# Clavicle plates and recovery



## sm4k (Feb 16, 2011)

I am about 5 months post op from having my clavicle plated from a pretty displaced fracture.

Not sure if my experiences are normal.. Moving my arm to the far side across my body creates a sharp pain like the plate is cutting into my flesh somewhere. Or if i reach far behind my head.

Also ANY light direct contact with a foreign object feels like its cutting me from the inside.. When stopping short in the car for instance with the seatbelt, or if i were to jog with a backpack.. Particularly if the area were tapped by a foreign object.

Do these symptoms go away?

Will be getting back on the bike soon, kinda concerned.


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## Procter (Feb 3, 2012)

7 mos post op here. I have many of the same symptoms but it's not too bad. You may be feeling a combination of skin pain (skin doesn't like metal and screws) and ac joint pain. On the skin pain side, I massage the skin constantly, that helps work the crap out. But, the other day I tried to carry skis on that shoulder and couldn't bear the pain. But riding with a camelback is fine. 


In the muscle / ac joint pain side, I started lifting as soon as possible after my plate (light weights from 8w, full strength by 4-5 months) and worked through a lot of that. There are still some lifts (like pullups from a dead hang) that cause direct pain in the ac joint, and it pops for various movements too. It's not bad enough for me to go to the doc. My physical therapist said it might just be like that permanently. It's tolerable.

Why did you need to wait so long to get back in the saddle? I was riding stationary at 8w and road/cross rides at 12w. Disuse may be contributing to your pain.


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## -Todd- (Jun 13, 2011)

I'm 5+ years off my plate "upgrade" and don't have any pain or discomfort. The area was numb for a few years, not so much now. The only time I get reminded it's their is if I lift something really heavy with the left arm (75lbs+) or if one of my kids steps on it when we're horsing around... 

I did ALL the rehab, stretching, strengthening and clinic work. The scar tissue has to be managed, it'll create a web around the hardware.


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## sm4k (Feb 16, 2011)

hrmm no the muscle/joint is feeling pretty good.. my sternum had felt like i been through open heart surgery but after that mended and i built up a bit with body weight exercises i can tell the geometry is better than before (this is a re-fracture.. previously no surgery) and visually you can tell the bone does not bow out like it did before.. 

its just the skin sensetivity.. and yeah i have lots of numbness around here and there.. it is getting better though as i move around more.

the canadian winters are what have been holding me back mostly.. not the cold so much as the ice and compressed snow that await upon any unforseen dismount.. i'm usually not a suck about that stuff but think i'll hold off untill my worst case scenario is a trip in the mud. heh.

have done some stationary trainer stuff but its not the same.. no discomfort there though.

thanks Todd, no rehab or physio here but i thought out a plan and do some exersizes.. its my third clavicle fracture but first surgery.


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## Vegard (Jul 16, 2009)

For the first month after my surgery in October I had the same cutting sensation you describe, I massaged the area every night and it went away. If it's very bad I'd assume that your innards are getting caught on the plate which in turn reflects badly on the surgeon.

I was back to full strength in 4 months (started pushups after 2) and 5 months in I'm stronger than I've been in years. Probably fueled by the rage of being sidelined for 6 months total.


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## sm4k (Feb 16, 2011)

Vegard said:


> For the first month after my surgery in October I had the same cutting sensation you describe, I massaged the area every night and it went away. If it's very bad I'd assume that your innards are getting caught on the plate which in turn reflects badly on the surgeon.
> 
> I was back to full strength in 4 months (started pushups after 2) and 5 months in I'm stronger than I've been in years. Probably fueled by the rage of being sidelined for 6 months total.


As it turns out the discomfort is something i could push past and it went away..

A week or so of heavy backpacks and occasional pressure 5 months postop and everything held up stellar.

First mtb ride also today and got to jumping some curbs etc.. no sweat

First fall will be the real test.

I do have these annoying pea sized nodules, 3 or 4 i can feel in the incision area i can only guess are the dissolvable stitches balled up.. I had a few sticking out the incision months after in the checkup which they had to use quite some force to pull out.

Fortunatley the area was still pretty numb at the time ;p


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## Chickenbaby (Jan 31, 2015)

I had a pretty bad break: the clavicle was in 6+ pieces (you can see some of these in the X-ray in my profile pic). I'm a few weeks out from surgery now and feeling great (a plate and 10 screws). Having read this thread before my post-op appointment, I had a chance to ask my orthopedic surgeon about the "cutting" sensation under the skin that a couple of you had described. She said some people do get this, and that it is invariably scar tissue, and that the vast majority of people "work it away" over time.


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## sm4k (Feb 16, 2011)

Wow 6 places you must have had a serious spill. Hope you have a quick and full recovery although it sounds like you are well on that path.

Mine literally was worked away over a week of use but it did have me concerned.

After hearing all these stories of feeling great after surgery though i think i am going to check in with the hospital director to answer some burning questions i have which my orthopod has either deflected or responded with standard answers that dont really seem to apply.

Get well soon chickenbaby


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

I fractured my clavicle in multiple pieces and had it plated. The bone healed well but I could feel a sharp pain when there was any pressure across the top, for example the seatbelt or a backpack strap. There is not much soft tissue between the clavicle and the skin, so you may be feeling the plate beneath. It doesn't reflect on your surgeon; it reflects on your anatomy. 

The fix is to have the hardware removed after the fracture has healed. My surgeon wanted to wait one year for the bone to reach full strength, and once he removed the plate and screws the pinching sensation resolved immediately. Ask your surgeon about it. It's an easy fix.


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## whoda*huck (Feb 12, 2005)

I was in a sling for 3 months (waited 5 weeks for normal healing before surgery was scheduled), so am now experiencing diminished range of motion with very sharp pains at the limits. No pain at the plates, just the damned tight shoulder pocket. Getting better through PT, but figure I'll be off the bike 5 months minimum.


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## Chickenbaby (Jan 31, 2015)

whodaphuck said:


> View attachment 984814
> View attachment 984815
> I was in a sling for 3 months (waited 5 weeks for normal healing before surgery was scheduled), so am now experiencing diminished range of motion with very sharp pains at the limits. No pain at the plates, just the damned tight shoulder pocket. Getting better through PT, but figure I'll be off the bike 5 months minimum.


Two plates! Maybe your's was worse than mine. Was it your choice to wait a full 5 weeks before surgery? That sucks. Both the pain and the speed of healing are so much improved within days of the actual surgery being done. I had my surgery within a week of the crash, and I had wished it was faster. Although it only happened this fast because my wife is a doc at the same hospital (yeah, gamed the system). Still, having to wait 5 weeks would have had me pretty pissed!

I just went for my first ride since the accident, and it was great. So, back on the bike within 2 months of the crash. I'm optimistic you'll be back in action in way less than 5 months!


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