Question for those who've broken their clavicle

[BMC]

Alright folks, a little update. Went to get a second opinion from another ortho today (thanks firestart) and he also recommended surgery. He also explained the x-ray to me since I had a hard time figuring where exactly the breaks were and damn...it doesn't look good . He figures at least a 3 cm displacement and I'm just not happy with that. On that note I've elected to go ahead with the surgery next week. I'll be choosing whichever ortho can get me in sooner as i thought that they were both extremely knowledgeable and professional so at the latest next Friday I'll have a plate and a few screws in me. Hope fully it all goes well. I'll keep you guys posted.

[BMC]

Just giving everyone an update. It's been 5 weeks since my surgery and I couldn't be happier. For those that are contemplating surgery I wouldn't think twice about it. Went for a check-up yesterday and the bone is pretty much healed. Start some exercises this week and should be good to go in about 4 weeks. The only irritation I get is my seat belt rubbing the area which I hope will go away over time. For those that have had the surgery a few q's for ya:

1) How soon after the surgery were you able to get back on your bike?
2) For those that weight train how soon were you able to start lifting heavy weights again?

Thanks guys!

[FullMotoJacket]

Good to hear it worked out. I rode the top trails of Kelso (easy pace) on my mountainbike 5 weeks after my surgery.At 4 months I did a road trip and road South Mountain and Pima-Dynamite (hammering) in Phoenix. At the time I was a spry 41 year old. I'd probably take a bit longer to get it back in gear now. As always, YRMV.

[caboose483]

I was off the bike for exactly two months after breaking it. I could have been back after 6 weeks but the bike wasn't ready to ride yet.

[sircastic]

I broke my right clavicle last year in early June and raced 4 weeks later. Probably not the brightest move but I wanted back on the bike. That weekend with a still healing clavicle showed me that I wasn't as smooth as I could be on the bike and helped a lo t with my riding.

[felixlkj]

Just giving everyone an update. It's been 5 weeks since my surgery and I couldn't be happier. For those that are contemplating surgery I wouldn't think twice about it. Went for a check-up yesterday and the bone is pretty much healed. Start some exercises this week and should be good to go in about 4 weeks. The only irritation I get is my seat belt rubbing the area which I hope will go away over time. For those that have had the surgery a few q's for ya:

1) How soon after the surgery were you able to get back on your bike?
2) For those that weight train how soon were you able to start lifting heavy weights again?

Thanks guys!

I just had the surgery at the beginning of May. I'm feeling great and you get used to the pressures (seatbelt, backpack or whatever) over the incision area. Numbness is weird though!

I went back on my bike as soon as I got my sling off. But I was extremely careful as I didn't want to risk falling on the shoulder again and interfering with the healing process. The plate can bend if enough pressure is put on it!

As far as weightlifting, My doc is a sports doc.. with one of the toronto teams and canadian men's olympic hockey this year actually. says it's fine to do it...but to take it slow.. better to be safe than sorry I suppose?

Gradually add weight as you progress. dont be going in and deadlifting 400 lbs right away! I didn't touch a weight until I got the all clear from the doc.

hmm use pain as a guideline... usually a bad sign if you feel it on the bone. lol.

[TomC]

broke mine yesterday at tmp,

hagersville hospital for xrays, doc said it looked like a clean, simple break, but ive been told theyre boneheads when it comes to diagnosis at this hospital. Gonna get it done again on tuesday by york central fracture clinic.

walking around with the sling so far is not too bad, mild discomfort, sleeping was ok last night, just lied on my back....i dont really roll around much, waking up took a little more time and prep.

But, how did you guys manage to take showers???

special thanks to: B & J turner, Chris, Eric, Chris(GWB), Fawaz, Ken McAdam, Tracy...hope i didnt miss anyone.

[infernobuster]

Sorry to hear bud. I was talking to Chris yesterday and he had told me someone had broken their collarbone.

I found sleeping to be the worst .. best thing is to buy a comfortable lazyboy chair and sleep in it.
As for showers .. this is where your wife/gf come into play more than ever . lol ..

Make sure they give you some good pain killers too ..

[Rob MacLennan]

You might want to take a trip to St. Mikes. They have two of the best clavicle fracture guys in the country there, who did a study on the plating of breaks a few years back.

[R1Guy]

broke mine yesterday at tmp,

hagersville hospital for xrays, doc said it looked like a clean, simple break, but ive been told theyre boneheads when it comes to diagnosis at this hospital. Gonna get it done again on tuesday by york central fracture clinic.

walking around with the sling so far is not too bad, mild discomfort, sleeping was ok last night, just lied on my back....i dont really roll around much, waking up took a little more time and prep.

But, how did you guys manage to take showers???

special thanks to: B & J turner, Chris, Eric, Chris(GWB), Fawaz, Ken McAdam...hope i didnt miss anyone.

Ouch...! Sorry to hear about your accident.
When I broke mine years ago (two spots) showers were very difficult, I had to hold my shoulders back and chug back a few pain killers before and after!
If I had the choice (which I didn't back then) I would have went for the surgery only because I had a floating bone between the breaks.
Out of all my bone breaks that is one episode of my life I would like to forget.

Heal up quick...!

[TomC]

thanks folks, this is gonna be a complicated month :/

[dnns]

Broke mine in the mid '80s rollerblading --a front roll -body got way ahead of my feet and both were ahead of my brain. Clean break --no surgery --a bunch of pain for awhile --found the best was wearing a figure eight type harness the docyor recommended instead of a sling --that kept the ends of the bone separated so the didn't touch and hurt and aligned it for healing. Was fairly healed in about 6 weeks so i could ride again --but it was a very impatient 6 weeks was ok in about 2-3 months and after some more months it was fine --and no residual effects.
good luck as you wait for the healing.

[BusaBob]

thanks folks, this is gonna be a complicated month :/

try any of the surgeons at southlake hospital in newmarket. they're all top notch when it comes to these surgeries.

[S_D]

that looks almost identical to mine, except mine was on the right side. I did it about 7 weeks ago. after 5 weeks i had the sling off and was regaining movement. My doctor was a retard. It definately has limited my range of motion because I had a huge overlap of the bones so my right clavicle is now shorter than my left. AWESOME. Be careful doing physical activity when you get your motion back. I got a little over zealous last night and just moved the wrong way and bam... Hurts like a ***** now. Just be cautious and take it slow when youre ready to start moving it again. I was back on my bike after 6 weeks. I would definately push for surgery though. I regret not pushing for it.

[BMC]

Sorry to hear about your break, I definitely feel your pain. Don't hesitate to push for surgery if it's a bad break. I was against it at first but I couldn't be happier 5 months later. You can always have the plate removed if you choose to, so the only thing you really have to live with is the scar which isn't bad at all. Make sure you visit a knowledgeable surgeon so as not to waste your time. Also, pick up a figure 8 sling while you make up your mind. It will definitely help relieve some of the discomfort. Best of luck to you and don't hesitate to post up or PM me if you have any questions.

[warp speed]

My advise to you? Don't laugh, cough, sneeze or blow your nose.
These activities especially the sneezing will have you down on your knees
faster than jenna jameson.

[FullMotoJacket]

Who in their right mind would be in any hurry to get down on their knees for Jenna Jameson?

[TomC]

Its been almost 3 weeks, my ortho gave me a figure 8 sling and Took it off today and walked around the mall for a bit...

The break is at the end of the collar bone close to my shoulder....

It looks the un-injured part of my collar bone is not symmetrical with the other side Of my body...is this something to be worried about? To clarify, my entire collar bone is buldging out more than my other side, and this ISN'T from calcification.

I'll be seeing my ortho next wk, but was wondering if anyone had experienced this...busabob any thoghts?

[R1Guy]

It looks the un-injured part of my collar bone is not symmetrical with the other side Of my body...is this something to be worried about? To clarify, my entire collar bone is buldging out more than my other side, and this ISN'T from calcification.
I'll be seeing my ortho next wk, but was wondering if anyone had experienced this...busabob any thoghts?

My right shoulder has healed lower... can't say by how much but you can definitely notice it.
Hasn't caused me any pain in 10 years, I think my body is compensating for the difference because when I start to tone up during the winter the muscle development looks really different from one side to the other.

[BusaBob]

It looks the un-injured part of my collar bone is not symmetrical with the other side Of my body...is this something to be worried about? To clarify, my entire collar bone is buldging out more than my other side, and this ISN'T from calcification.
...busabob any thoughts?

TomC: without surgery, the ends of the break never line up perfectly, and so there will usually always be some angulation compared to the other side or compared how it looked before. As long as you have good sensation, muscle control and circulation into the arm on the broken side though, it's not considered a problem. You will always have a little less range of motion, but again, that is considered normal.