# Broken collar bone.



## Damitletsride! (Feb 4, 2004)

Hi, i broke my collar bone while skiing about four weeks ago, on the 24th of February. It's one of the first injurys that's taking longer to heal than the doctor's estimate, four weeks he said. I don't see myself riding on the road for at least another two, off road will prob be another month. I've been on the turbo trainer a few times but it can be sore.
How long has it taken others to heal from collar bone fractures? Cheers  :thumbsup:


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## vk45de (Feb 1, 2009)

completely? 1/2 year for me. i remember 4 weeks was sort of just when i can use my arm


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## Damitletsride! (Feb 4, 2004)

My arm has pretty good function around the house for things like cooking, showering and lifting small things. It gets sore if i walk for over an hour though. Were you worse than that?


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## Porschegt3 (May 13, 2008)

how many pieces did it break in? I broke my collar bone on Feb 20th snowboarding, its now 4 weeks I plan to go riding on a mild trail tomorrow. I rode on the road all last week. I hope another 2 weeks and I can hit the jumps again.


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## Brentster (Jun 17, 2007)

5 weeks the first time last April. Then broke it again last Thanksgiving and had to have surgery on January 2nd. After 3 months, I'm not even close to being able to enjoy riding yet. It sucks REALLY BAD.


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## Damitletsride! (Feb 4, 2004)

Porschegt3 said:


> how many pieces did it break in? I broke my collar bone on Feb 20th snowboarding, its now 4 weeks I plan to go riding on a mild trail tomorrow. I rode on the road all last week. I hope another 2 weeks and I can hit the jumps again.


There is one bad crack with what looks like a small piece of bone floating around in the middle. Or in mountain bike language my collar bone looked similar to a nicely setup kicker with a rolling trani, more of a long DH looking jump than DJ or FR type though. 
I'm 24, think age makes a difference how fast it heals.


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## ejh (Apr 1, 2007)

I broke mine in the begining of September while racing. Had surgery to repare it. Best thing I ever did was racing cross by the end of October. And thats at 51 y/o


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## jeffingbmich (Mar 22, 2009)

*It all depends........*

Damitletsride,

If you broke the bone all the way through, it might be quite awhile (2-4 months) before it fuses back together and is solid enough to where you'd be confident enough in it to ride a mtn. bike or snowboard. If it's just cracked (fractured) like they say Lance did his on Monday, it should heal in 4-8 weeks. Tyler Hamilton cracked his the first few days of the TdF a few years ago and stayed in the race for several days before he dropped out, but those guys' pain threshold is off the charts.

I broke my right collar bone all the way through when I was mountain biking in July '99 and wasn't back in the woods on my bike until that November. I was in a figure 8 brace for a couple months and couldn't use my right arm very actively until I got the brace off. I was able to do light activity then and was on the spinner within about 8 weeks but wasn't doing push-ups or riding in the woods for 4 months. Within 6 months I was downhill skiing and took a heavy fall on my right side and the shoulder was okay. I've had several falls both biking and skiing since then and so far, so good. I must say, whenever I fall I always take a quick mental inventory, beginning with my right collar bone, to see if everything's okay! Now you can buy the T-shirt with the mountain bikers' motto; "Broken bones heal, chicks dig scares, pain is temporary, glory is forever!" Congratulations! You're in the club that nobody wants to be in but many of us end up in sooner or later!

I'm happy to report that, other than a noticeable bump on the top of my collar bone, I don't feel any aches or pain in that area. I guess some people do. You might want to take extra calcium for a few years (or forever) to keep your bones strong. It seems to have helped me. Best of luck! :thumbsup:

jeffingbmich


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## Damitletsride! (Feb 4, 2004)

Thanks there's some really helpfull knowledge there, hopefully i'll be back on soon.


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## ianTG (Jan 22, 2009)

I broke my collarbone crashing during a motorcycle race. Most motorcycle racers immediately opt for surgery to repair broken collarbones. I prefer not having metals bits and pieces inside me. I was back on the track in 5 weeks, with some discomfort, but nothing too bad.

I broke the same CB three years later, again on the racetrack. This time I was out of action for 2 months, but there was some soft tissue damage as well, so it's hard to tell if the recovery would have been the same had it just been a broken bone. 

On average it takes about three weeks for bones to start stitching back together. Telling anyone how long they should wait before getting back to training all depends on the individual. And I never let a doctor tell me how long I have to wait. I know my body better than any doctor and only I can determine when I'm ready.


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## Porschegt3 (May 13, 2008)

Well it will be 6 weeks on Friday for me, I have already gotten back to the trails. This week I rode some pretty gnarly trails and did some small jump and drops. I plan to do DJ this weekend and fly again. I did not have surgery but I took Calcium, vitD and C and exercised the pectoral muscle everyday, 3 weeks after the injury. Al rage part of the recovery is getting your strength back and that requires patient and hard work. Good luck see you all on the trail soon!


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## yakuzafreerider (Jul 30, 2006)

broke my collar bone at the end of oct 08 still today I still cant ride or work (may have to change jobs due to it) due to a non union. now Im using an ultrasound machine to stimulate bone growth. trying to stay positive about enjoying this season....see a good doc and look into all options before letting heal naturally.


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## Brentster (Jun 17, 2007)

*So sorry to hear that*

I had my surgery on Jan 2nd and a couple of weeks ago my doc gave me the green light to do whatever I want. I'm making up for lost time by riding my tail off. I only have about 50% flexibility on my injured side and I'm making a half hearted effort with the therapy. I don't even care though. As long as I can ride and occasionally swing a golf club, life is grand.

Good luck to ya


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## mchimonas (Dec 19, 2008)

Good, 75% bone strength will not occur until about 3 months after the injury. Before that, the risk of rebreaking the bone is very high. 100% of bone strength will not return for a whole year. Realisitically, you can have pain for up to 6 months to a year after the injury. 

M Chimonas MD


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## jamis_snow (Dec 5, 2006)

I broke mine on March 14th and had surgery to repair it on the 27th, I had a 6" plate and 6 screws put in but my break was pretty bad with nearly 14 mm displacement in two places. My doc said I will off the mountain bike for at least another two months assuming everything goes well. good luck and get a nuber of opinions if you are still feeling discomfort.


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## flyag1 (Jun 9, 2007)

Have a look here... http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=437514

I was riding in 1 week:thumbsup:


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## Damitletsride! (Feb 4, 2004)

*Update*

Hey here's an update on my broken collar bone, thanks for everyones storys and support so far.
I went swimming on monday 6th of April and had very nearly full movement back in my shoulder. I was able to do front crawl for about 20 minutes which is'nt much but i'm happy to have the movement back, i just need to build the strength for biking now. It was interesting to read about only 75% strength for three months, thanks for that.


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