| Have you had a Broken Collar Bone? What was your recovery like |
| | 1bigdawg  |
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| Fezzari Fore CR3
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| posted
1/10/2012
at 9:50:01 AM |
| viewed 2984 times |
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Howdy
Well here I sit at my computer about 5 days after a minor crash which left me with a broker right collar bone and abrasions on my right knee, hip, elbow and back of my right shoulder.
As is the normal process with broken collar bones, no surgery just a sling and time will mend the bone.
I'm 57 and feel that I'm in good shape, I have in the past always recovered from injuries and illness quickly but have never experienced recovery from a broken collar bone so I am wondering what the experience of others are.
I'm hoping to be back riding on the road by end of January, on the trainer this weekend if possible.
Any stories you can share about your experience of mending after a broker collar bone would be greatly appreciated.
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| | boonerider |
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| Giant Defy Advance 1
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| posted
1/10/2012
at 10:25:56 AM |
| post #1 viewed 2188 times |
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I broke mine in 1999 while doing a jump on my mtbike. I was back on the trail within 4 weeks. This was before I go in to road biking but I'm pretty sure I could have been on the road in a couple of weeks. Mine was completely separated so it took about 3 weeks for the gap to fill back in with calcium. After I was already back on my bike about 4 weeks later the doc took another xray and said that the break was worse than he originally thought. He wanted to re-break it and put in a pin but I refused. I still have pain from time to time that has made me rethink that decision a few times. Go with what the doc tells you. I have a tendency to ignore the doctors and try and get back on the bike too soon. That leads to trouble several years down the road.
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| | markiansj |
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| Worldwide INdoor Riders (WINR)  |
| posted
1/10/2012
at 11:23:56 AM |
| post #2 viewed 2174 times |
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Lucky guy! Sound like your break is very minor and should heal well. Listen to your Doc and let the bone heal completely before getting back on the road. You don't want to reinjure yourself by getting out too soon.
Mine is a story from the other end of the recovery spectrum. I had a very bad bike crash about four years ago that left me with a "crumbled" left clavicle and torn ligaments in that shoulder in addition to other injuries such as a broken right femur. If you are interested in the gory details they can be found on this thread. Anyway I had fractured trhe clavicle so badly that the orthopedic surgeon couldn't really put all the pieces back together as they were before since they were too badly crumbled and there really wasn't anything solid to reattach the ligaments to. He just put everything (bone fragments and ligaments) into close proximity to each other and secured them with a couple of pins and hoped the bones would knit back together and the ligaments would scar back in to be useful again. I was in an imobilizing sling for six weeks after which I had the pins removed. Then it was about six months of physical therapy to try to regain range of motion and strength in the shoulder. To make a long story short the surgeon was successful and I have about 95% of the ROM I had prior to the accident.
I got back on the trainer within two weeks after the pins were removed. Couldn't reach my drops comfortably for another few weeks to a month after that. Had I been allowed by my spouse to get back on the road I probably had regained enough ROM and strength to have had done so about 3 to 4 months after my accident.
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| | BikeBum |
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| NGRC Cycling Club |
| posted
1/10/2012
at 12:34:02 PM |
| post #3 viewed 2163 times |
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.... 1bigdawg,
Heck of a thing, I just broke my collar bone and cracked a few ribs a week ago last Friday on a MTB Ride and I am in my late fifties too.
Since this is a first for me (broken bones), I am going to try not to rush it as far as getting on the bike to soon, which I have a habit of doing. Hard to do too when you friends drop by on their rides to see how you're doing. You just want to say..."hey, let me suit up on I'll go with you".
I do plan to put the bike on the trainer today and give it a shot.....
Hope you heal up quickly, let us know your personal timeline is on this is.
I am rooting for your quick recovery!!!!!!
Keep the rubber-side down
(advice I wish I had kept...)
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post edited on 1/10/2012 at 12:21:40 PM
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| | FliesOnly |
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| Rapid Wheelmen |
| posted
1/10/2012
at 12:45:42 PM |
| post #4 viewed 2160 times |
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I broke my right clavicle just over a year ago. Mine was bad (but nothing like makriansj)...I broke it into four pieces plus some "shards". I needed surgery to put it back together and now have a metal plate and some screws to remind me what can happen when you ride alone...and crash. I was careful with rehab and did everything I was told. As such, I have effectively regained full mobility.
My advice? Do what the doc tells you and visit a physical therapist as soon as you're able...and DO WHAT THEY TELL YOU TO DO! So many people (mostly guys) like to skip physical therapy and act all tough. It's stupid to do that. Do the exercises they show you and you'll reap the benefits. Don't do what they tell you and act like a tough guy, and you'll probably have issues for the rest of your life.
And don't rush things. Bones take time to heal. Taking your time now will pay off in the log run. I was somewhat lucky in that I broke mine at the end of the mtn bike racing season, and basically had the winter to rehab. Granted, I came into the new season a bit over weight and with no stamina, but I was able to ride, and that's what was important. I ended up having one of my best seasons ever. I even won the first race of the season on the very course where I broke my collar bone just six months earlier.
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I don't know if you take calcium and vitamin D supplement, but the will speed up the healing of the broken bone
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I am 63 , I broke my left clavicle just over three years ago. I was back on the bike in about 4 weeks. I used a sling for about a week. I also kept it in a sling and strapped to my body while I slept for two weeks.
LiveStrong !!
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| | leprechaun |
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| Commuter Cycling Century |
| posted
1/10/2012
at 3:27:08 PM |
| post #7 viewed 2131 times |
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I broke mine a few years back. Hit a big orange cone, fell over handle bars and hit clavicle on road. I was snow skiing in 3 weeks and riding commutes to work in 4 weeks. Used the sling when it hurt but most of the time just hook my thumb in a belt loop to remind me not to move it too much.
Good luck with your break. I bet most cyclist have broken a clavicle....
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| | RustyRoadie  |
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| Club Hypoxia |
| posted
1/11/2012
at 12:20:11 PM |
| post #8 viewed 2081 times |
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I was your age when I had my "great fall" in Great Falls, MT, on a Bike Journal pre-ReUnion ride. Southern Yankee caught a wheel in a rumble strip and went over a guardrail; GTDBike(Mr) tried to stop and I slid on some gravel right into him! Broken collar bone, 4 ribs and 4 vertebrae, with a colapsed lung. Took six weeks before the doc would allow me to ride - but I went walking every day to keep up some sort of excersise. 3 and a half months later I rode 109 mile El Tour de Tucson, cutting 20 minutes off previous year's time.
Hang in there! Best wishes for a full recovery.
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post edited on 1/11/2012 at 12:07:41 PM
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| | BlazingPedals |
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| Tri-County Bicycle Association |
| posted
1/11/2012
at 5:28:18 PM |
| post #9 viewed 2061 times |
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We're cyclists - we need the carbon upgrade:
Press release: bontrager.com/news/inform_technology_aids_in_lance_armstrongs_recovery
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| | Gnu |
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| Club Rouge Croix |
| posted
1/11/2012
at 9:51:02 PM |
| post #10 viewed 2043 times |
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I can't make up my mind if this is real, but note the press release date. There ARE a lot of posts on the web about this.
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