Busted collarbone club

okz00k

10 mW
Joined
May 29, 2008
Messages
25
Last Wednesay my bike and I headed off in different directions and I speared my right sholder into the bitumen splintering my collar bone - a compression fracture shearing across almost 2 inches. No other breaks of any significance showed up oin the xrays. Now 4 days later, apart from the obvious ache in the shoulder, my only other issue is intense burning pain in the right pec whenever it tensions - coughing is agony, plus I have delcared my immediate surroundings as a joke-free-zone, laughing hurts like hell.

With a wireless keyboard on my lap, typng is not too bad in short spurts and mousing with the left hand is OK.

I undersand that this type of injury is not uncommon amongst cyclists. Anyone else out there had a similar injury?
and what advice do you have to optimise recovery?

The orthopaedic registrar at the Ryde hospital recommnded minimal intevention and a collar and cuff sling for 10 days - the weight of the arm providing traction to help the collorbone relocate iteslf, then re-assess the xray. I am good with this advice. It is is consistent wih others.
 
Sorry, This is not a proper suggestion that I am going to make,,, and it has no basis in or for healthy living,,,,,,,,, So kids, turn your heads...

I would suggest high levels of booze, the hang over is much worse then the shoulder, so you wont even notice the injury in the morning, plus, if you imbibe enough, you wont remember things, like the pain, for days and days. (I should know,,, “What the heck happened to 1986???”) In addition, high volume, high doses of Jimmy Buffet music, played over and over until you can sing the songs backwards and forwards, upside down and even sober.

Beyond that, pharmaceutical pain killers, prescribed by the docs...but don’t mix the two suggestions (see reference to 1986 above).

As for after the initial recovery, search the net for rehab movements. I started to feel better about mid 1987, but nothing was ever broken (except my heart!!) yeah it’s a long long story……..  but she did finally marry me!!!!!!!!!!
 
broke my collar bone once, just stay as still as possible and netflix some good movies. don't be an idiot like me and go hiking by yourself the same week.
 
rbelisle1 said:
Beyond that, pharmaceutical pain killers, prescribed by the docs...but don’t mix the two suggestions (see reference to 1986 above).

If you have any trouble getting a prescription, if possible, bring wife, children and be sure to cry. Worked for me with a doctor I'd never seen before here in Canada, since my normal doctor was on vacation. During my nasty back pain episode.

Get well.

The thing I like about recumbents is that when (not if) you fall, you have less far to fall. Some don't like the ground whizzing by so close, but I figure it whizzing anyway, might as well slow down if it's too fast...

So far, both of my crashes have been little more than "knee scrapers", but I landed feet first both times. Mebbe I should trade my sandals for steel toes. :)
 
Broke my collar bone when I was 13 doing bike jumps on my BMX. My brother broke his while getting tossed out of a bar, then broke his other one two months later jumping his bike (at 30yrs old too :).

Anyhow, laying on your back for the first few days till it sets is probably your best bet. They used a brace on me years ago to pull by chest back, but nowdays they don't really do much for broken collarbones as that is the best approach apparently.
 
Tyler Hamilton rode 21 days, including a stage win in the 2003 Tour de France, with a fractured collarbone.

Otherwise, I recommend Irish whiskey straight, or certain herbal prepartions vapourised, instead of Tylenol-3 for pain control. They won't bind you up.
 
i'm okzook's daughter and that wasn't nice- all your suggestions made him laugh so much he had to have pain killers!
please remember this is a joke free zone!
i on the other hand have advised no alcohol at all as i believe it will hinder the healing process- but i'm the hippy yoga teaching daughter.
thanks for all your messages and i'm sure the one handed bandit will reply when he's dosed up on some anti inflams!
be safe
 
Without wanting a huge controversy, IMHO a recumbent bike will help avoid this type of injury! Also, those pain killers (not alcohol) can allow quicker recovery by allowing greater range of motion at the appropriate time. Wont help the bone but will help muscles/tendons. Since I am retired, this is, of course, IMHO!
otherDoc
 
Since I'm still recovering from my double, I can say a few things. Stay more still than I did on the arm with the break. Having done both, I sorta had to decide which one to mess up this week. Having surgery on the right, meant keeping that side really really immobile for two weeks. Guess how many times I rebroke the left by the end of the two weeks. No matter how carefull, I just kept moving the broken ends around in there at least once a day, preventing them from staying stuck long enough to stay stuck. You will really be able to feel it when they start to knit, but you will need weeks more after they feel better before you can risk lifting any real weight with that arm. Avoid rebreaking it as much as possible. You will do it, I'm sure, maybe in your sleep if not while awake.

Fort up in the bed, and put lots of pillows under both arms, even the good one. This will help prevent rolling around and grinding those ends in your sleep. You are looking at at least six weeks of sleeping on your back, sleeping on the good side won't cut it. Stay on your back and pile up pillows to keep yourself that way for six weeks. I think at one point I was using 8 pillows when awake, and 6 when sleeping.

As soon as it starts to knit though, you will need to very carefully move around just enough to keep your range of motion. I did the karate kid routine while lying down, and at first, with the elbow still supported by the pillow. You know, wax on wax off, sand floor, and paint fence. If you do this, it will save you some physical therapy later. After healing, like six weeks, continue this stuff, but now with some weight in your hand. My PT was going to cost $25 a pop for the copay, so I did the karate kid enough to skip that expense.

For me at least, the weirdest thing was that I could still ride my bike allmost immediately after the accident, but I did have to stop after the surgery. After 10 grand worth of screws were put in, I couldn't risk wiggling them. But the way it works is like this.

What your collarbone actually does, is keep your shoulderblade, and arm attached to your body. You will find it feels like your arm is slowly sliding off your chest without it. Wierd forces start dragging on your shoulder muscles once there is no colarbone attachment to keep it all lined up like it should be. Enough bed rest, and as those muscles weaken, it may feel worse later on than it does now. So when you go out, you will want a sling for awhile, even after they take the packstrap thingy off you. For me, even with a sling, the worst thing was doctor office waiting room chairs without arms. Even if they had arms ,too short, and I was still suffering.

But what did feel good, was the frisk position, or anything similar, where I could lean on something with both hands, which took the weight off the arms, turning pulling on my arm into pushing on my arm. That would feel real good, and it was exactly the position I would be in on a bike. Since I own a trike, it was real easy for me to go for a very short ride everyday, except right after my surgery, without messing up the collarbones rebreaking them, or just moving them around before they set. I knew that too much bed rest was risking blood clots in the legs so I was pretty concerned about that with 6 weeks in bed coming. But I found riding the bike again suprisingly comfortable, and far better than trying to stroll around the neighborhood with both arms sliding down my body and hurting more every minuite. In my case slings were useless since I had to hang each one frome a broken collarbone. I immediately understood how Tyler Hamilton, and others in the TDF, do it. While riding, is likey the most comfortable they are all day. Just don't even think about falling off again untill really healed up. Just riding in a car scared the shit outta me for quite awhile with the seat belt strap across my shoulder.

Expect to feel not up to par for quite some time, far longer than the six weeks. Since I did both, I still have real problems lifting more than 50 pounds. As a construction guy this is really messed up for me, I expect to be able to tote 200 pounds if I need to. I still get unbeleivably tired unbeleivably fast if I use my arms too much. I don't know what you do for a living, but for a blue collar guy like me it's really tough. Good thing I'm the boss, but Its a working boss job, not a pure supervisor gig.

As for pain, I'm just a special case. I still have 99% of three kinds of painkillers they prescribed me. Mostly I just did normal doses of Tylenol, and then only when I had to go out to see a doctor, or go to work for an hour. Since I'm the boss, I had to keep showing up pretty much daily, but only for a few minuites. My pain tolerance is bizzarely high since back in 1976 I got burned pretty bad on both hands , arms, and feet. When they asked me to rate the pain of the collarbones in the ER, I said rate it how? They said, compare it to the worst thing you ever felt 1-10, so I gave it a 2. They said everybody rates it 10, and it kinda blew thier minds till I explained. When I got burned, that was real pain. I was working with contact cement, underdressed and barefoot, when the room blew up. Came flying outta there with my hair on fire and flaming glue on both hands and feet. Richard Pryor was right, you can realllly run fast when on fire.

Good luck healing. Fort up in the bed till it starts to knit together some, and get addicted to the ES. You can kill a lot of hours reading this whole site. Not long after I got pretty healed my laptop died from overuse. We won't mind a lot of posts with no capital letters.
 
I broke my left c-bone on a bike trail years ago. I agree with the previous post - The biking position was fine after only a week or two...
 
I hate to say I know what it feels like ! About six or seven weeks ago ( short story) a friends brother went kind of berserk and pinned me to the ground with his knee on my left shoulder pulling my arm. Broke the clavicle as the docs like to call it. The xray showed it separated pretty much out of allignment. I was given a figure 8 sling to wear - kind of like a day pack straps with no pack. It keeps the shoulders from slouching but lets you move your arm around. Of course it really hurts the first week or so if you move that bone - especially when getting out of bed - Ouch !
The doctor said not to lift any weight with my left arm which I have been not doing, although this week I am starting to lift a bit more since everything feels okay. Oh - I quit wearing the sling after about 3 or 4 weeks - nice to get that thing off !
I go back to the doc soon for another x-ray and hopefully it will show everything knitting back together okay. The last time I was there three or four weeks after it was broken the x-ray didn't look too much different to me but he says he could see that it was starting to knit back together . Not sure how it does that when it looks like such a big gap but I guess it does. I asked him if I could start bicycling again and he said no way - that would be the worst thing !
Take care and hope you heal well soon. But your bicycling days are probably on standby for 6 to 8 weeks sorry to say !
 
Don't sweat. A broken collarbone is really a minor thing.I broke my left collar bone 3 times before
I was 17,soccer,wrestling,etc.Just go to your local health food store,get some good calcium to rebuild it and some(Yes-horrors!) Cod liver oil. Induldge in this and you will be fine soon.I got severely injured on the oil rigs in the 70's,fixed me everytime. :) Get well soon and get on your bike!
 
I've broken ribs and a finger, but so far no collarbone. Seems to me that it would be tricky because that bone is in a strange place just sort of floating across the ribcage. Ribs are painful because every breath gives you a sharp pain.

The ribs were broken playing indoor floor hockey. :roll: (the guy did it on purpose with his elbow)

The finger was when a bowling ball got stuck on my finger because it was too tight. (I was trying different balls)

So far I've never broken a bone on a two wheeled machine of any type which is lucky I guess...
 
Best advice I can give is don't mix any tylenol or similiar with alchohol. Very bad for the liver...
 
Pretty true with ibuprophin and Aleve, whatever that is called generic. Don't mix with much alchohol. Part of why I still have most of the painkillers. Use your own judgment on getting back on the bike. You know when it hurts is generally bad, so if it doesn't hurt, WTF.

Maybe its the double collarbone break, or maybe its the 50 yrs old, or maybe it's both, but I find I still have some problems with stamina. Anytime I lift something heavy now, it just wears me out fast. As a construction guy, I admit to being used to doing more than most people do on a daily basis. Three months now, and I still can't pick up 100 pounds worth a damn. I'm used to being able to lift 200 no sweat. Part of the problem is the right shoulder is seperated also. That had pretty much healed, or gotten used to it, after 13 years, but now it's back to square one on that, which is about a 3 year heal.
 
I have broke my collarbone 3 times in my life,it is not really a painfull wound...compared to others.Last time was in a high school wrestling match. After working on the oil rigs for 10 years,a minor wound I think....Eat lots of calcium and related nutreients and you will be fine. :D And not so foolish manouvers! HaHa!
 
I wish I was healing as fast as when I was 18. I suppose It depends on how well it sets itself too. The left one, without the surgery is obviously poorly mended in my case. The pain isn't bothersome I can easily ignore that, but when I lift stuff over 50 pounds I just get unbeliveably tired afterwards. I guess I'm officially old now, next month I can join AARP.
 
U got a long ways to go, Dogman, B4 you can classify yourself as old!!! AARP is baby stuff!
:)
from the truly old!
otherDoc
 
Hey Link! I'm 63, I must be ancient! :)
otherDoc
 
That is why I am so bummed out at feeling so old! I used to heal pretty dang fast, but not anymore I guess. I guess I got one of the nastier verisons of collarbone breaks. I guess I am improving, but I'm just impatient. Today I did some pretty heavy duty work with a sawsall cutting out old windows. Enough to rattle your eyballs out of your head, but I handled it so I will get there eventually.
 
My wife had a collarbone broken in an auto accident and went for about a year complaining of some pain. Unfortunately, our family physician didnt think it was broken! He was wrong, and the orthopod had to put screws and plates in. Nah, I didnt sue! He apologised and that was priceless!
otherDoc
 
It's possible I'll end up with screws in both shoulders, but at about $1500 in copays, I'll try suffering a little bit longer for now.
 
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