Broken Collar Bone Recovery Time

PB Forum :: Fitness, Training and Health

Author	Message

fielonator

Posted: Jul 7, 2021 at 0:27

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hose406 wrote:

I’m about 8 months post op,

I still have next tightness and limited ROM. It feels like the muscles from the collar bone to my jaw are in knots. I’ve already done PT but i feel like I’m still not in terms of the side that I broke. Does anyone else still have neck soreness/ tightness?

My left shoulder, neck and chest still feel tight after over 2 years. I've got good range of motion, pretty good strength and little pain now, but it's definately not the same as my good side. I'm assuming it's because of the plate and screws. I'd like to have them removed at some point, but don't want to miss any more riding.

My advice is to keep up the excercises, stretch as much as you can, and try and use your injured side normally. A bit more physio might help too. Swimming is good for shoulder mobility, if you can swim well.

Crownan

Posted: Aug 31, 2021 at 2:36

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Broke mine in June at Windhill, out of sling after 8 days, back on turbo trainer after 10 days, road riding after 4 weeks, first MTB was last Sunday after 7.5 weeks and all felt good (avoided drops but did a few smooth jumps).
BUT, as already mentioned it really depends on how bad the break it, how fit and motivated you are with recovery and physio etc.

My other Collarbone got plated back in 2015 due to separation and was riding the Alps 6 weeks later.

tccrawfo

Posted: Sep 1, 2021 at 20:21	Quote
For those with plates, ever wonder what it’s like to break it again? Well, here ya go! Broke mine at the end of the old plate from 2013 and got a new plate 3 weeks ago. Kinda getting used to these unfortunately, other side has a plate too from a few years ago…

Crownan

Posted: Sep 7, 2021 at 2:18

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tccrawfo wrote:

For those with plates, ever wonder what it’s like to break it again? Well, here ya go!

Broke mine at the end of the old plate from 2013

ARGH! My worst nightmare.

Rhuerta94

Posted: Nov 30, 2021 at 13:29

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Hey guys, been reading on this forum For the past week or so, on November 20 I was going down a rock drop, didnt pull the front up and I went over the handlebars resulting in a fractured clavicle. I went to the ER they prescribed pain killers and took x-rays, and said surgery might be required depending on what the orthopedic dr says. A couple days later went to the orthopedic surgeon he said my fracture isn’t too crazy, its right in the middle only thing is there are fragments which one is visible and looks like a small spike through my skin. He pretty much said the choice is up to me whether i do want surgery or do not, he gave me the pros and cons of each choice.

Heres the thing, i am having such a hard time deciding which choice to choose, the doctor scheduled me for surgery this thursday but said i can cancel it whenever in case i change my mind. Originally i wanted to get the surgery, but now after reading about 40 pages of this forum and seeing how bad other peoples fractures are compared to mine (who decided to heal naturally) im now kind of leaning towards letting it heal naturally. I do have a small spike on the skin (doctor says will round off and become a bump over time), Im 27 years old and relatively fit, eat pretty good and healthy. What would you guys suggest, id really like to know what you guys think, hopefully i can get the images to upload and get some opinions from people who might have had a similar experience. Pictures are also on my profile in case i can get them to show on here lol

Thanks everyone, safe travels.

Tripmo

Posted: Nov 30, 2021 at 16:28

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Rhuerta94 wrote:

Hello there. I saw you fracture and your break is a pretty clean break, compared to the one I had.
If I were you I would go with natural healing. I had my clavicle fractured at 3 places + shattered and it was better to do surgery. Then after a year the plate gave issues and had to get removed.

Just rest a lot, and follow what the doctor says. Also ask him when you can start with physio therapy, this will help with the healing progress.

Speedy recovery.

Rhuerta94

Posted: Nov 30, 2021 at 23:10	Quote
[deleted]

Rhuerta94

Posted: Nov 30, 2021 at 23:15

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Tripmo wrote:

Rhuerta94 wrote:

Thanks for your response!

Thats one reason the surgery does not appeal to me is ive heard the hardware can become an issue down the road. If you dont mind me asking, what exactly was the issue with the plate?

Thanks again for your time and advice.

fielonator

Posted: Dec 1, 2021 at 15:03

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Rhuerta94 wrote:

Tripmo wrote:

Rhuerta94 wrote:

Looks nasty. Mine has been fine with the plate in so far. It's left me with a nice straight shoulder and no pointy bits to speak of, apart from a couple of screw heads. As I'm sure you've read there are tons of different experiences recovering from the same injury. My advice if you're unsure is to get a second opinion from a medical professional and go from there. Apart from our own experiences most of us on here don't really know anything,

Good luck.

Tripmo

Posted: Dec 1, 2021 at 16:15

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Rhuerta94 wrote:

I had a visible screw head showing which was very painful when I touched it. So during a follow up with the doctor, he was worried that this could damage my skin. Then he suggested me three options:

1. Keep it in, and ignore
2. Do a small surgery, where he would make a small incision and just remove the current screw that is visible
3. Make an incision over the old scar, and remove the whole plate.

The doctor said, number 3 would be the best, because the hardware inside could always start giving issues in the future, as there is no guarantee if some other screws get more loose etc. After all it's a foreign object in your body.

As @fielonator mentioned it's better to get a second opinion (other doctor), and see what this doctor says. As we are all not medical professionals here, we are just people with some history related to a clavicle break.

Every break/injury is different.

Take care.

Rhuerta94

Posted: Dec 2, 2021 at 19:59

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fielonator wrote:

Rhuerta94 wrote:

Tripmo wrote:

I spoke with another orthopedic dr the night before the surgery, pretty much said if it weren't for the spike he would definitely recommend the natural healing method, but because of the spike, surgery would be the option he would go with, once again it was up to me to make the final decision. So i said screw it and had surgery this morning lol. Wasn't too bad, pretty much just feeling the same pain i had the day i broke my collarbone. Only time will tell how well i feel in the coming weeks.

Anyhow, thanks for your response, i really appreciate it. Its always cool to hear other people’s experiences and gives me comfort knowing im not the only guy getting himself in trouble with this sport, not to say i wont be extra careful/ responsible from now on lol.

GBangShredder

Posted: Dec 4, 2021 at 16:10	Quote
Having the surgery at the very least makes recovery more comfortable as the bones are now unioned and things are not moving around as much. 6 weeks later I was back to everything.

mitch32

Posted: Dec 20, 2021 at 10:54

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Would have going for the surgery as well. You can be sure that the bones are in optimal distance and you can move without being worried that something gets out of position. The spike would have been a pain in the ass I think, I had something similar plus a quite complicated break...

FYI... I had CT scan around 4 weeks ago and my collarbone is healed now 100%. My surgery was on 12th of August 2020. I was riding bikes around 3 months after surgery...

Rhuerta94 wrote:

mustbeme

Posted: Mar 17, 2022 at 10:29

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Let's keep this party going. I broke mine March 13 2022. I was pedaling hard up to a ramp and my chain snapped on my DJ bike. I ate it hard right over the bars into dirt and grass Landed on back on helmet in the tucked position somehow. I wonder if my chin broke my clavicle. Went to ER then waited 2 days for Ortho appointment then next day surgery so injured + 3 days for surgery. I have a slightly cracked rib and doc told me when there is one there are usually others and this is very painful. My break is displaced pretty bad. Cannot do the IM nail procedure due to the wedge break. Will post some progress. I got a plate and 7 or 8 screws Will post post surgery xrays when I can

EDIT: March 30 2022
My ribs hurt bad, worse than collarbone. Plate and screws will take getting used to in this thin skin area. Have good mobility but definitely not doing anything with this arm. Doc said I have another bone break that is not clear in the xray above so I got some screws front to back to hold in place

fielonator

Posted: Mar 17, 2022 at 13:41

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Man that's bad luck. I had a chain snag up in a chain guide before and that sent me out the front. "Luckily" i landed on my hip and got away with a huge bruise all over my side and some cuts. My collarbone break was all my own fault, i take comfort from that.

The rib will probably cause you more pain than anything else, they can break or pop out of place which is also painful. Physio helped mine back into alignment so i could breathe and laugh again.

Take it easy and rest up. You'll be riding again before long.

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