Broken collarbone - any experience?

dynamokev

Hi All

Had an off earlier this week (Monday 28th) when I hit an icy section round a bend at the bottom of a dip. Hit the deck as soon as I hit the bend, landing on my shoulder. Was able to carry on and do another 40 odd miles.

Got more painful over the next few days but OK with ibuprofen (sore but tolerable). Pretty spectacular bruising came through, but surprisingly feels OK on the bike so have done an 18 and 43 mile ride on Thur/Fri.

Stopped the painkillers and still really sore so thought I ought to go to the local minor injury unit. Had an x-ray and surprised to find I've broken my collarbone - clean break across it right next to the shoulder joint.

Waiting for a call from the fracture clinic but nurse thought if pain is OK then carrying on with easier rides could be OK.

Anyone got experience of similar injuries at all? I'll wait for the fracture clinic chat before I even think about another ride, but would be good to hear from others about recovery plans/duration etc.

elbowloh

Only that I had an off on Monday, landing on my shoulder with spectacular bruising also. I did another 15km or so home and was ok. I have full movement with a little pain (managed with ibuprofen/paracetomol) , so assumed no break! It does still hurt, but not as much as yesterday.

I think the risk is, if you have a break, and come off again you'll do more extensive damage, maybe with bones coming through the skin etc and then it's surgery for you.

MattFalle

Wait for fracture clinic advice. Generally they are doctors and nurses so may have studied this stuff and have a bit of experience and will have seen the x rays and know your history and can examine you.

#followthedoctor'sadvice

daniel_b

I'm amazed the nurse recommended that.

I broke mine well over 10 years ago - it hurt a lot, and I was signed off work for 6 weeks. The best investment I made was in buying a proper sling for the arm, with an adjustable velcro strap - the cloth ones they provide you with are uncomfortable and 'secure' with a safety pin.

They told me to look after it, not to move it, as otherwise it might re-join incorrectly, and would either leave me with issues later on in life, or worst case they might have to operate to fix it.
When I had my final visit and x-ray, they were really happy with it, and said it couldn't have fixed any better, even with an operation.

Sleeping was a challenge - found a position in the end that worked for me - slept on my right hand side, balled my hand into a fist, and simply rested it on the mattress to support the arm.
Forgot one morning and simply lifted my arm up to move the quilt - never made that mistake again.

The greatest painful moments were (I believe) when the bone started re-knitting, proper take your breath away stop what ever you were doing kind of pain - had I been driving or out on the bike when those things happened, it could well have ended up in a serious accident, potentially with others involved.

I did buy a turbo and used that during my recovery, but no chance of going out on the bike properly.

Good luck.

pblakeney

Strap it up. Keep the bike off the road for 6-8 weeks. Turbo sessions only.
You'll get proper clinical advise, that shouldn't be too far off.

joe_totale-2

As the above two posters said, the only cycling you should do until the fracture clinic advise otherwise is on the turbo.

ibr17xvii

daniel_b said:

I'm amazed the nurse recommended that.

I broke mine well over 10 years ago - it hurt a lot, and I was signed off work for 6 weeks. The best investment I made was in buying a proper sling for the arm, with an adjustable velcro strap - the cloth ones they provide you with are uncomfortable and 'secure' with a safety pin.

They told me to look after it, not to move it, as otherwise it might re-join incorrectly, and would either leave me with issues later on in life, or worst case they might have to operate to fix it.
When I had my final visit and x-ray, they were really happy with it, and said it couldn't have fixed any better, even with an operation.

Sleeping was a challenge - found a position in the end that worked for me - slept on my right hand side, balled my hand into a fist, and simply rested it on the mattress to support the arm.
Forgot one morning and simply lifted my arm up to move the quilt - never made that mistake again.

The greatest painful moments were (I believe) when the bone started re-knitting, proper take your breath away stop what ever you were doing kind of pain - had I been driving or out on the bike when those things happened, it could well have ended up in a serious accident, potentially with others involved.

I did buy a turbo and used that during my recovery, but no chance of going out on the bike properly.

Good luck.

Me too.

There is not a chance in hell you should be riding outside with that.

dynamokev

Many thanks all - won't be doing anything until I speak to the clinic. No turbo here so may just have to accept a decline in fitness while I recover. A right censored as I'd just entered Struggle Moors before the prang!

dynamokev

Thanks! I suspect it's not as painful as others have experienced as it's broken right near the shoulder joint rather than in the middle. Spoke to fracture clinic and no riding until at least the 20th when i have a consultation. Should have an x-ray at the end of next week and if it looks to be healing ok should be good to go again from the 21st - fingers crossed!!

davep1

Broke my scapula a couple of years ago, so not the same injury, but similar. I was descending Steyning Bostal, got the corner wrong, and went down hard on my left side.
The one lesson I learned is make sure you get physio. The fracture healed without surgery, and when I was signed off, either physio wasn't discussed or the guy thought I wouldn't need it. 10 months later I was still struggling with range of movement - stuff like getting things out of a jersey pocket, couldn't sleep on that side, a ride of over an hour would get painful. Not to the point of stopping the ride, but certainly I was aware of it.
I managed to get an appointment and started having physio monthly, with a range of different exercises to do in the meantime. It's made a huge difference, although I'm not back to where I was before the accident. This could be something to do with being mid 50's though...

Selvacyclingconsultancy

daniel_b said:

I'm amazed the nurse recommended that.

I broke mine well over 10 years ago - it hurt a lot, and I was signed off work for 6 weeks. The best investment I made was in buying a proper sling for the arm, with an adjustable velcro strap - the cloth ones they provide you with are uncomfortable and 'secure' with a safety pin.

They told me to look after it, not to move it, as otherwise it might re-join incorrectly, and would either leave me with issues later on in life, or worst case they might have to operate to fix it.
When I had my final visit and x-ray, they were really happy with it, and said it couldn't have fixed any better, even with an operation.

Sleeping was a challenge - found a position in the end that worked for me - slept on my right hand side, balled my hand into a fist, and simply rested it on the mattress to support the arm.
Forgot one morning and simply lifted my arm up to move the quilt - never made that mistake again.

The greatest painful moments were (I believe) when the bone started re-knitting, proper take your breath away stop what ever you were doing kind of pain - had I been driving or out on the bike when those things happened, it could well have ended up in a serious accident, potentially with others involved.

I did buy a turbo and used that during my recovery, but no chance of going out on the bike properly.

Good luck.

This account brings back memories for me. Did mine last 10/10/17 (for the second time) descending Galilea towards Puigpunyent in Mallorca. It was absolute murder for a couple of months after that I'll be honest and I never remember the first time being that painful. One night in particular I woke up in so much pain I was literally grey like a statue when I looked in the mirror. It was excruciating.

dynamokev

Got the all clear to start riding again last week, 7 weeks or so after the crash. Slowly getting some sort of fitness back into the legs - collarbone/shoulder seems fine thus far up to 35 miles or so. Sounds like it could be a few months before it's completely healed but so far so good.

Chaz.Harding

dynamokev said:

Got the all clear to start riding again last week, 7 weeks or so after the crash. Slowly getting some sort of fitness back into the legs - collarbone/shoulder seems fine thus far up to 35 miles or so. Sounds like it could be a few months before it's completely healed but so far so good.

It depends how well and cleanly you heal, and how nasty your break was, but mine was horrible.

I smashed mine, it healed badly. I like training in the gym and no joke it was a 18 months before I could do a pain free pressup and well over 24 months before I could do a dip again.

Hopefully yours heals nicely, but I'd be going steady on descents and turns, and try to avoid busy roads to lessen the chance of any accidents. If you get a heavy hit and it's only half healed, you could get a very nasty break.

imposter2.0

Chaz.Harding said:

I smashed mine, it healed badly. I like training in the gym and no joke it was a 18 months before I could do a pain free pressup and well over 24 months before I could do a dip again.

I was back riding again five weeks after breaking mine, with no issues. But it was around 12 months before I got full movement back. Possibly could have been less with some targeted physio perhaps, but I didn't have any..