# I'm Down (Broken Collarbone)



## aizen (Feb 6, 2011)

Fell off my bike yesterday and took a bad tumble. Could barely get up and couldn't lift my right arm. Felt something protruding out of my right shoulder. Got to the hospital and x-rays showed a broken right collarbone and strained left wrist(spacing between bones got shifted). Can't do much now except wait and hope that an operation wouldn't be necessary. Sigh... :sad:


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## Cormac (Aug 6, 2011)

that sucks. heal quick!


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## habsfan (Jun 10, 2011)

I'm with you aizen - just about 6 weeks ago I went OTB and broke my collarbone as well. I was knocked out and had a nice 'ol concussion. I don't even remember the accident I hit so hard.

The good news is this monday I go for my (hopefully) last x-ray and if the bone has healed, I can ride again!

The first week was absolute BS with the pain if I moved my arm a certain way - it felt like the bone was poking through my skin.

After the first week, it gradually got better and I've been out of the sling for 3+ weeks.

My doc gave me the option of surgery or let nature take its course, since I hate hospitals, I took the nature route!

Good luck with recovery and know that many of us have been there!


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## aizen (Feb 6, 2011)

habsfan said:


> I'm with you aizen - just about 6 weeks ago I went OTB and broke my collarbone as well. I was knocked out and had a nice 'ol concussion. I don't even remember the accident I hit so hard.
> 
> The good news is this monday I go for my (hopefully) last x-ray and if the bone has healed, I can ride again!
> 
> ...


Thanks for the encouragement! My doc said the same thing, except my shoulder might be shortened by 1 centimeter if I choose not to have surgery. Kinda worried about that.


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## mrniceguy42 (Nov 2, 2010)

I'm out with a broken clavicle this week. However, I have broken my collar bone too. When I did, the bone compressed into itself and ended up fusing into a stronger bone. Hopefully for you, there is no surgery needed and you can get back on the bike ASAP.


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## John.M (May 2, 2010)

I went otb back in March on my second trail ride of the year. My right collar bone was really "displaced" (the bone pieces were totally out of alignment). Two days later I was having surgery. I walked out of the hospital without a sling, and was back at work in 4 days (only because I took a narcotic pain pill on day 2, and was told I couldn't drive). I was on my road bike 3 weeks post surgery, and bombing the trails again 11 weeks. I have no pain, and complete range of motion.

Sure - it was expensive - but I'm 34 years old, and I think it was worth it to avoid all future complications going forward of having an out of symmetry collar bone. My doc said that the arthritis would be pretty severe if we didn't address the issue, and I'm glad I did it.

YMMV, but I would do it again in a heart beat. 

Oh - I have a plate, and 11 screws in the collarbone to hold it all together.


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## Hardtails Are Better (May 4, 2005)

Having broken mine about 8 months ago and not had surgery, I'd encourage you to get it operated on. I was back on the bike in 8 weeks, despite having broken mine into 5 pieces, but it's still pretty sore a lot of the time. Everyone I've spoken to who's had theirs operated on have been pretty much pain free very quickly.


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## aizen (Feb 6, 2011)

John.M said:


> I went otb back in March on my second trail ride of the year. My right collar bone was really "displaced" (the bone pieces were totally out of alignment). Two days later I was having surgery. I walked out of the hospital without a sling, and was back at work in 4 days (only because I took a narcotic pain pill on day 2, and was told I couldn't drive). I was on my road bike 3 weeks post surgery, and bombing the trails again 11 weeks. I have no pain, and complete range of motion.
> 
> Sure - it was expensive - but I'm 34 years old, and I think it was worth it to avoid all future complications going forward of having an out of symmetry collar bone. My doc said that the arthritis would be pretty severe if we didn't address the issue, and I'm glad I did it.
> 
> ...


Glad to hear that you are fine, John. Would you be taking out the plate and screws in the future?

Thought it might be good for me to attach a picture of the x-ray. I'm going for my first checkup tomorrow, I hope there's good news for me. Not too sure about surgery right now. I've got school orientation on Friday and school starts next week. Bad, bad timing.


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## aizen (Feb 6, 2011)

Hardtails Are Better said:


> Having broken mine about 8 months ago and not had surgery, I'd encourage you to get it operated on. I was back on the bike in 8 weeks, despite having broken mine into 5 pieces, but it's still pretty sore a lot of the time. Everyone I've spoken to who's had theirs operated on have been pretty much pain free very quickly.


Its still sore now? Are your shoulders of uneven length now?


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## Hardtails Are Better (May 4, 2005)

Yes on both counts.


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## aizen (Feb 6, 2011)

I'm worried about having uneven shoulders, as well as seeing the bone protruding under my skin. Its a lesson learnt for me, I will ride safely in the future.


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## big0mike (Jun 11, 2010)

aizen said:


> Fell off my bike yesterday and took a bad tumble. Could barely get up and couldn't lift my right arm. Felt something protruding out of my right shoulder. Got to the hospital and x-rays showed a broken right collarbone and strained left wrist(spacing between bones got shifted). *Can't do much now except wait and hope that an operation wouldn't be necessary. *Sigh... :sad:


Pray for a surgical option.



Hardtails Are Better said:


> Everyone I've spoken to who's had theirs operated on have been pretty much pain free very quickly.


And back to "normal" life quickly.



aizen said:


> I'm worried about having uneven shoulders, as well as seeing the bone protruding under my skin. Its a lesson learnt for me, I will ride safely in the future.


Riding "safely" means sitting on the couch.

If I had the choice I would've gotten mine screwed back together. As it worked out I was off everything for nearly 6 months. During early time of complete non-use the muscles deteriorated significantly. To this day, almost 2 years later, my arm gets sore just hanging there for longer periods of time. Granted, I did no rehab to rebuild those lost muscles (I hate working out, that's why I ride) but it's slowly getting better.

But six months of doing nothing fun was complete crap.

YMMV...


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## terrasmak (Jun 14, 2011)

I would take surgery any day, both of mine have been broke and left , they are both overlapped now and the should pains it has cause me in the past 13 years sucks.


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## dbikeco (Feb 7, 2004)

aizen said:


> Fell off my bike yesterday and took a bad tumble. Could barely get up and couldn't lift my right arm. Felt something protruding out of my right shoulder. Got to the hospital and x-rays showed a broken right collarbone and strained left wrist(spacing between bones got shifted). Can't do much now except wait and hope that an operation wouldn't be necessary. Sigh... :sad:


get well soon take care!!


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## habsfan (Jun 10, 2011)

Well, doctor gave me the ok to ride again and I did a 90 minute moderate ride on my favorite single and double track trails this afternoon. :thumbsup:

Felt really good to be back on the bike. I was a little nervous for the first couple minutes and then it went away as soon as I was in the woods. My wife told me to avoid jumping off rocks, so I did ..... for the first 30 minutes


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## danguskhan (Aug 22, 2011)

Mines also broken right now. Its my third one on the left side and my forth in general. Its the first time ive done it cycling though. I was bike touring the Oregon coast at the end of last month and got hit by an RV which broke my collarbone, concussed the hell out of me, and messed up some other things. 

Heal well! I feel for ya!


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## kurtbrinker (Aug 21, 2011)

ouch! heal up quick


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## dmckiwi (Feb 3, 2011)

Had surgery on mine, best thing I did as its healed up sweet, if I hadn't it would have been pretty ugly and turns out I had torn the ligament off so they fixed that too. Surgery sucks but worth it in the long run.


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## YooperTX (Oct 15, 2010)

Broke my left collarbone into 4 pieces on a bad landing jumping the mountain bike last Saturday, saw a doctor on Monday that gave me the same options: let it heal or get a plate put in. I opted for the plate and had surgery on Wednesday, my hope being it would heal faster and stronger that way, there was significant distance between the bone ends that would have had to heal.

The surgery was easy, here is what I remember: poking my neck with a needle to administer a block to numb my arm, then waking up in recovery. It really was as easy as going to sleep at night and waking up fixed. The very next day I had more range of motion in my arm then before the surgery since the bone ends weren’t poking me anymore. 

I’m off the narcotics already, but ibuprofen is my friend; and have decent range of motion for my arm. It’s still weak but I haven’t used the sling since the day after surgery and I’m hoping for a fast recovery. Probably the smartest thing I did was drop my bike off at the LBS this week for a tune up – removes the temptation to get on it too soon.

Good luck with your collarbone, hope you heal quickly whichever way you go.


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## rzims (Sep 7, 2005)

interesting thread - I broke mine a week ago Saturday. Going to see the orthopedist on Wed. I was totally hoping not to have surgery, but after this thread I'm not sure. 
Of course I have Kaiser so chances are they won't even offer surgery....
Being off the bike sucks!!!


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## aizen (Feb 6, 2011)

Here's an update:

Its been almost 4 weeks since I fractured my collarbone. During the 1st checkup, I did not opt for surgery, neither did the doctor suggest it. Just had my 2nd checkup a few days ago and the x-ray shows the bone hasn't started joining back yet. Doctor says the calcium could already be forming, just that the scar tissue hasn't dissolved fully and is hindering the bone from growing back. 

I'm scheduled for another checkup in the following week. Hopefully there's better news. The swelling has gone down though! My left hand still hurts although its not as bad as before. Can't wait for the next checkup!


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## hskr101 (Aug 10, 2011)

After I broke mine a few years ago, I was told by my doctor that he had never seen a collarbone that did not go back together on its own. I was totally against surgery so it was broken for a year. During this time, I worked out and rode but never did have the same strength. After a year, I finally consented to surgery. My only regret is that I did not do it sooner. If I broke my collarbone again tomorrow, I would have surgery within a few weeks and not even worry about it. Good luck!


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## nikojan (Jun 18, 2011)

Hope the next checkup goes well!


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## BJL-1 (Apr 7, 2011)

Thought i'd share my war story and experience. 

I broke my collarbone in early april. I had surgery 3 days later and was released to unrestricted activity at 12 weeks. Started riding my trainer at 6 weeks though with doc's ok. From what my doc said and what i found, surgery may not be necessary or an option for a "simple" break--broken in one spot and not displaced. While some docs may still be of the opinion that "it will heal on its own eventually", research shows that breaks that are more displaced (there is a 2cm or more difference in the width of the shoulders) or breaks that are pretty fragmented (mine was in about 4 or 5 pieces) are more likely to heal faster than not having surgery. 12 weeks was a long haul but better than 16-20 or more without surgery.

To those of you still on the mend, heal quickly...and do your PT! Rehab was an essential part of having a good functioning shoulder when i was given the green light.:thumbsup:


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## aizen (Feb 6, 2011)

Good news: Collarbone hasn't joined back yet but I'm able to move my arm well now. I can raise it up without much pain. Doctor put me on physiotherapy which is gonna start next week.

Bad news: My wrist sprain turned out to be a scaphoid fracture. Its broken right in the middle and a CT scan next week will determine if surgery and a bone graft is needed.

I'm scared, guys. Both of surgery as well as the bone graft. Could someone make me feel better?


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## Red29 (Jan 5, 2009)

*5 weeks in...*

I'm about five weeks into healing of my "mildly displaced" L. clavicle fracture. I still have lots of poping in my shoulder, and while the fracture site doesn't hurt, I've got a lot of pain elsewhere in my shoulder, mostly like muscle strain. At 3 wks the Dr. said he was a little concerned it was still moving, but it would probably heal up, and to come back at 7 wks. I really don't want to loose 7 wks and then need to have surgery or have take another 6 to finish healing. Has anyone else still felt movement at 5 wks? For you guys that didn't have surgery, what did it feel like at 5 wks?


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## Bike_Muchacho (May 5, 2009)

*Did you leave the screws in?*

I'm curious. Of those of you who had collar bone surgery, how many have gone back and had the hardware removed? I assume in most cases its a plate and a couple of screws. I'm just looking for the pros and cons of leaving the hardware in, versus taking it out. My doctor said to wait at least a year before making that decision. I've heard conflicting stories as to which way is better.


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## John.M (May 2, 2010)

It's been almost 9 months since my surgery. I was 100% at 3 months, back on the mountain bike or cross bike several times per week. I feel no pain at all from that shoulder - none, nada. Just about the only issue is where the bone has grown around the screws. I had a total of 11 screws installed into the plate that was placed on top of my collar bone. Where those screws are closer to the skin, it some times can be a little uncomfortable if I have a backpack or something over that shoulder.

I weigh around 230, and am fairly muscular. The doctor advised me that this would be in my favor as I have more tissue in that area that would minimize any pain or discomfort by the plate and screws being close to the skin.

I will never have mine removed. I can't upload the pic because I'm on my work PC, but I'll try to remember to put a picture of my x-ray up later.

Before surgery:









After surgery:


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## purliss (Feb 8, 2011)

*broken collar bone too*

broke my left collar bone 2 days ago. in a sling. see doc tomorrow. will post X-ray. any advice?

Update. Plate in 2 weeks. Doing well. Road ride tomorrow. Limited range of motion:eekster::eekster:


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## Sol1 (Dec 14, 2011)

Hard to say cause everyone is different.

In my case the doctors had opposite opinions about the treatment. Those at the place of crash wanted to slice me, those at home just put me in figure-of-eight plaster and said I'd be fine.

I am


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## Bike_Muchacho (May 5, 2009)

*Ouch!*

I bet you don't have an option on that one. They'll be putting a plate in.


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## Punch (Feb 28, 2008)

I'll add to this list. About 3 weeks ago, I broke my clavicle in 3 places. It was pretty ugly (i'll post up pics later), went into surgery 5 days later and got a rockwood pin installed, instead of the plate/screw for a variety of reasons. I'm 2 weeks out from surgery and this thing still hurts like a biitch! 

If I don't stay on the percocet or vicodin and I get behind on the dosages, its difficult to stay in front of the pain. Meaning, I take a lower dosage before I got to bed and when I get up 8 hours later, I'm in a-lot pain for at least another 2-3 hours before the meds kick in. My doc said he expected my pain to decrease at the 2 week mark, but I have to say that this is the worst pain i've ever felt. Hell, even the initial break didn't hurt this much. Then again, the pulled bone fragment out of my trapezius. I'm not on anti-inflamatory, as it prohibits bone growth. The only thing I can do for now, is take the pain meds and ice it every 1.5 hours or so. 

For everyone out there that has gone through the same injury and opted for surgery, how long were you in pain after the surgery? I'm hoping to have a breakthrough this week and get a significant reduction in pain.


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## dmckiwi (Feb 3, 2011)

Punch said:


> I'll add to this list. About 3 weeks ago, I broke my clavicle in 3 places. It was pretty ugly (i'll post up pics later), went into surgery 5 days later and got a rockwood pin installed, instead of the plate/screw for a variety of reasons. I'm 2 weeks out from surgery and this thing still hurts like a biitch!
> 
> If I don't stay on the percocet or vicodin and I get behind on the dosages, its difficult to stay in front of the pain. Meaning, I take a lower dosage before I got to bed and when I get up 8 hours later, I'm in a-lot pain for at least another 2-3 hours before the meds kick in. My doc said he expected my pain to decrease at the 2 week mark, but I have to say that this is the worst pain i've ever felt. Hell, even the initial break didn't hurt this much. Then again, the pulled bone fragment out of my trapezius. I'm not on anti-inflamatory, as it prohibits bone growth. The only thing I can do for now, is take the pain meds and ice it every 1.5 hours or so.
> 
> For everyone out there that has gone through the same injury and opted for surgery, how long were you in pain after the surgery? I'm hoping to have a breakthrough this week and get a significant reduction in pain.


It took a month for me to get mine fixed and I can say that the pain from the break easied alot faster than the pain from the surgery, after the surgery I was in a whole new world of pain for the first couple of days and pretty sore for the first week or so but apart from codeine it wasn't to hard to quite it under control after that first week. 
Sounds like what you're experiencing isn't playing as nice but they have to cut through a huge bunch of nerves in your shoulder so I guess everyone gets a different result, also my break was a bit different as I broke the end off and it wasn't able to be plated so they had to drill holes through the bones and tie them together with surgical cord to hold it all together.


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## Punch (Feb 28, 2008)

Yea, post surgery is a new world of pain. I'd rather re-break my clavicle. Everyone is different when it comes to pain and every surgery is different. I imagine that the bone fragment in my traps has quite a bit to do with it and also considering that I'm not on anti-inflamatory. I'm going back in to see the doc and see what's going on. I've been through so many injuries but I've never been in pain for 3 weeks straight.


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## upnover (Apr 20, 2010)

*Another collar bone on 12/26*

Several fractures to my left clavicle ...Dr hasn't really given me the option to not do surgery. The pronation is really bad and he wants me to be able to open up that shoulder and area.

My question is do I have the hardware removed pro and con s please...


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## purliss (Feb 8, 2011)

I think u get the hardware removed if it is bothersome.


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## Punch (Feb 28, 2008)

upnover said:


> Several fractures to my left clavicle ...Dr hasn't really given me the option to not do surgery. The pronation is really bad and he wants me to be able to open up that shoulder and area.
> 
> My question is do I have the hardware removed pro and con s please...


When I went in, the doctor gave me the option of a pin or plate. The pin will be removed upon proper healing, but the recovery is 2x as long. As for the plate, he mentioned that he would not remove the plate. He would leave it in there. The problem with a plate is that if you re-break the clavicle, then it will break on the edges of the plate and you will have to put in a longer plate. As for removing the plate, there will be stress risers from the screw holes that will need to be filled.

If I were going with a plate, I wouldn't remove it, unless it really bothers you.


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## upnover (Apr 20, 2010)

Surgery was done on Jan 7th was back on(spin bike trainer )in sling on the 9th and off meds. My follow up is the 18th. From the 12/26 to 1/7 was miserably painful, couple days after surgery was amazing. Range of motion is good everyday I feel better. Hope this keeps up and have no more set backs. I don't see myself riding soon but will assess as needed with Dr. I'm hoping mid to late spring ?


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## purliss (Feb 8, 2011)

Surgery with a plate (anterior inferior), 2 weeks ago. Better every day. Can road 
Cycle tomorrow. Pain less daily, but limited motion. Very happy with the surgery


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## Bike_Muchacho (May 5, 2009)

*Lost that lovin' feeling?*

Curious. Do you guys still feel the plate in your shoulder? After a year, mine doesn't "hurt", but I do feel that its always there. Does that feeling ever go away I wonder?


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## raceface_lefty (Sep 11, 2010)

upnover said:


> Surgery was done on Jan 7th was back on(spin bike trainer )in sling on the 9th and off meds. My follow up is the 18th. From the 12/26 to 1/7 was miserably painful, couple days after surgery was amazing. Range of motion is good everyday I feel better.


You writing about me here? Crashed Christmas Eve, operated Jan 6, plated, off meds Jan 9, spinning on indoor trainer Jan 11, full range of movement with only discomfort caused to muscle by 2 weeks immobility in the weeks post crash to operation. Really wish I'd seen a surgeon on Dec 24 and operated there and then, would have saved me 2 weeks recovery time and I could have raced today rather then spend time working on a trainer!

My recommendation? Get plated as soon as possible and full use of your arm and shoulder, quickly and permanently.


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## aizen (Feb 6, 2011)

Update:

It has been slightly over 6 months since I crashed, and 3 months since surgery on my scaphoid. Surgeon grafted bone from my hip into the scaphoid and put a screw in. Just had my checkup a few days back and the doctor said that my bone is fully healed. Said that I am able to cycle but no hardcore stuff. Guess I'll be taking it easy for now. But I'm glad that things are getting better.


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## aizen (Feb 6, 2011)

Update:

Scaphoid has healed completely since April. There is still some aching near the operation scar but doctor says it is normal. I have around 90% range of motion compared to the other hand. Collarbone should be healed up, only slight and occasional aches when I'm scrubbing my back. Can't wait to go back to riding, have only rode once on asphalt in the last three months. 

Thanks to everyone for their kind advice and support. I wish everyone good health, always!


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## 411898 (Nov 5, 2008)

Thanks for the update, glad to hear things are going well for you. :thumbsup:


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