broken clavicle...surgery or not?

jlb

gesssner

hi!
i broke my collar bone 3 weeks ago..it was a crash on a roadbike some idiot hit my rear wheel and i hit the road with 57 km/h...and i still have the sound in my ear when my shoulder hit the road......every thing was in slow motion....the sound was off...just the dry krack of my collar bone in dolby 5.1....and then later there was never pain never realy...(i broke my femur 4 1/2 monts ago on a montainbike....THAT was pain man!) so what ever...the doc say no no is okay we don't do nothing....(i am a german and live in cozumel (...its hard to find a surgent here o the island...so i thought by my self..ok ok cool no surgery...(it was three fragments..the one in the middle was like vertical stucking some where in me....kind of floating) ....but then i came home and was watching me for three days in the mirror and thought that ugly ball will be there for ever..and healing is like minimum time 6 weeks....what a waist of time....and then one of my biker budys came by and showed me his colorbone...similar to my fracture but it happen two years....and it was ugly man!!!
so next day i wend back and spoke to the surgent...and he said: it will be shorter ( 1,5 cm) and it will be this ball there for ever....and then he ofert me to put a metal plate in....next day he did and the day after i was out of the hospital and truly 9 days later i was doing the first bike toure (45 miles on cross country montainbike) i am so happy that i did that surgery man....just do it - it pays of! and what ever they do things even 3 monts later after accident...so go ahead...

friedmikey

Can I ask how long you were in a sling for after the surgery? It's been about 8.5 weeks since my surgery and about 2.5 since I was cleared to throw away the sling. I'd hardly say I feel great. My arm feels like it weighs 200lbs, no weights necessary. My doctor did tell me yesterday that I can get back on the bike if I want to. I'm surprised to hear this so soon and honestly I'm a little scared to try - the last thing I need is to crash again because I can't hold myself up!

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

ahinalu

I got rid of the sling after the first week. I was riding light after 7-8wks and
full on after 10-12 wks. I'm 40 y/o, so I should be average. I was taking a lot
of calcium during recovery. Did they send you to PT? That helped a lot on my
first break (it was the worst, plus I tore my deltoid off the bone). If the doc
says you're good, I would get back to moving that arm. If the bone is healed
and you're still sore, it's probably atrophy. Like I always say, "move or die".

Good luck!

gesssner

i had really never time to waer the sling...maybe a day or two after surgery...
i came out of the hospital at wednesday (turesday was surgery - 3 inch long plate and 7 screws) and thuresday came the hurrican WILMA to our island and did it bad...so i had one day to board my house and get prepared for the cane....so there was never time to be sick or so....and then wilma was arround 50 hours over cozumel...and i feeled like a captain with only one arm wich have to sail a big three mast ship through the storm...beliefe me me my lousy collarbone thing was not realy number one on my attentionlist..actually lucky in some how..i took painkiller and they made me a kind of tripping...and when i feeled i used my arm to much for excample by pulling the water out of my house all the time...(3-5 inch each room) then i used the sling after...just to gave him a break...that's it....
now it is 17 days after surgery...i feel it... and i can't use my arm for any strong work or such thing..but i bike through the town and go shopping with my bike etc...and i will start biking in two more weeks...only on the road the hold montainbik thing have to wait...i did try to pull my handelbar up for a willy ..just checking..but it was murder painfull....so i thought ok...that comes later.
i am 43...i do every day between 45 and 80 miles on the road...and my trainingspartner are the champs of yucatan and cozumel...and they are 20 years younger then me....so i guess the fast healing thing is a kind of a payoff for been an active athlet...as i broke my femur in may ....(i was lucky the crack wend through the bone..but the tow pieces never left there original positon - so i did not need a surgery...) i was biking after 4 weeks the first time...and after two monts every thing was back to normal...
...it must be my nutrition and my will...i hat to be in bed..i realy hat it!!!
and dont listen to all what the doc is telling you....they just wonna get rich on you...don't forget that!!!

mbishop38

I didn't wear the sling after the first week either. I mostly wore it so people wouldn't hug me hard or run into me. Muscle atrophy is not fun. Get a good physical therapist and do the home exercises dilligently and you will be back to new in no time at all.

friedmikey

Thanks for the advice guys. I am on a physical therapy program and trying to do as much as possible. I just started strength training yesterday (rubber bands). Oh my how hard it is to do the one where I raise my arm out in front of me! Had my surgery gone as planned (plate and pins), I also would have been out of the sling in a week. Unfortunately, it did not and I was stuck in the sling for six weeks while the ligaments and bone healed. Atropy was unavoidable. Anyway, my doc said not to be afraid to push it now, so that's what I'm going to do.

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DVad3r

Whew thank god for this forum. I got hit by a car 2 weeks ago while biking and fractured my right clavicle in 3 places. They put me in a sling and opted against surgery (even though the break is very bad). I had pain in my shoulder first 2-3 days after accident and then it has stopped. I am going back thursday to get it x-rayed again to see how it is healing. I am 21, very active for last 3 years, and never broke a bone in my body until this unfortunate day.

I don't want the surgery because like mentioned in previous posts it is indeed a very complicated procedure with great risk for infection, and in canadian hospitals, the way they butcher ppl here, I am afraid.

I really want to heal up well because Iam only 21 and don't want to be disabled/weakened in that part of my body at such a young age. Has anyone here completely healed from this injury and feel 100 % again? I really want to go back to the gym again and do weights and not have limitations.

Also is there anything I can do at home for the next 8 weeks to help the process? Special diet, supplements, etc? So my bones heal faster?

This is a terrible injury, my whole life has come to a stop, can't do anything, I don't know how you ppl go back to work a few days after or prepare for hurricaines, mad respect. Me I have become a super couch potato catching up on every TV show for the past 2 years. Gaining weight too since I can't do anything.

Any advice/comments are appriciated.

-Peter

gesssner

hi peter..canada is fine man!!!..i got my surgey in cozumel in a little mexican island in the caribbean...and the chance of infection is verry verry little if you follow the elementary basics of keeping the wound clean...it's simple! after all my research and talking to people and all my biker budys all over the world i have seen now a lot of colloarbone fractures grown together without surgery..and i think maybe 90% of all looks like shit!!!
man if you dont have a simple fracture where the doc is aible to make a reposition of your collarbones and then you waering the eight sling for at least 4 weeks and moving verry carfully then you have a big chance that the ends of your bones never will join again...and become two dead ends....and then anyway you need a surgery!!! in your case although if it grows in some how together...it will be look like shit and your new "collarbone patchwork thing" will be almost a inch shorter....so that means you will be have a bit bended figure in the end...spiral have to adjust to the new situation etc etc etc..( you don't now what else will cause that!) that's the lucky case!!! and you waist so much time....surgery is one or max two days in a hospital and after two days you can start using your arm!!!...and after 2-3 weeks you allready starting with PT ...this infection thing i have heard here in this forum the first time..it is not a real reason for becoming a couch potato....go and look for a hospital where ther are doing sports cases!!
PS or wear your little skirt and eat chips and get really fat..then nowbody can see you sad looking bone fracture collage ....or be a real man and break the other side in a similar way then you will have a new - but at least even look!!

nberk76

Clavicle fractures are the classic cyclist injury. I just had the unfortunate luck of receiving one 3 weeks ago after a training crash. The question of surgery or not is complicated and depends on the specifics of the case. I opted to let it heal because the surgical course would require a staged procedure and would really not get me on the bike quicker, so now I am in a sling for 4-6 weeks.

Mine is on the end (distal) and in multiple fragments (comminuted) and in a Z (angulated). I was offered surgery and then got a second opinion that did not recommend it. The second opinion was from a sports med specialist. Check out the attachment for a pic of my bones!

Distal fractures have a 15% rate of not healing together (non-union), which is higher than normal fractures. Standard theory is that surgery should be preformed to prevent non-union. This is in many ways an example of circular logic becuase you are preforming surgery to prevent a potential problem, that if it does occur would simply require the same surgery to correct. You are exchanging a 15% chance of a need for surgery for a 100% likelyhood of getting surgery.

In addition, a distal clavicle fracture repair may require placing a plate across the acromial-clavicular joint (A-C joint) for fixation. This is because there essentially isn't enough good bone stock in the end fragments to securely screw the plate into otherwise. This plate will disrupt normal shoulder function and will need to be removed in 3 months or so. It also raises the likelyhood of development of arthritis in this joint at a later date.

Here's the solution to the couch problem.... A bike trainer. I was on in a few days and am currently riding every day with my injured arm in the sling. Not fun, but at least I am keep some semblance of form until I can get back on the open road.

The bottom line is that the answer is complicated and depends on the specifics of the fracture. I would opt for surgery for mid-shaft fractures becuase it would get me back quicker, but would not mess with the A-C joint if possible like my case would require and

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DVad3r

I am getting x rayed again on thursday and we will see how things are going, will post update once I know. I am not concerned at all about my collar bone having a big bump. The doc said I am a big muscular guy so it won't be noticable on me as it would be on a skinny guy or woman. I just want it to heal and be 100 %, cosmetics are of no importance to me. Good advice on a sports doc though, going to try and find one to see if I can get another opinion. I am also going to ask if I can still do some cardio on the bike machines at the gym. Man typing with 1 hand sucks. And trust me, Canada is like one of the worst countries when it comes to healthcare related mistakes.

Also I should mention that time is not a factor for me and I have all the time in the world to chill and heal, I guess it's good to be living with your parents when stuff like this happens.

-Peter

gabiker

I joined the fractured clavicle club about 3 months ago and I am having surgery 12/6. My accident was a road bike where the guy in front of me went down, I fly over him and landed on my right shoulder. I fractured my right clavicle in 2 places, fractured 3 ribs, cracked 3 more ribs and possibly tore my rotator cuff.

The reason I chose surgery is about an inch of the bone fell out and then the two ends slid together causing my right shoulder to be 2" less wide than my left as well as bowed out on the shoulder joint. I not only look a little like a freak, but it is starting to cause pains in my back and neck

This is a great site and it is nice to see so many people that have had successful surgery. I'll let everyone know how I make out.

DVad3r

UPDATE:

It has been 3 weeks now and I went back today to have another x ray. Good news, the doctor said my fracture is healing really well and I should not have need for any surgery at all. I am feeling much stronger in that area now and he even gave me some simple movement exercises that don't hurt when I do them.

He said it was a butterfly type break and the displacement is 2.5 cm. All in all he believes it will heal very well on me and I should be back to 100 % aside from having a bump which does not concern me at all.

I will update on my progress after the next xray in december but its going great so far, so those thinking about the surgery root as being best, I think I am one of the few here that will be good without it (crosses fingers).

On the flipside I got my insurance bike quote today for a nice new decked out Rocky Mountain hybird so can't wait till I am healed up for that.

daymat

One consiseration when considering delaying the decision to have surgery , when its been recomended by a surgeon, is the affect the delay will have on your shoulder . I waited over 6 weeks before going private , and the main challenge for me was not recovering from the op, but the rehabilitation of a shoulder than hadnt moved in 12 weeks !