting like a fault line. uhg!

Ouch, that sucks. They say a broken clavicle is one of the most painful things ever.

That said, Tyler won a TdF stage with one, *****!

i've broken my collarbones 5 times, you get used to it

it's gonna hurt, make them give you real drugs and try not to jostle it too much.


(you're only one of a handful of people who didn't break a bone until they were adults. what's up w/ that?)

They tell the truth. This sucks.

I didnt do much as a kid. I got Oxyconton. Im so gonna end up like Rush Limbaugh.

Thanks for the encouragement!

Hey Nola geek!
Sorry to hear this. I've done the collarbone, it's not an easy recoup and it's painful.
Keep the sling on and keep it taunt.
Dose up with advil or whatever script they gave you. And be patient. You'll get through the first few days.
I've got good thoughts for you!

It gets better afteer a few days? good to hear.

The most important thing: the bike is OK!

Snort it! Snort it!

not that i would know anything about that..

lol.... (don't risk it upsetting your stomach!)

that's my theory.
I can heal.
If I crash the bike I'd be crying!

I've done both myself, although not at the same time, and 1 more than the other (11 dislocations vs. 1 collarbone), which brings me to my point: I am currently recoup'ing from arthroscopic labral repair from all my shoulder dislocations. 4 weeks in a sling (I am currently 2.5 weeks in. Ugh.) followed by 4-6 months of rehab. Once your shoulder comes out one time, it can very easily come out again and again.

So while you have the insurance, get thee to a orthopedist and get an MRI. Or at the very least, get some PT on you shoulder once your bone knits to strengthen it up.

Oh, and welcome to the deformed clavical club.

You mean...a u-lock type got jammed w/ one end stuck where bars and stem meet, and the other end immobilized against the top tube?

I had exactly one close call with that annoying (loud clanging, unbalanced bars) habit and swore it off completely. It sucks to be pedallin' along and suddenly have your steering "locked." I was headed to a plate glass storefront at the time, and barely missed endo'ing.

i broke mine two weeks ago, and rode home after doing so, the first day it was pretty tender but the vicodin helped. now it doesn't really hurt at all. i've been riding one handed since it happened and it hasn't hurt while riding. sometimes when i brake i put my other hand on the bars and i haven't noticed it at all

the doctor said today it was ok if i rode my bike a bit which i've been doing
he was also suprised by how much movement i had and how little pain i was in

21 and never broken a thing! I fractured my collarbone once but I slept through it (fell out of a bunkbed)

They gave you a CD with the X-Ray pics on it? That's awesome.

When you sleep, it helps if you're on a couch, lying on your good side, with you back up against the couch's back. It felt like it gave me more support.

A had the exact same thing happen to me a few years back. Only the arthroscopic surgery didn't really fix the problem so it pulled out again 5 months later. Back into surgery for a second time, but they had to do it open. MUCH worse recovery from that one. Good luck with the rehab!

i broke my collar bone in highschool, i found that if it hurts at the shoulder tighten the sling, i probably should have had the surgery since it still hurts from time to time, but minimalizing the pain is most important right now

yeah nolageek, the first few days are definitely the worst. as far as keeping it on the right track, healing-wise, remember that the sling serves the function of taking the weight of your arm off of the shoulder and collarbone. so if you feel like your arm is just dangling in the sling, that's a good thing. if you have a strap holding it to your torso, too, then the purpose is probably just to prevent any additional movement in the shoulder. also, it's okay for it to be uncomfortable. any time i have an injury i obsessively and compulsively re-wrap ace bandages and re-tighten slings and braces and whatnot...

Post the Xrays

Ugh! As a member of The Collarbone Club (cycling's most common injury! - separation/fracture/break), welcome!

Painkillers, rest and time will heal.

As for the sling - wear it snug but comfortable. It should support your arm but let it hang naturally. Sort of like chain tension.

The physical rehab is important, do stretches, strength training (when you're up for it) and keep it limber when you're at that stage. Takes a while.

I'm deformed for life unless I get surgery done - it's purely cosmetic anyway:

will post pics as soon as i can walk to the spot I dropped my bag or my friend gets home. I also pulled a muscle in my leg pretty bad.. My leg hurts more than my shoulder actually.. cause I cant walk.

jeez I stink too. must.... bathe...

Busted collarbone definitely very painful the first few days until it knits. Much better after that.

You said you are in a sling...but that's for your arm/shoulder dislocation. If you have a busted clavicle you should be in a harness that keeps your shoulders back and restricts the forward motion of your shoulder so the ends of the clabicle don't rub against eachother.

Maybe its different now (mine were years ago) but I'm thinking you should be in a harness until the bones knit.