broken clavicle...surgery or not?

Elfie

Hey there 2wheeljunky!

I guess from your post you sure have strucked bad luck a couple of times compared to me. You may wanna check out on my story too. (a page back i think.) I'm really glad that i've finally met someone who have removed that dreadred plate. I am really seeking for answers. I'll be removing those metals hopefully in about 7 months,( which would be 1 year for the recommended period to get it remove base on my doc's advice.)

The thing is, Like you've mention, Yes, i totally agree with you that the possibility of breaking your plated bone again is pretty high. It's weaker then it's original form. And it acts like a spring during impact. With that plate on, It's only holding it stiff...

That's why i'm searching for some answers as to those who have went back on weight lifting with the plate on.

Ok guys, here's the update so far on what i've done.

Currently, i only have done 1 session of weight lifting,

7 sets of 10counts with 5kg of dumbells per arm.
I did 5 sets of 10counts on push-ups. (Tis is where i was worried, I actually did felt a slight strain on the collar area while doing this. But i kept on pushing myself.)

After all that.. i was down with extreme musle strain for about a solid 1 week around the arms and back areas. ( simply due from doing nothing for the past 6 months.) The right arm where my plated collar bone is.. THAT STRAINED LIKE A MOTHER! the pain was horrible compared to the left... I could hardly straighten both arms for about 4 days straight.

I'm going to start another set today! And push myself to do more sets.

I would like to know, and i'm sure everyone would like to aswell, on your recovery state after removing the plate. How was it ?? Did they slice back the same area of scar? Was it bigger? Plz do elaborate on this. We really do want to know.

I sincerely feel happy for you. I'm really glad your past is over and your future is what you should look at for now.

My only wish is for all of us to heal well and move on with a positive mindset.
Keep us update on your well-being mate,

Cheers to all!

Dustin07

Thanks for the note bud. and whatch those typos when talking about the lovin'!

we might get the wrong impression!


and yeah I'm a little paranoid about it too. On the upside I'll get more street cycling in... on the down side I'm not sure how soon I want to hit the halfpipe. When I MTB I take it easy, so I may need to do more of that during the winter months.

for snowboard season I plan to wear this chest/shoulder protector by sixsixone.com. I know it's not the end-all be-all of protection, but it will help I think.




Elfie,

My dr. told me that they reopening is smaller then the original incision but in the same location. Also, I don't think you have to wait a full year to have it removed. I spoke to my dr. about that a bit too. He wanted my bone to be at 100% within 3 months or so... so then, I asked why do I need to wait a full year to remove the plate? He said I don't. My plan is to probably remove the plate in March of next year. it will be about 8 or 9 months. That way the screw holes can heal inbetween snow season sports and summer sports. if your bone is fully healed you might ask the dr. about taking it out earlier.

Also, It may be worth one trip to the physical therapist just to learn what exercises they'd like you to be doing. I don't want to get in to physical therapy myself tooo much... so I figured I'd go one time to see what they would suggest and then continue on myself. Afterall, I think everyone on this forum is an athlete so just know which exercises to do, I'm sure you'll take over with a routine just fine.

Elfie

Thanks for the info. I'm seeing my doctor on the 14th of august. Will check with him. I'd probably do some X-rays and get some feedback first.

LoL! it's 45mins past midnight. And it's my FREAKING BIFDAE and i'm still up and replying post! LOL..... alrite gotta get to bed now. Gonna need the energy to party the day away.

NiteZ.

Dustin07

LOL, my next follow up is the 11th of August. neener neener neener.

I suspect the dr will tell me I've been promoted from "use the sling" to lift nothing heavier then a beer. In which case I'll endulge in immediate PT with beer-weight resistance training.

mkong1

So I broke my collarbone mountain biking at Kirkwood (Sierra mountains) a couple weekends ago. It was the last run of the day, and I was getting a little sloppy/lazy. I was flying down the fire trail in a section that looked very flat (the sun was behind me, so nothing casted shadows) and the next thing I know, I'm over my handlebars and kicking my bike off from on top of me. After I stopped rolling, I felt the dull pain in my left arm, and felt over and sure enough, the collarbone was broken. A few ambulances, lots of morphine, and a hospital in Tahoe later, they let me go with a prescription for Vicodin and a sling.

I later went to an orthopedist my GP referred me to and got a figure 8 brace that now lets me use my arm to type, move stuff, etc. I stopped taking the vicodin a week after I hurt myself. I got hurt on Saturday, and was back to work that Friday, haha. Sadly, the Wednesday after I got hurt, another guy in my group did the same thing and broke his collarbone.

I'm a little less than 2 weeks into recovery, and I can drive, and do most things that don't involve heavy lifting.

Here's a picture of my x-ray:

Dustin07

wow. from everything I've read in the last month (wow, it was one month tomorrow that I broke it..July 5th) you have like a perfect text book break. LOL. nice job. it's cool to see that because it helps me to understand why mine is so crappy. i broke mine way closer to the shoulder and it's broke at an angle

Hope things go well for you. that fig 8 sucks for showering. that's the part that always scared me the most, having the hold your shoulders back like that.

stacenut

Hi Guys,

I fractured my right clavicle on March 16th,2006. From day one, the bone was sticking up to the point that I could put my finger underneath it. My surgeon was extremely conservative in treating it, keeping me in a sling for 5 weeks which then resulted in forming adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder). He then recommended therapy, where I became too acquainted with my new torture buddy Butch. Butch and his team of 3 worked diligently on regaining my range of motion for 3 months, however my progress came to a standstill. I still could not put my arm behind my back or straighten my arm out. My doc sent me for an MRI, which showed I had a 2cm gap and many broken bone fragments floating around which were bumping into nerves and causing pain. He strongly suggested surgery, which I had on July 25th.

Although the pain during the day is much better, the pain at night is totally unbearable. I forced myself off the narcotics as they made me very sick, however the 800mg ibuprofen doesn't do it at night. I am now sipping a ballys, hoping to be lulled to sleep. I can not get comfortable to sleep, regardless of how many pillows I prop up around me. I hate sleeping on my back, however it's become a necessity again.

I have a lot of numbness around the incision and into my shoulder. He also manipulated the shoulder while in there so I reckon that's why I'm experiencing that new pain. I start PT on Monday again, I shudder just thinking about the impending pain.

I'm not sold on the surgery yet, I kind of regret it as I'm still feeling pretty bad and am back to square one. I hope to update you guys in a few months and give you a better idea of whether or not it actually was worth having.
The plate and screws are a foreign object in my body and I'm reminded every night while I try to fall asleep just how much my body is fighting it. I hope to make peace with this and finally feel like myself once again.

Thanks for all your stories though...reading them helped me to make my decision. I also wore a bone stimulator for 6 weeks and got a 2nd opinion from another surgeon, who agreed that I was a good candidate for surgery.
Good luck to you all!!

Stacey

friedmikey

Hang in there Stacey. You will get through it. I can relate on most counts - the misery of sleeping on my back, constant shuffling of pillows, the horrible narcotics and subsequent withdrawals, sensitive scar, the loss of sensation around the incision, the fragmented bone, the joys of PT, and of course, the pain. Push through it and work hard on the physical therapy to regain your range of motion.

It's been eleven months since my surgery as of this post, and for 99% of my daily activities, I've completely forgotten about the injury. I'm riding six days a week, playing tennis, softball, running, whatever... The scar is still sensitive to touch, but that's no big deal. Most of the numbness has gone away, though there's still a tiny area where I have limited sensation. In a year you'll be back to normal with a great story to tell!

__________________

..:: M t T a m B i k e s ::..

stacenut

Thank you for your words of encouragement....I needed to hear a positive spin on this about right now. I will keep you posted!

Dustin07

Yeah stick with it the surgery is good choice I think. At the very least, it's an insurance policy that says you WILL heal and you WILL heal straight, although you have a different form of recovery now. But I think in some cases (as yours sounds) it's THE decision to make rather than an option.

I'm now going on 6 weeks since my crash. 3 days ago I had x-rays (4 weeks out of surgery) I'm still broken, but the plate is holding tight and the dr. was very happy about how straight everything is. I have 80-90% of my shoulder mobility back. Dr. says I can do any movement at all with no weight in it, and he's even ok with me doing arm exercises like bicep curls and triceps. just not working shoulders or chest yet.

There's almost nothing can't do with my right arm now, whereas only 3 weeks ago I couldn't even lift it 12 inches above my waste!!

it takes time and I still have a lot of numbness too... but we'll all get there eventually then we'll be healthy enough to do those things that caused us to break in the first place!! LOL

Cyborg_Chippy

I'm almost 4 weeks post sugery too and have been advised I nolonger have to wear the sling, shame really as I was getting quite use too everyone giving sympathy.

I would say I've currently got 60-65% of total movement back and it increasing every day and the muscle pain I was getting has totally disappear.. The only niggle I've got is it feels a little itchy but I've manged to resist scratching it so far..

The major thing I'm stuggling with is not going out for a ride which is killing me as I've just finshed putting my bikes back together.. With any luck next visit to the doc and he will give me the all clear for a bit of gentle road riding..

Dustin07

at 4 weeks post-op the doc gave me the ok for light riding, but no hardcore bmx. even said I could start lifting weights a little (biceps and triceps).. just got back from the gym. felt great, but my endurance is WAY down and it was soooo hard to stop at just bis and tris...

stacenut

Tuesday will be 4 weeks post surgery. I must admit, I'm further along this time than 4 weeks after the initial break so I guess the surgery has been a good thing. My biggest complaint is that the plate is probably over the thinnest part of my body, my upper body is petite, so I really feel the hardware inside me. The burning has disappeared and I'm definitely moving it better. I too lost the sling while at home, however I'm supposed to wear it in public to prevent carelessness of others bumping into me.

I leave tomorrow night for Las Vegas and I'm definitely up for this trip!! Infact, I told the doc to try to straighten my arm out to make me a better craps shooter...I'll let you guys know if I was able to shoot at all with this arm yet.

Incidentally, I broke my clavicle while playing wallyball (volleyball played in a racquetball court). I play with all men and have been quite successful at it for 5 years, until my BIG BUDDY slammed me into a wall while I was making the play. I don't think I'll be returning to the sport as my hubby has been through a lot taking care of me and I've gone through most of my vacation and sick leave. I may buy a bike next year though so I can officially be part of this site!

I hope we're all on our way to a much better recovery!!

BillBB

So you're quitting walleyball because you broke your clavicle and you're going to start cycling,...(?!). This thread ("broken clavicle...surgery or not?") has 148 posts,... Hello !!