non union of collar bone

andybrad

Ok i broke my collar bone in june and its not fixed. the doc has suggested i see if i can put up with it instead of having an operation. just wondered if anyone else had been in a similar position or knew of any issues living with a broken bone?

cheers for any advice

daviegb

I broke my left collar bone in July - doing 30mph down Cormet de Roselend, hit a pothole & crashed into a cliff-face.....guess who came off worse! As with you, my collar bone hasn't healed properly.

I've just received confirmation of the date for my surgery - 2nd January (7am check-in!). I decided to take the surgery route because I regularly wake up at night, whenever I roll onto the shoulder. In addition, I can't lift weights & my shoulder movement is limited due to the collar bone not healing.

I would encourage you to get a referral to the fracture clinic & specifically ask for advice on whether an operation is appropriate for your particular situation.
Good luck & hope your recovery goes well


Gavin

Broken rugby player

Get the operation done, and if I was you asap, while winter is here?

If you don't you will only break it next time you fall off and need an operation then and may break it worse

I did mine playing rugby, was told it healed fine, went back and played, first decent tackle I put in collar bone broke and shoulder popped out, had spiral fractured it and been missed!.... 3 operations later!

So get it done mate, its quick to heal as well

andybrad

cheers guys,

im thinking if i can put up with it it would be better than having screws in my shoulder?

what was your recovery time? im getting married next year! so time is an issue.

ive been through the fracture clinic and refered myself to a private hospital. while they are happy to do the surgery if i wish they seem to think that leaving it is a better option?! this worries me like yourself it wont be right.

daviegb

As Broken said, your collar bone will always be a weak point & an accident waiting to happen.

I broke mine in July, went back to my GP in early Sept, saw an orthopaedic consultant at the local NHS in late Sept & am booked in for surgery on 2nd Jan. I'm expecting to be off the bike for a month to 6 weeks maximum - in some ways, the timing is perfect, as Jan/Feb is usually too cold & icy to be out riding!

For what it's worth, my GP is a keen cyclist & he strongly advised getting it fixed properly - over time you'll suffer muscle aches & pains as they try & support the weakened collar bone.

Good luck with your wedding next year.

SomeIdeaNoGear

I've just recovered from collarbone surgery, still have a wire and a screw in there keeping things in position and I'm glad I did it and I certainly wouldn't know they were in there unless I got shown the X-ray again. Even though I didn't really have much choice about the whole process, I managed to snap mine pretty much right near the end and they had to operate to make sure there was no permanent ligament damage.

I've got full movement back in my arm and am just working on building the strength back up...

Just some things to note before you go in for it.

You will have your arm in a sling after the surgery and it can take up to 6 weeks before you're free of it.
Follow all of the physio's instructions for recovery, the better you do with the exercises the quicker you can be back out on your bike.
When you wake up, check that your arm is fully in the sling before trying to move yourself about too much... I was given a local for my arm as well as going under a general which wore off first and I didn't realise my thumb wasn't hooked into the sling properly so I didn't noticed my arm flopping about until it hit my thigh.

Aside from that good luck with it.

zznmfc

Slightly late to the party on this post, but... :

1 - Welcome to the exclusive clavical club!
2 - More seriously, I would recomend have the surgery if you can.

I broke my right clavicle in September 2012. After three weeks I was referred (through work via Bupa - I'm lucky) to a consultant who after a further two weeks said "let's operate" on my non-union. The operation was successful and I was back riding within two months and riding aggresively (well as aggressive as I get ) within a further month.

At the end of November this year I had the plate removed, again without issue, and whilst my shoulder is still slighty numb from from the operation, all is well - I even got to keep the plate and screws .

So in short, if you are able to I would strongly recomend the operation as soon as you can.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Mike.

daviegb

Mike,
that's great to hear you surgery went well - also re-assuring, as I go in for mine on 2nd January! Due to the time between my original injury (July) & surgery there's a 50/50 chance I'll also need a bone graft from my hip, to help the clavicle heal properly.

Merry Christmas all - I hope 2013 brings many hours of enjoyable cycling!