Broken Collar Bone Recovery Time

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Broken Collar Bone Recovery Time
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flag stuntman1971
Posted: Apr 7, 2020 at 4:25 Quote
Oh I forgot to tell you. There will be some nerve damage in the shoulder. My surgeon told me to get to the clavicle they have to cut real deep and through a lot of tissue. It does cause numbness, tingling and permanent aching especially during cold. Some of the nerves heal back over time but there will always be some permanent damage. Your hand will go numb some times there will be random pain in the joint. It’s not joint damage it’s pain radiating from the nerve damage. It’s been 2years and I still have it. You’ll get used to it over time but it will be irritating for a year. That’s the trade off of surgery, you heal faster but there are some lingering effects so sorry but it will never feel normal but you will get use to it. Mine is hurting some as I type this. You’ll be fine.
flag jslehmann14
Posted: Apr 10, 2020 at 8:57 Quote
IT depends if you have it surgically plated or if your advised to let it heal naturally.
A surgical plate will allow you to ditch your sling almost right away after the first week, reading pain of course. Since bone healing takes 4-6 weeks, regardless of whether you get the surgery or not, you shouldn’t think about riding until after the 6 week mark, though most surgeons will give you the most conservative advice (8-10 weeks). All of our bone composition is different based on other lifestyle factors as well, so my advice is based on a young-middle aged, healthy adult (non-smoker), with no other major health conditions.
I had surgery and was back on my road bike after 4 weeks, cautiously, and riding mellow green and blue trails on my mountain bike after 6.

I’m a physiotherapist, so obviously had access to treatment throughout the whole thing, which i absolutely recommend at least once weekly from week 2-6+ to correct muscular imbalances/compensation and create the best possible healing opportunity.

Without surgery, you have to be in the sling a lot longer to allow the bone to come together (2-4 weeks), wait at least 6 to use your arm functionally (lifting milk etc), and then IF the bone heals as it should you can start loading it after 7-8 weeks). This is rare these days, often the non-surgical cases end up needing surgery anyways due to bony malunion.
flag Tripmo
Posted: Apr 12, 2020 at 18:52 Quote
stuntman1971 wrote:
Oh I forgot to tell you. There will be some nerve damage in the shoulder. My surgeon told me to get to the clavicle they have to cut real deep and through a lot of tissue. It does cause numbness, tingling and permanent aching especially during cold. Some of the nerves heal back over time but there will always be some permanent damage. Your hand will go numb some times there will be random pain in the joint. It’s not joint damage it’s pain radiating from the nerve damage. It’s been 2years and I still have it. You’ll get used to it over time but it will be irritating for a year. That’s the trade off of surgery, you heal faster but there are some lingering effects so sorry but it will never feel normal but you will get use to it. Mine is hurting some as I type this. You’ll be fine.

I am almost 8 months in after surgery. I do know I have nerve damage myself, I cannot feel cold near my cut, also sometimes it's annoying itchy. Still find the feeling rubbing over the screw that sticks out a bit weird.

My doctor still hasn't fully discharged me because of this visible screw. He thinks I might get issues with it. So far it's ok. I got no issues. July I have to go back again.

I got fully range of motion, strength and everything. I only have a big scar there now. So another story to tell to people when they see it, haha.
flag lblizzard
Posted: Apr 13, 2020 at 8:08 Quote
Tripmo wrote:
stuntman1971 wrote:
Oh I forgot to tell you. There will be some nerve damage in the shoulder. My surgeon told me to get to the clavicle they have to cut real deep and through a lot of tissue. It does cause numbness, tingling and permanent aching especially during cold. Some of the nerves heal back over time but there will always be some permanent damage. Your hand will go numb some times there will be random pain in the joint. It’s not joint damage it’s pain radiating from the nerve damage. It’s been 2years and I still have it. You’ll get used to it over time but it will be irritating for a year. That’s the trade off of surgery, you heal faster but there are some lingering effects so sorry but it will never feel normal but you will get use to it. Mine is hurting some as I type this. You’ll be fine.

I am almost 8 months in after surgery. I do know I have nerve damage myself, I cannot feel cold near my cut, also sometimes it's annoying itchy. Still find the feeling rubbing over the screw that sticks out a bit weird.

My doctor still hasn't fully discharged me because of this visible screw. He thinks I might get issues with it. So far it's ok. I got no issues. July I have to go back again.

I got fully range of motion, strength and everything. I only have a big scar there now. So another story to tell to people when they see it, haha.

I had numbness and nerve pain for over a year, the numbness is not totally gone but much better after 2 years,
flag chadzu
Posted: Jul 4, 2020 at 22:46 Quote
hey guys how many week took for you arm to completely recover? I mean full motion I'm week 8 and for example when I move my arm from my side to above I am like 110-120 degrees

I am asking because I see too many people are back on their bikes withing 4 to 6 weeks and I don't think i can use my bike even to run some errands compare to 4 week ago when I remove my sling now I can do lot of things but my arm movement is limited at some point July 14 will be having my second appointment and see If I am back to work which I hope so
flag Tripmo
Posted: Jul 6, 2020 at 18:47 Quote
chadzu wrote:
hey guys how many week took for you arm to completely recover? I mean full motion I'm week 8 and for example when I move my arm from my side to above I am like 110-120 degrees

I am asking because I see too many people are back on their bikes withing 4 to 6 weeks and I don't think i can use my bike even to run some errands compare to 4 week ago when I remove my sling now I can do lot of things but my arm movement is limited at some point July 14 will be having my second appointment and see If I am back to work which I hope so

I broke my collarbone, had surgery. Took me 2 months to be able to start slowing riding on my bike etc.
I had my movement fully back after roughly 1-month post-surgery. Still felt some pain but I can deal with that because I am a very active person. I started physiotherapy as soon as possible, you can ask your doctor on the 14th when you can start with that.

My advice, listen to your body. If you feel pain, stop don't force it. Your body knows the best. No matter what others say. Your body will tell you. If it's painful, stop doing what you are doing, or taking a few notches back.

I suggest ask your doctor if you are able to do physiotherapy, this will help extremely well with getting your full range movement back.
flag Warnycatot
Posted: Jul 11, 2020 at 14:03 Quote
Hello I had a broken collarbone due to a bad mountain bike fall. I did surgery 2 weeks ago but can’t meet the doctor yet. So I know nothing... I have a couple of questions to ask ????

Can you tell me if these things after my surgery are normal ?
- when I wake up, it is really stiff. As if gravity was pushing it. Like it’s moving down
- I feel like something is moving
- I tried scratching my nose too soon with my Stevenson on. Felt like something moved.. can it be the bones ? Or is it normal to feel weird sensations ?

I don’t have pain at all. Only stiffness and weird sensations. Also, I am not feeling my shoulder well. Still feels numb.

Thanks a lot ????
flag buildstuf
Posted: Jul 11, 2020 at 17:35 Quote
sounds just like mine. just don’t move it and keep waiting. it’s going to take a while
flag Tripmo
Posted: Jul 11, 2020 at 23:44 Quote
Warnycatot wrote:
Hello I had a broken collarbone due to a bad mountain bike fall. I did surgery 2 weeks ago but can’t meet the doctor yet. So I know nothing... I have a couple of questions to ask ????

Can you tell me if these things after my surgery are normal ?
- when I wake up, it is really stiff. As if gravity was pushing it. Like it’s moving down
- I feel like something is moving
- I tried scratching my nose too soon with my Stevenson on. Felt like something moved.. can it be the bones ? Or is it normal to feel weird sensations ?


Thanks a lot ????

This is very normal. I once also accidentally moved my arm then felt a snap at my broken collarbone that had a plate screwed on it. I thought I re-broke it, but was nothing.

But please try to not move it all. It will heal the best if you let it rest. Stiffness is also very normal. I slept for the first month with a pillow underneath my arm for supporting it .
flag GBangShredder
Posted: Jul 12, 2020 at 23:50 Quote
I foolishly was riding a fast bermed jump trail with 19 psi in the front (I'm 185 lbs) and peeled the tire off on a shark fin landing to hard bermed turn. The bars turned as the rim stuffed in the dirt and I did a tomahawk to scorpion and broke my left collarbone into 4 pieces. Famous "just one more" "last run" luck. Interestingly the impact was so gradual and perfect I had no bruise. Just Applied the right amount of force in the unlucky right spot. After the X-ray at the hospital I got a sling, hit McDonald's and then drove myself the 2.5 hours home. I'm 37 and pretty fit and otherwise in good health.

I had surgery about 2.5 days later installing a plate and 7 screws. The First few days sucked from surgery pain but having it attached again sure was nice. I took 2 days off work post-OP plus the weekend and was back to office stuff after that. I Started riding uphill only on roads at 1 week using one arm only, the other in a sling. Ditched the sling completely after maybe 8 days when I had my first physio appointment. I intended to do the exercises but honestly I maybe did them 3 times. At two weeks I'd ride uphill only on roads with both arms but primarily using my right. Reverse shuttles were awful, all work, no payoff. On day 14 I saw the surgeon again and things looked good, incision was closed and healing well. I also went to physio and he moved it around a lot but again I really never did any of the suggested exercises and only used it to verify I could probably do more than the boilerplate guidance the surgeon offered. By three weeks I'd ride downhill ever so slowly on roads with both arms but still mostly relying on my right and rear brake (which took a beating). Around then I started playing frisbee golf with my other arm too. After 4 weeks I'd ride up and downhill on roads and smooth gravel trails very cautiously using both arms and not going too fast should I need to stop. I'd occassionally do a big ride up then walk my bike down the trail while my Mrs shredded. More or less this continued until exactly 6 weeks post-OP (except I surfed at 5.5 weeks but I was worried and weak and didn't try very hard.) when I got x-rays and saw the surgeon again. He said ok to surfing and kitesurfing and light mountain biking where I wouldn't crash. I was on vacation for the next 17 days so the next day I rode a blue flow trail careful to stay on the ground and then surfed the next 14 days in a row with a couple MTB rides on fall line loamy blacks and a few kitesurfing sessions thrown in. Initially there was some pain, mostly just stiffness in the morning. The past 3 days was a real test as I rode about 80km including a couple good shuttles today which is exactly 9 weeks since the initial crash and 8.5 since surgery. I also rode the trail I broke it on which was a mental obstacle. I Started to jump a little and take small drops but nothing too serious.

So basically I was the 6 week rule exactly. There was never much pain, just stiffness in the morning. My range of motion is reduced a lot but likely close to what it was already since I had a labrum repair on that shoulder prior to this and it's hard to tell whether it's that or the clavicle. The hardware feels really weird under the skin, there is a lot of numbness. Initially that was the most disconcerting part, not feeling my shoulder belt while driving but my brain saying I should be able to. I also seem to have developed pulsitive tinnitus in my left ear from the surgery affecting my neck muscles and blood flow. Hopefully it goes away.

This thread was the most valuable thing I read throughout the whole ordeal. Wish I could post a picture but I can't figure out how to on an android phone.
flag Tripmo
Posted: Jul 13, 2020 at 0:33 Quote
GBangShredder wrote:
I foolishly was riding a fast bermed jump trail with 19 psi in the front (I'm 185 lbs) and peeled the tire off on a shark fin landing to hard bermed turn. The bars turned as the rim stuffed in the dirt and I did a tomahawk to scorpion and broke my left collarbone into 4 pieces. Famous "just one more" "last run" luck. Interestingly the impact was so gradual and perfect I had no bruise. Just Applied the right amount of force in the unlucky right spot. After the X-ray at the hospital I got a sling, hit McDonald's and then drove myself the 2.5 hours home. I'm 37 and pretty fit and otherwise in good health.

I had surgery about 2.5 days later installing a plate and 7 screws. The First few days sucked from surgery pain but having it attached again sure was nice. I took 2 days off work post-OP plus the weekend and was back to office stuff after that. I Started riding uphill only on roads at 1 week using one arm only, the other in a sling. Ditched the sling completely after maybe 8 days when I had my first physio appointment. I intended to do the exercises but honestly I maybe did them 3 times. At two weeks I'd ride uphill only on roads with both arms but primarily using my right. Reverse shuttles were awful, all work, no payoff. On day 14 I saw the surgeon again and things looked good, incision was closed and healing well. I also went to physio and he moved it around a lot but again I really never did any of the suggested exercises and only used it to verify I could probably do more than the boilerplate guidance the surgeon offered. By three weeks I'd ride downhill ever so slowly on roads with both arms but still mostly relying on my right and rear brake (which took a beating). Around then I started playing frisbee golf with my other arm too. After 4 weeks I'd ride up and downhill on roads and smooth gravel trails very cautiously using both arms and not going too fast should I need to stop. I'd occassionally do a big ride up then walk my bike down the trail while my Mrs shredded. More or less this continued until exactly 6 weeks post-OP (except I surfed at 5.5 weeks but I was worried and weak and didn't try very hard.) when I got x-rays and saw the surgeon again. He said ok to surfing and kitesurfing and light mountain biking where I wouldn't crash. I was on vacation for the next 17 days so the next day I rode a blue flow trail careful to stay on the ground and then surfed the next 14 days in a row with a couple MTB rides on fall line loamy blacks and a few kitesurfing sessions thrown in. Initially there was some pain, mostly just stiffness in the morning. The past 3 days was a real test as I rode about 80km including a couple good shuttles today which is exactly 9 weeks since the initial crash and 8.5 since surgery. I also rode the trail I broke it on which was a mental obstacle. I Started to jump a little and take small drops but nothing too serious.

So basically I was the 6 week rule exactly. There was never much pain, just stiffness in the morning. My range of motion is reduced a lot but likely close to what it was already since I had a labrum repair on that shoulder prior to this and it's hard to tell whether it's that or the clavicle. The hardware feels really weird under the skin, there is a lot of numbness. Initially that was the most disconcerting part, not feeling my shoulder belt while driving but my brain saying I should be able to. I also seem to have developed pulsitive tinnitus in my left ear from the surgery affecting my neck muscles and blood flow. Hopefully it goes away.

This thread was the most valuable thing I read throughout the whole ordeal. Wish I could post a picture but I can't figure out how to on an android phone.

Only desktop version supported the image features etc.
flag fielonator
Posted: Jul 13, 2020 at 2:35 Quote
Warnycatot wrote:
Hello I had a broken collarbone due to a bad mountain bike fall. I did surgery 2 weeks ago but can’t meet the doctor yet. So I know nothing... I have a couple of questions to ask ????

Can you tell me if these things after my surgery are normal ?
- when I wake up, it is really stiff. As if gravity was pushing it. Like it’s moving down
- I feel like something is moving
- I tried scratching my nose too soon with my Stevenson on. Felt like something moved.. can it be the bones ? Or is it normal to feel weird sensations ?

don’t have pain at all. Only stiffness and weird sensations. Also, I am not feeling my shoulder well. Still feels numb.

Thanks a lot ????

This is all based on my experience of my injury and what my doctors told me. Others will be different so please don't shoot me down, I'm just sharing the advice i was given.

I was 39 and pretty fit, nosedived off a big jump and landed on top of my left shoulder.

I had a bad break with a 4cm overlap and not close to being straight. I went in for plate surgery just inside 2 weeks from injury, during which time i was in a sling 100% of the time and in some pain, the surgeon later told me the bones had begun to heal in a bad position. Post surgery i went back to sling for 2 weeks, gradually giving myself short breaks to wash, or rest my neck when sitting. Sleeping was a pain, my bruised ribs were the worstn.

I saw a physio at the 2 week point, she checked my range of motion, very gently, and gave me some exercises to do over the floowing 2 weeks. These were only to retain mobility in the shoulder joint and were completely passive. Gently swinging my hanging arm in small circles was all.

2 more weeks and i got some more exercises, this time passive range of motion stuff using my good arm and a broom handle to keep my injured side mobile, but still no muscle rehab. This was frustrating as i felt like i could do more.

At 6 weeks post surgery I'd started using my arm a bit more and wearing the sling a lot less. I was discharged by my surgeon and given some proper rehab by my physio. I returned to work after 8 weeks off. I set myself the goal of being able to do a pushup before riding again. This took a few weeks to work up to but i was back into normal riding around 10 weeks after surgery.

It still hurts sometimes, the screw heads now show and the skin over them is painful if something rests on them. Range of motion has never been a problem, I'm putting this down to good flexibility from swimming and the physio work early on. The scar is stull numb and i get a stiff neck and tingling in my fingertips sometimes. Stretching my upper back helps with this. I can't sleep on my injured side as it causes discomfort.

Good luck, try to be a patient patient. You'll be back riding properly in no time if you chill for a while now.
flag lblizzard
Posted: Jul 14, 2020 at 4:00 Quote
fielonator wrote:
Warnycatot wrote:
Hello I had a broken collarbone due to a bad mountain bike fall. I did surgery 2 weeks ago but can’t meet the doctor yet. So I know nothing... I have a couple of questions to ask ????

Can you tell me if these things after my surgery are normal ?
- when I wake up, it is really stiff. As if gravity was pushing it. Like it’s moving down
- I feel like something is moving
- I tried scratching my nose too soon with my Stevenson on. Felt like something moved.. can it be the bones ? Or is it normal to feel weird sensations ?

don’t have pain at all. Only stiffness and weird sensations. Also, I am not feeling my shoulder well. Still feels numb.

Thanks a lot ????

This is all based on my experience of my injury and what my doctors told me. Others will be different so please don't shoot me down, I'm just sharing the advice i was given.

I was 39 and pretty fit, nosedived off a big jump and landed on top of my left shoulder.

I had a bad break with a 4cm overlap and not close to being straight. I went in for plate surgery just inside 2 weeks from injury, during which time i was in a sling 100% of the time and in some pain, the surgeon later told me the bones had begun to heal in a bad position. Post surgery i went back to sling for 2 weeks, gradually giving myself short breaks to wash, or rest my neck when sitting. Sleeping was a pain, my bruised ribs were the worstn.

I saw a physio at the 2 week point, she checked my range of motion, very gently, and gave me some exercises to do over the floowing 2 weeks. These were only to retain mobility in the shoulder joint and were completely passive. Gently swinging my hanging arm in small circles was all.

2 more weeks and i got some more exercises, this time passive range of motion stuff using my good arm and a broom handle to keep my injured side mobile, but still no muscle rehab. This was frustrating as i felt like i could do more.

At 6 weeks post surgery I'd started using my arm a bit more and wearing the sling a lot less. I was discharged by my surgeon and given some proper rehab by my physio. I returned to work after 8 weeks off. I set myself the goal of being able to do a pushup before riding again. This took a few weeks to work up to but i was back into normal riding around 10 weeks after surgery.

It still hurts sometimes, the screw heads now show and the skin over them is painful if something rests on them. Range of motion has never been a problem, I'm putting this down to good flexibility from swimming and the physio work early on. The scar is stull numb and i get a stiff neck and tingling in my fingertips sometimes. Stretching my upper back helps with this. I can't sleep on my injured side as it causes discomfort.

Good luck, try to be a patient patient. You'll be back riding properly in no time if you chill for a while now.

I had 2 plates on my left collarbone, in a sling for 2-3 weeks, doc said it was more for other people to keep their distance. rehab was brutal but that's only because of the anterior (front) plate, it messes with a lot of soft tissue.
2.5 years and i still have numbness, rang of motion is 99%, nothing is every the same after surgery. However it's 100% functional. I can rub my fingers over my skin and feel the screws....just thankful for good surgeons and the ability to patch us back up
flag Tony9510
Posted: Jul 16, 2020 at 4:23 Quote
Hey guys, Awesome thread been reading through it all morning.
My sad story goes, I broke my Collarbone severely in Sept' 2018 being 38 then, I had a nail inserted through the bone, the hospital removed it after several months then I got back to riding again last summer. I had a couple of small slips nothing major then noticed movement in the bone so I went back to hospital and it turned out I had pseudarthrosis non-union of the bone, but it had grown cartilage around the broken ends (the hospital messed up as they for some reason didn't X-ray me after the nail removal then I would have known it was still not fused) So I then opted for a new operation in Sept 2019 having the bone screwed and plated. All has gone well with that. I was snowboarding with it all winter no problem.
Fast forward to this year. When the lockdown ended last month or so, I dusted off the DH bike took it to Leogang for start of the season, 2nd run I sat on the back wheel heading off a blind drop (not used to the bike or nerves) I stopped the wheel and ploughed head first into the ground, don't remember anything for about 15 mins, but the guys there told me that someone else crashed on top of me as I was laid unconscious on the landing (probably how I got a broken rib). So back to hospital (they know me so well by now) Turns out I re-fractured my clavicle at the distal end where the end of the metal plate is. It's been 6 weeks now, I just stopped using my sling and have started to work out again yesterday. But the doctors at the time said no bike riding for 3 months!!! From reading through this forum is seems most people were back on their bikes a lot sooner. Have had zero pain even right after the accident and the bone has felt stable for over a month, it now only hurts if I try to lift my arms above 90 degrees. I'm thinking as long as I stick to cycle paths, gravel roads and uphills I should be ok, definitely no DH until September that would be 3 months since the crash. What's your opinion guys?

Here's the images of the original break in 2018, the pseudarthrosis and the new fracture from 6 weeks ago.

photo

photo

photo
flag Boyan1984
Posted: Jul 16, 2020 at 4:26 Quote
Yeah, hold the DH for as long as you can, so you don't regret it.

 


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