Hans Kellner Dot Com :: a mighty fine website!

OMG, I think I've had that same nurse.

ya i just broke mine skateboarding lol.... on my summer break..i feel ur pain.. im only 14 so maybe itll heal faster?

David - I cracked my wrist two summers in a row from skateboarding. I guess it took me two times before I realized I better start riding better!

Lucky for you, being younger, your bones heal up faster. Keep that shoulder and collar bone from moving around. Use your sling. It should heal up fast.

Thanks for the heads up! I am presently in week 3 after a nasty spill and can relate to everything said thus far. I am a little nervous about week four though. I hope it goes better than yours began. I'm also glad to know that us old folks shouldn't expect the x-rays to show healng by then. My appointment next week will include an x-ray, so thanks for letting me know what to expect. I'm most excited about week five and thanks to your diary, I look forward to it. I like to run more than bike and am hoping I can do a bit of that if I'm feeling like you did by week five. I'm not sure I have the courage to risk falling from a bike quite yet. Besides, after just three days on the stationary bike, I'm already looking forward to doing something different once I get outside. Thanks again.

I don't really have a comment but I do have a question. How long did most people wait to go to work? I had a four wheeler accident on 7/24 and also hurt my hip, i'm still in a lot of pain expecially my clavicle. The problem is I am going nuts just sitting here.

kelsey - I'm not a doc and your question is a tough one to answer. It depends on the type of work you do, how bad you are injured, how you feel, etc.. With my busted clavicle I was lucky and not in much pain. So I was able to return to work quickly. In fact, I was on the bike in just over a week.

The most important thing about recovery is giving your body time to heal. Especially the first week after the break. That's when the body and bones work hardest to mend.

I broke my clavicle in a high speed car crash, also broke my ankle (tibia & fibia), requiring surgery to get a metal plate and screws to put it back together. This makes things twice as difficult as you can't use crouches to get around - so no walking (or moving) for 7 weeks! It's now about 10-11 weeks since the accident, and my clavicle hasn't healed at all, they're informing me i will need another operation to get a metal plate to put it back together! I am walking (limping) now though, so the end is in site. I will never take the human body for granted again!

But on the plus side, to anyone reading this with a broken clavicle, maybe you might take some refuge in the fact that a broken ankle/leg is a lot more painful/difficult to deal with than a broken collar bone!! :) Not breaking anything is even better again! ;) Good luck!

My brother-in-law left his moped at my house one weekend. I figured I'd take it for a spin and impress my girlfriend at how fast I could go. She watched me crash the stupid thing and got me an ambulance. I'm into the 2nd week today. I'm a painter and guitarsit so this injury midas well have crippled me. (But I was back to painting the day after I broke it!) I've started playing my guitar today and find that the weight of the guitar and strap pushes the clavical back into place somewhat. I'm 25 and wish I didn't have this bone sticking out of my neck for the rest of my life (the doctor said it will never go down,) but at least I can look forward to using my arm sooner than I thought. Thanks for posting your story - I can't wait for week five and six. until then, making music and art will be a painfull experiance...but dosen't it make it that much better? :)

Thank you to everyone posting their stories. It's very sad that we all have to break things to appreciate our bodies. But, it can be turned into a positive experience. All of you are very positive. I love it!
Laura

Thanks Laura for sharing your story and to everyone for their postings. I broke my clavicle playing football on July 18th. I didn't know what I had done to my shoulder. I landed hard on my right shoulder, sat up and heard a grinding sound when I tried to move. I too had one of "those" nurses - who after the emergency doctor looked at it and said it was broken; she wanted me to put a gown on to take xrays. Hello - it is broken I cannot move my arm nevertheless get out of my clothes and change. So grateful for painkillers!! Anyway, I was moving my arm a bit by the end of week one and it is coming along. I am in the start of week 5 and doing physio and massage therapy. The last two days I have had sharp, crippling pains in my bicep and forearm; it feels like a spasm or cramp or more like an electric shock that won't stop! Anyone else experience this? I understand it is part of the process and more nerves releasing etc. I am not too happy about the bump from the overlap of the break but my doctor said it will lessen over years. I hope to get to the gym this week and start gradually back in. Wow to those that started training so early in your recovery. Thanks again for the stories. :)

Lee - I don't recall any spasms during my recovery. Every so often it would feel very sore, almost to the point of a cramp. I would massage it and then it would be fine.

As for the bump reducing over time, that's what I've been told and have friends whose bumps have reduced. I still haven't noticed yet with mine, but it wasn't that extreme of a bump.

Thanks Laura and Hans for posting all of this -- it's really helpful. I had a cycling accident last Wed (26th) -- broken left clavicle.

So far, seems ok -- twinges of pain but nothing major. The clavicle brace really helps and I notice the difference when I take it off.

Went to the gym on Sunday and used a recombinant trainer -- no problem -- just a bummer to be indoors during the best days of the year. But, better than going crazy sitting still. Gradually, I'll move to a regular trainer and I'll even attempt Hans' training routine.

Thanks again -- this blog really helped to educate me on the practical stuff -- not just the clinical!

Anna

p.s. Laura, I'm still a believer in the medicinal benefits of alcohol :-)

My daughter 11 years old was pushed down in P.E. and broke her clavical. She is in her third day. Any recommendations for her pain other than the tylonal w/codeine the er prescribed. and the pillow thing, should I just keep her down and still? PLEASE HELP ME!!

I'm sorry to hear about your daughter's broken clavicle.

I'm not a doctor and can only comment from my own experiences. As for reducing the pain, applying ice for 15 to 20 minutes at a time may help. Apply the ice pack with a towel between it and the body so the extreme cold doesn't freeze the skin. For medication, acetaminophen or ibuprofen or other over-the-counter pain medicine might help. Finally, keep the shoulder from moving and in a sling as much as possible. I used a figure-eight brace in addition to the sling and found it reduced the strain on my shoulder and helped to keep it immobile.

Keeping the shoulder from moving is very important. Especially this first week of a break. That's when the body and bones are working to mend themselves. Movement can disrupt those bonds that are forming and hinder or stop the mending.

Luckily, your daughter is young and her calvicle should heal rather quickly.

Good luck.

I'm on day two of a broken right clavicle. (Motorcycle accident three hundred miles from home -- I'm very lucky...) As mentioned elsewhere in this blog, the bone doesn't need much help healing except maybe a sling or figure-eight brace and respect for the body enough to permit it to heal, i.e., not to push your poor broken bone with too much activity. (I guess I will buy some calcium too!) But given that you need only "facilitate" your bone's healing with these simple steps, doesn't it make sense also to properly medicate? In my opinion, avoiding undue pain is a challenge of recovery in broken clavicles that is at least equal to that of living for a time "in the world of one hand."

Ibuprofen worked well for me on the Amtrak train ride back to my home town (600mg about every two hours between 4:30 PM to about 11PM when I finally got home) when I really didn't have to do any moving around with my arm (plush seats with a good arm rest, direct train to my city). I could alleviate pain solely with ibuprofen under those circumstances and without feeling groggy from using only vicodin -- which was important to me -- I was, after all, required to manage my transport from the hospital ER by taxi to the train station, and then alone on a train for 4-1/2 hours with two small bags, a heavy coat, and a sling! Grogginess would be really unacceptable in those circumstances, so I felt that ibu alone was the way to go.

But, at home finally, when it came time to get my sling off to get my t-shirt off, put the sling back on and give my shoulder its first icing, and then figure out what pillow to use for my head and how to lay on my back with the sling back on all night, I necessarily graduated to vicodin along with the ibuprofin. The ibu not only provides its own pain relief in addition to vicodin, but also is an anti-inflammatory, helping to cut down the inflammation that contributes to pain in all those other parts of my body that were horrifically jangled in the accident (but which thankfully weren't broken). I didn't need alot of vicodin to get the relief I needed for all this, but it was what I needed to actually get restful sleep. Restful sleep is a **very important** part of the program of avoiding misery with a broken clavicle, in my view!

But I also didn't want to go to sleep on vicodin and then wake up hours later with excruciating pain because everything had worn off. You have to stay "ahead of the pain" when you manage a broken clavicle. So I set the alarm clock for four hours later so I could wake up and take another dosing of ibu and vicodin. The point is to stay on a regular regimen of pain reliever (as directed by your doctor, of course), and take the meds promptly **whether you're feeling too much pain or not.**

Today I got the figure-8 brace from my doctor, but for now am still using my sling *too*, simply because it is more comfortable for me. I'll get rid of the sling no sooner than when it is comfortable for me to do so. I'm letting my body heal on its own (by not moving my clavicle so much), but I'm responsible to myself to be sure I'm adequately medicated to get through this tough period. I've even discovered already that for me, half of a 5mg vicodin taken, say, every two hours works with the ibu to cut the pain just fine at this point, rather than a 5mg vicodin every four hours, which makes me groggy. I'll adjust dosing as my healing progresses to be sure I'm only "adequately" medicating, i.e., to be sure I'm not feeling undue pain, but no more meds than that. It's a balancing act, alot of listening to your body, respecting what it says, and responding accordingly to help it heal and avoid any more misery than you already have to endure. It ain't fun as we all have chronicled above, but I promise you that with this kind of approach, the experience does not have to be **total** hell...

Greg:

Sorry about your break -- but you have a great attitude. You're absolutely right -- getting good rest is really important. I used Ibuprofen but stopped at about the 3-week point because I didn't need it ... you'll be there soon!

I had my 4-week x-ray yesterday and all is progressing nicely. The bones are generating good growth at the ends and, because of consistent use of the figure-8 brace and sling, the bones have moved closer together (woo-hoo!). The doc thinks that the bones will be nicely healed within the next 2-4 weeks. In the meantime, I can use the sling or figure-8 as needed and I can start to add more movement and put more weight on my left arm. 'Pain' is supposed to be my guide -- push myself but if it hurts, don't do it.

I'm still on the trainer at the gym but this is Seattle -- rainy season has started so it's not too bad.

Hope you're feeling better soon!

I stumbled across this site while searching Google for sites on clavicle injuries, and got a good laugh out of Laura's story. Thanks Laura!! Hope you're feeling better!!

While not a cyclist, I suffered a severe clavicle fracture during a bad car accident several weeks ago. I can definitely relate to Laura's pain, especially during the first couple of weeks. As she mentioned, tying shoes proved painful, so I either wore flip-flops or manuevered into my shoes without the need to redo the laces. Given the nature of this type of injury, the usual suggestion for pain management is ibuprofen. Since healing takes a while, those using ibuprofen may encounter stomach irritation and increased skin sensitivity to sunlight. Since I try to go the natural route whenever possible, I've been taking "White Willow Extract" in place of ibuprofen. (info at: http://www.nutritional-supplement-info.com/white-willow-bark-extract.html ) I read about this extract some years back and started using it after the accident. It has worked wonders for me, with no side effects. This suppliment can usually be found at your local GNC or vitamin shop. Aside from staying away from alcohol, an article I read also recommended to limit the consumption of caffeinated drinks. **Disclaimer:** I'm in no way affiliated with any herbal shop, or anti-ibuprofen coalition. I'm simply stating my experience with an alternative to ibuprofen which worked for me. Good luck! :)

Thanks everyone for their insightful stories - most inspiring and comforting. I am on day 4 from a broken right clavicle from a bicycle crash. I'm not a cyclist (obviously) and was taking my dog out to excercise. He was spooked and ran in front of my bike. I tried to brake with my right hand unsucessfuly, hit the dog with my front tire and my shoulder with the concrete. I have an overlapping complete break and I have the option of having it surgically set. I have swam USS competition and Masters. My primary source of excersise is still keeping up with the 12 to 15 year olds on our local swim team. I am 49 now and am concerned about it healing quickly and properly so I can swim when I'm 90. I am also a Dental Hygienist so I am out of work for a minimum of 6 weeks. Any pros or cons - advise for me?

o wow.... i am so glad i read this... i broke my collar bone a week ago... and i just started getting these neon yellow bruises...... its good to read what's in store.... im only 15 and i broke it while playing soccer.... i should hope I will be fit and ready for our games soon.... in another 3 weeks hopefully..... I'm in the figure 8 brace and i feel like someone could attach a rope to it and i'd look like i had a child's leash.... but this story made me laugh and i will be thinking about it through out this entire healing process. thank you.... jillianne

Hi fellow sufferers...I'm 48 and I broke my left collar bone and sprained my knee while snowboarding on Dec 17 2004, just before my birthday and Christmas, hooray.

The doctor that gave me the most useful information was the first doctor I saw at Snowshoe Mountain. He was a skier himself and had seen hundreds of broken collar bones come through. He told me that after 4 weeks I should have my range of movement back in my arm, and although the 1st week would be bad, I'd getter a little better each week after, so at the end of 4 weeks I'd be able to wave my arm above my head ok. I asked him how I'd know when I was fully better and able to go back snowboarding. He asked me if I could do a push-up before my accident? Yes. Then when I could do a push-up again, I'd be ready!

I too was very disappointed after 4 weeks to see no difference in my x-ray from the first one taken (a nice big gap between the overlapping bones) but my ortho surgeon explained that some people never grow back a bone connection across the break. My arm movement was good and the collar bone appeared to be moving as one piece, so he told me to keep wearing my figure of eight brace for a further 2 weeks (6 weeks total) and come back at 8 weeks. So, I've just stopped wearing the brace. My shoulder does still ache a little, and I have trouble sleeping because I just can't find a good comfortable position. I'm still taking an Ibuprofen in the morning just to take the edge off, but only that one a day. I have been taking 1000mg of calcium each day for the past year now anyway, so just carried on with this (prevention for osteoporosis, recommended by my regular doctor).

The good news is that I'm feeling pretty good at the 6 week mark, the bad news is...We pre-book one 'big' snowboarding trip each season and so are going to Jackson Hole Wyoming on Feb 12 2005. I found a Lacrosse shoulder brace at Dick's sporting goods that has clavical protection and big shoulder pads, so I'm going to strap myself in and give it a go.....Crazy, you may think, but hey, that's why we do these 'dangerous' sports in the first place, because we're crazy!

Good Luck to all breakees out there, if it takes an 'oldie' like me 6 weeks, then you should be ok in a lot less! Nicky

I broke my collar bone a week at 4 days ago playing football and I miss having use of my right arm =\. Anyhow, The bone began healing about 4 days ago and now it can support the weight of my shoulder without a sling. Im not sure why I was not given a brace but I wish I had one because my shoulders do not seem even. Does anyone else see a difference? What should I do?

Mark - I would recommend keeping your arm in a sling. Even though your shoulder can support the weight it's still early. Straining your shoulder may damage the healing process and possibly rebreak the bones just fusing together.

As for the uneven shoulders, that's possible. Because there is normally muscle injury along with the broken bone, your muscles are probably extremely tight. That would change the height you hold your shoulder. Similar to shrugging on one side. My shoulder was like that for a couple of weeks. But, as always, consult your doctor.

Good luck!

Thanks for the advice Hans, I think the shoulders are leveling out ...at least more level than when I last posted a message. Now Im getting a constant feeling of the two pieces being forced back into alignment which is good because its healing straight but bad because it feels annoying. Gotta love the daily suprises of a broken collar bone.

I'm so glad I found all of you. One yr. ago my bull threw his head into my shoulder while I was in the process of throwing hay into the feeder. I felt something, but thought I had just dislocated or bruised something? There was hardly any pain that evening and even the next day,except when I tried to use it! I waited for my trucker to get home the next day, before going to see the Dr. Sure enough it had snapped cleanly in 2. He gave me a figure 8 brace and a sling...so I figured all was well...just wait for the darned thing to heal. It healed finally leaving a huge bump where the bones grew back overlapped. The orthopedic surgeon told me just not to let anything hit me there, for it's jutting up with very little skin to cover it. I have full strenth in my arm, but about 6 months ago I began to ache between my shoulder blades and across that shoulder and down my arm. Have had those blasts of pain in my bicept and forearm too?? Then came THE HEADACHES!!!?? Has any one had those in response to a broken clavicle?? They get worse day by day, till I have to spend days with my head on a pilloow...dosed with vicodin and ibupropin. I didn't read where any of you had those in connection with your breaks, so makes me wonder where they're coming from?? Have never had headaches in my life!! Seems to make sense to me that a "crooked" healing would throw your whole upper body out of kilter?? Like how we overcomensate when we sprain something?!! I have an appointment with a neurologist next Mo. So guess I'll spend a few more days coddling myself. Any suggestions would be really helpful, if even for empathy. Feb. 12, 2005 7:05 PM Shirley.

Shirley - I highly recommend you go and have a doctor checkout your symptoms. You should not be having headaches after so long a time. There may be nerve damage. Or, maybe something else that isn't related to your broken collar bone. But, go to a doctor. I really want to stress that you do so.

I'm so glad I found this website! I incurred a spiral fracture of my left collar bone while riding 10 days ago as I was trying to train for a tri, which is now postponed by 6-10 weeks. I really want to get on a stationary bike but I'm in quite a bit of pain and I'm trying not to use vicodin (addictive) or ibuprofen b/c it retards bone growth. I just went back to work this week and, of course, regressed b/c I did too much. I thought I was incredily whimpy but it's nice to know others have similar experiences. However, depression has still taken on a whole new meaning for me.

Well, I guess I am ready to join to the club.

Today, March 4, 2005 I called in "sick" to work to go snowboard at Squaw Valley in Tahoe CA.

At about 1:00 we found the snowboard park and kicker jumps...
At about 1:30 I cleared the first small tabletop to pick up speed for the big one (10ft)

I knew I needed good spead to clear the large tabletop so I pointed, and went for it. At the last second I hit a small clump of snow and it slowed down my launch just enough to NOT clear the tabletop.

Instead...

I landed exactly where the flat part of the tabletop meets the downward sloped landing area...I landed perfectly however due to the position of my landing I was "bounced" into the air to eventually be brought down hard on my right shoulder.

Since I was in the landing area I had to pick myself up (OUCH!!) and head to the SV Med Clinic in pain. As I walked into the medical clinic I felt a sigh of relief as I knew I was in good hands; however, the Squaw Valley medical clinic does NOT accept Health Net insurance??? They wanted $150 for x-rays and $350 for the doctor to see me.

In nicer words, I told them to shove it. Luckily I was able to sweet talk the very nice girl at the counter into giving me some pain killers.

I spent the rest of the day watching basketball in the lodge, sipping Sierra Nevada and waiting for my friend to finish his day.

Now "I" get to drive my STICK SHIFT home all the way to Santa Cruz, CA! A four hour drive. My friend cannot drive a stick and remember that I hurt my right shoulder....GREAT!

Do I let my buddy tear up the transmission on my new Audi A4 Quattro while learning to drive a stick, hmmmmm....NO!

Well, four and a half hours later, we made it! The only thing I could not do was shift into fifth gear, so I got my friend to do it.

What a day...

After searching the net and eventually ending up here, I have determined that I most likely fractured my cavical. I assume it is not so bad since there is no brusing and I am not in that much pain (unless I try to undress...how much fun is that!)

I plan to go to the doctor tommorow but assume I will have to set up an appointment with an Ortho doc as well. My question to you all is this?

What would you say the extent of my injury is? I am not in much pain unless I move my right arm forward or back, or if I quickly move it any direction. It kind of has the discomfort of a sprained ankle, however the degree of swelling indicates to me that it is not simply an ACJ sprain (my whole shoulder is swollen).

Also, what are your recommendations for releaving the pain. I CANNOT wear a sling as I am right handed, do 100% of my work on the computer and drive a stick. So far I have gathered the following: Calcium, Ibuprofin, Alchohol... any one else know of any to add to this list and/or something I can use instead of a sling?

I want to thank everyone for there input here. I look forward to being a part of your website community.

I hope my story did not bore you, just needed to vent to someone. Explaning how I broke my collarbone to my work while at home "sick" is another story.

Not looking forward to tonights sleep, maybe I will hang by my feet like a bat? Anyone tried that yet? :)

Cheers,

Jah

PS: Once this has healed...I will be back to Squaw Valley to settle my "beef" with that kicker jump, and I will post a picture of myself CLEARING it for you!!!

2 weeks ago, while enjoying a quiet ride on my trusty horse she spooked at something in the hedge and asI result I ended up in an untidy heap on the floor, on a very rocky track. I can't say enough how relieved I am I was wearing my riding hat as I distictly remember hitting my head very hard as I impacted the ground. However, when I eventualy came around and tried to climb back on I felt an agonising pain in my right arm, which consequently was so painful that I blacked out again and fell off the horse a second time! Having limpted a mile back home (calling my loving steed every name under the sun each step of the way!) I was rushed to Accident and Emergency and was faced with an xray of my collarbone which showed the bone to have snapped with a 2cm gap between the break.

Originally I was sent away with just a sling, and with the pain in my shoulder my natural instinct was to hunch over as it was too painful to hold my shoulder back. I was refered to a fracture clinic who on seeing my break began to talk about surgery. Desperate to avoid this I asked if anything else could be done and thats when they produced the figure of eight back brace. After a lot of tears and what felt like torture they managed to prize my shoulder back into position and fit the brace and I can't say how relieved I am now, 2 weeks down the line, that they did. I've had 2 furthur xrays and both, depresingly, show absolutely no change in the break, however I'm able to lift my arm almost level with my shoulder without to much pain. As soon as the brace comes off for showering it becomes apparent just how much support it offers as unfortunatley the discomfort and high pain level returns, however at least I know its giving my collar bone a chance to heal itself and when I compare my posture to how it would probably be if I'd just stuck with the sling, it doesn't bare thinking about. I have another appointemt at the fracture clinic tommorrow so I'm preying that it will show the bones to be growing back. It really isn't until something like this happens you that you realise just how complicated breaking a bone can be. Getting dressed takes me on average an hour, and without fail my top will get caught on the brace so I'll have to dress in a differnt position depending on the item of clothing. Hair styles are limited to those of the one armed variety (at least the 'bed head' looks in) as for sleeping, it takes me half an hour to position the pillows perfectly to keep me from rolling over but the thing which has helped me sleep at night (other than codeine) is the knowledge that in all this I'm not alone! Thanks to you all for that!

Jah - Good description of your crash. Sorry to hear about it. I just got back from boarding up at Kirkwood and stayed away from the jumps. But, Mister Tree got really close this time.

Regarding your question about how bad you are injured. Really, the only way to tell is by seeing a doc and getting x-rays. It's not possible to know any other way. And, you don't want to waste the first week or two deciding to get checked out or not. Especially if it's a broken bone.

As for wearing a sling. You will be able to do it. I'm right handed and was able to continue typing, driving my stick, etc.. If your collar bone is broken, you definately need to immobilize the shoulder. A sling and if possible a figure eight.

As for pain meds, I was lucky and didn't have too much pain so I only used Advil. Read through other's comments on this page and on the other two pages, "Broken Clavicle" and "Broken Clavicle No More", that have links at the top of the page.

Good luck and send a photo when you do kick the kicker.

Kate - I feel for you. I used to ride horseback often when I was in Arizona. My favorite horse had a mind of her own. Sent me tumbling a few times. Luckily only with a bruised ego and several choice expletives

Glad to hear the figure-eight brace is working out for you. I swear by it. Your description of the pain putting on the brace for the first time reminded me of when they first x-rayed my shoulder. I had to hold heavier and heavier weights in the hand so it would pull down the shoulder and give a better x-ray! Argh.

Good luck!

Today I broke my clavicle while playing soccer - landed fast and hard on my right shoulder, and heard the crack. The lump on the collar bone was enough to send me to the ER. Soccer has sent me to the ER a number of times, I guess I must love to play. But that's a story for another day.

Thanks to Laura and Hans, for insights and inspiring others to share and heal, as well.

So - I was trying out for a team in the DC burbs in a fossil league - 45 and over. I just turned 45, and well I suppose this guy was only too eager to welcome me to the league. I could be really pissed about it - this match was merely a tune-up for the spring season, the tackle at close range wasn't necessary. In broken English, he told me that he got the ball first. Well, big whoop, he got me as well. I'll probably miss half of the season. but it's the part-time carpentry work I've been doing that I will really miss, I have a few people waiting for me to complete projects that most definitely require two arms and two hands.

Time to make myself saleable again in computer work. Of course, I have two PCs I've configured in my work space that I need to pack back up and deliver, install, & final-setup at their new owners' homes. No vicadin for me.

A good friend had driven me to the ER, never a pleasant task. I told Cliff not to wait for me, but like I said, he's a good man and friend - he came in to make sure I'd be okay.

I'd really love to see the collarbone heal. I am a big believer in the body being able to mend, and wanting to mend. Having grown up in Pittsburgh during the Steelers' glory days, I am still in awe of Rocky Bleier, and his willpower to break through the pain of his leg and feet injuries to become a professional footballer, and a champion, at that.

Back to the clavicle. It's broken in two places, the xrays showing a nice wide gap of a break nearer my neck, and a contusion of a compression break closer to the shoulder. Even as I sit in the chair and type, and breathe, I can feel the bone(s) shifting. If one bone breaks into three pieces, can you call each piece a bone? George Carlin once said that if you break a crumb in two, do you have two half-crumbs, or just two crumbs?

Laura, I am not sure if you follow this thread anymore, but you were nuts to get back on that bike so early! But I am happy for you, that you succeeded, on your own terms. Same to you, Hans, and the other snowboarders, way to go.

I suppose I am glad it was too cold today to ride my motorcycle to the field; I still had manual gears to work through on the way home, but no way could I hold the handlebar let alone twist the throttle!

I took a cab back from the ER to my truck, still at the field. He was playing Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion, a repeat of the Saturday night broadcast, and his tale from Lake Wobegone had the mixed morale, that we prepare for the worst to happen, and accept it because it does happen; and that we exult our thanks for everything! I felt I could relate.

So I'd better get my next does of painkiller, and keep up with the calcium intake. I love the taste of milk, and hey! Ice cream has milk in it....

i am on day 2 after a mt bike crash 7 mi into a 14 mi trail in moab, ut, porcupine rim. after the initial accident, i got up to ride out, crashed and landed on the same shoulder. 2 hours and many agonizing bumps later i was strapping on a sling and heading home, with my gf driving through a rocky mountain blizzard we made it home in 6 hours. question? i wad only provided with a sling, should i seek out a figure 8 brace, and why? is it for increased support and will it help in the long run? (1 post on here said it did and i was wondering if that is a universal truth)

Tony - My team mate just busted her clavicle. She turned to me for advice and one of the things I highly recommended was a figure-eight brace. It helps to keep your shoulders immobile and aligned correctly. These are both really important for healing. I've mentioned why on this page and the collar bone other pages on my site.

It seams like many doctors just give the advice of wearing a sling and using ice and/or advil. Well, there's more to it than that. That advice might be fine for little kids whose bones heal up right away. But for most of us, we can use a little extra help. The figure-eight sling is especially important. It worked for me and has worked for others. Why not wear one?

Hope you heal fast. Wish I was riding Moab. Sometime soon I hope.

Hi, great to find your website... It's Mar 27 today, and on Mar 15 I was out for a little ride, when a huge cross-wind gust caught my front wheel and (I guess) started to push me over into on-coming traffic (i admit to only having one hand on the bars, I think i was adjusting my bike jersey or something). Anyway, I saw myself heading straight for the cars, panicked, tried to counter-steer away and next thing I know the bike went left and I went right... Boom. Fell on my right forearm, rolled over onto my right shoulder and hit my head a little too. Knew right away that I'd either broken my collarbone or dislocated a shoulder, the pain was pretty bad (though not as bad as it got later, I was shakey from shock and adrenaline).
I won't go through the hospital ride, x-rays (thank god for IV morphine, that really was NOT fun), cutting off of my favorite jersey (the one from my first club ride days, that I'd had for 15 years)... turns out I managed a clean-thru break about 1/3 of the way from my right shoulder. So the Rx is the same as you've all described: vicodin + ibuprofen for pain, the Figure-8 brace and/or sling, bed-rest, immoblize the area as much as possible. An intersting note at the end: when it got time to discharge me for home, the ortho doc (they sent me there from ER) said, "Ok now, let's get your shirt on and I'll have Nurse X show you how to put the sling on." Slight problem there, Doc-- no shirt, remember you cut it off me?? Apparently this is a problem not previously encountered at Ortho! Pretty funny, they all sat around looking at me like some interesting biological specimen. "Hmmm, now what do we do here?"
I've followed the same regimen as all others in here: hit the vicodin pretty hard for the first 3-4 days or so, I was actually happy for the fuzziness because it helped cut the boredom of lying around the couch all the time. I also agree with keeping up with the pain-- welcome advice from my next-door-neighbor nurse. The figure 8 I find has been the most helpful. The sling was useful the first 3 days or so-- after that, I have only used it here-and-there, keeping my arm crunched up like that makes it cramp up painfully. I got injured on a Tuesday and took the rest of the week off, so by the time I went back to work on Monday, I'd had 5 days off. I got pretty tired on Monday though and had to leave early. In fact on Monday all I did, pretty much, was tell my war story and try to type with one hand. I was back on the fat-seat bikes at the gym by Saturday morning, complete with figure 8 and arm sling. Ditto on previous comments about sitting upright, etc. Getting my blood moving felt awesome!
Hearing from all of you is good-- I'm 36 and so now I will not be crushed if, when I go to get my first Xrays, I discover no "visible" bone formation. I will tell you that about 12 days after the accident, I have minimal pain, am totally off all painkillers (including Ibuprofen), and have good arm mobility provided I don't shrug my shoulders or try to raise my arm up above about nipple level. Based on your collective experience, I will for the next 2 weeks at leat resign myself to cranking up the tunes on the Ipod (wishing for injectable painkillers in my buttocks for the FatSeatTortureMachines at the gym).
A question: has anyone out there tried to go jogging with a collarbone break, and at what point did you try?

One more thing- my husband Dave has been awesome thru all of this, having him around to help me shower, dress, give moral support, and even find me attractive despite the putrid bruise colors and nasty swelling has been beyond wonderful. Thanks, sweetie!

Hey, all. Thanks for the Web postings. Nice to hear from others with similar challenges. I broke my left clavicle 8 days ago in a scary cycling accident, so my triathlon training is on hold for another 5 to 7 weeks at least. I live in Honolulu and was in great condition for the Honolulu Triathlon on April 7 and the Honu Half-Ironman on June 5 on the Big Island. It's amazing how your life can take such a dramatic turn for the worse in just one second. I'm hoping to keep up my cardio fitness by walking hills and riding a recumbent bike at the gym. What freaks me out the most is when it feels like the bone has shifted out of place. I don't know what to do when that happens. I go in for a follow-up exam with my orthopedist on April 6, so hopefully I'll get some good news. This experience makes me realize how much I love triathlons and especially my tri workout buddies. Every day I'm able to train is a gift that I won't take for granted ever again. Anyway, best of luck to everyone who is going through a similar experience. I hope we all emerge stronger. Aloha! - Alan

Hello, reading this makes me feel better i broke my collar bone skiing 4 weeks ago, a backflip gone wrong..i can usually do them fine but this time i just didnt make it!...so when i went to the doctor i asked him about all the stuff on hear from my uncle it took quite along time but he said kids my age collar bones will heal alot faster, and from reading the other guys story mine is healing pretty good bceause i have it where the long part didnt get fully in line and so there is the bump there where its healing over im now able to throw in baseball after 4 weeks!

Lol! I broke mine 3 days ago in a skiing accident. So what's up Alex? Lol. This sucks.

This is my first one handed attempt at typing..broke collar bone 28 hours ago during group training ride...hit a hole with-out warning at 24 miles/hour..i sit on my deck enjoying this perfect spring weather reading these comments realizing i have a long way to go for healing...could be worse..cracked my helmet and almost passed out..my er dr said i had no soft tissue damage and led me to believe it was only my tolerance to pain which would hinder my motion...glad i found this site before i did something stupid!!!! going to ortho tommorrow....hope my company is understanding...i'm a corporate pilot who knows there's 1000 guys out there who want my job! got some hydrocordone...sure helps..is vicadin better? ipprophen and ice...figure 8 brace hopefully tommorrow, anything else? Will definately be on trainer soon...not my fav..am thankful for loving wife!!!! good luck to all out there..cycling is more dangerous than flying jets...but can't wait to get back out there

thanks for this site, its very helpful. im not a cyclist , i am travelling new zealand (im from england so am miles away from my home comforts). i broke my collar bone in three places six days ago(at a lord of the rings site), they were considering surgery and im living in a crappy campervan in minus degree temperatures. the pain had eased a lot till today, i was very cold in the night, not surprisingly as im sleeping in a converted van. think my arm nust have seized up as im in a lot of pain today. its good to hear that this is normal, very jealous of people getting to rest it though. we have been racing through the country at a great pace doing tramping and generally wandering round in the cold but cant moan too much cos still on an amazing holiday and ive already done the skydive!!!

if anyone wants to email me about collar bones, id be very grateful. creweh@yahoo.co.uk

Oh well, so much for a fast heal..seems I broke my collar bone out on the end (shattered it is more appropriate) and will have surgery in two days to remove pieces of the bone..am hoping it will heal ok then...been riding on trainer...i can't really complain much..sounds like hazel is having to tough it out...new zealand with a broken collar bone...how did u break it?

It's weird...I don't think i've been careful enuf, but it's now week 4 for me and all of a sudden one night it began to sting. I am thinking this is becuz it is healing? I dunno... Thx

i forgot to mention how i broke it. mainly cos its ridiculous, i was just running down a hill and i kind of just went flying and heard a crack. ive never broken a bone before or had a bad accident, so quite silly.

i cant believe how many people are saying it isnt healing with just a sling. making me quite nervous cos the dr was considering surgery because it was broken in three places but decided against it. i have an xray slip so i can go to a hospital and get one done after two weeks, so im hoping it will be ok.

anyway, best wishes for my fellow collar bone breakees.

Wow, this has been very helpful. In my 27 years I had never broken a bone before April 24. I was palying soccer in a co-ed league and was hit from behind by a large man. When I went down I heard the crack in my collar bone. Off to the ER and 5 hours later with a few shots of morphine my Doc confirmed it was broken. Now what should I expect??? I've read about large bumps forming on the shoulder? Yuck! Luckily no sugery needed but what should I be doing to help the healing? Im wearing a figure 8 brace and have lots of movement on my left side although I still can't dress myself. Its actually been quite a comical experience.
Im a bit worried that I am using my arm too much, I dont want to heal out of place. Any advice?
My grandma broke hers in the 1930s and her adivce... Put on a bath robe and forget the underware

Brilliant! Have just come across ur web site after chatting with my mum about not being happy with how my fracture was healing - she said have a look on the internet..... so here i am. Boyfriend, Dave, thinks i'm mad, have been laughing away to myself reading down the page...reading bits out to him, but he's never been in the club so doesn't know....
Fell off a very grumpy horse who wanted his dinner 2 weeks ago, should have called it quits but i'm just too stubborn... I've never been in so much pain, i came round on the floor with the dog licking my face, kinda knew it was bad when i couldn't get up. As for the nurse who wrestled my arm into the sling with no pain killers, don't wanna go there again. Broken the distal end.
Laura you are so right, alcohol is a great healer well helps you to ignore the pain.....my poison of choice has been Stella, though i wouldn't reccomed it for the first week, try spirits, as going to the toilet is def your biggest challenge!

How come it is that when you do things like this they always come at the worst time? 2 days after i was due to take Dave to Spain as a supprise for his 30th bday, we still made it but took ages to get anywhere..........and it didn't help him taking photos of me when i kept getting stuck trying to put clothes on! Joking aside, i wouldn't have coped without him...... he's been a saint, washing me and applying hair removal cream to the hairiest armpit in the world even shaving the other one! Couldn't quite comment on his hair dressing skills, i've been seen in some interesting styles recently.

End of week 1 we were also due to go camping for the weekend! Sun loungers are imperative to carry this out if any one else is stupid enough to consider it! Gutted to go to the beach and watch everyone else surfing and playing ball games. So the end of week two is here now, i'm amazed by how much less pain there is. For any of you in the early stages it's amazing how much less pain there is...promise! Though my arm is getting awfully stiff and i'm getting nasty pains down my shoulder blade. Has anyone else experienced this? Is there anyway you can do any exercise or at least stretch out? I'm still in a normal sling, after what i've read i wonder if a figure of 8 sling would be better? I've still got a big bump and can feel the end of my bone, can't lift my arm above my shoulder or touch my face with my hand....my shoulder in still raised, is this still normal? Will the muscles relax? I can still feel the bones grating a bit too. I've taken my arm outta the sling to stretch it a couple of times as it's so stiff but if it's out too long i really start to ache. Is there too much movement you can do like Liz asked?

I saw a post card yesterday that said 'this would be really funny if it wasn't happening to me', i think that it's really important to keep your sense of humor going and laugh at situations not get frustrated by them.. though easier said than done! Oh due to move house tomorrow! Fracture clinic in 2 days, they did say if there was no difference they may pin / plate it, has anyone had this done? According to the doctor, he said they don't usually but it was a 'new thing from the States'?!?!? I really want to get back to swimming and riding, plus i've just learnt to snowboard and am worried the next holiday of doing head first tumbles down slopes is gonna take it's toll?
thanks

Hi, good to read of others experiences with broken clavicles!
I broke my left clavicle 4 weeks ago when I fell off my horse, and landed against a tree - ouch!
Initially, the doctor said a sling would be sufficient as collar bones usually heal fairly easily.
Mine was broken in 3 pieces with a shard of bone sticking painfully up under the skin. I went back to see the orthopedic surgeon, who told me I would need surgery to fix it back together.
I had the op 2 weeks ago now, it's much less painful and I am going for my first physio session today. I will be so glad to be rid of this sling and start getting my life back to normal again!
I would just like to recommend the homeopathic remedy Symhytum for aiding bone repair - it's from the plant Comfrey, which is also called 'Knitbone' and it does just that!

Wow!! Glad I ran across this site!

I just broke my collar bone last Sunday and was looking for some idea as to how long it would take to heal. I just went into emergency for x-rays and ultrasounds on the day it happened (Dr. thought I may have ruptured my spleen due to the ribs on my left side taking quite the hit as well) but haven't been back since (they basically said there wasn't much they could do about it).

Did my injury mountain biking...went off a jump wrong and down I went...UGH

Love the comment about the "pit of dispair"!! Amazing, I'm not the only one who had concerns in that area. Lucky for me I too have a Mach 3 and will be putting it to the test by the end of the week!

Thanks for all of your information!!

Wonderful to read about other's with same ailment. Broke mine for the second time on 5/16.ER gave me the figure 8 and sent me home. Since this is second time I have an idea what to expect, BUT this time I am having burning hot stabbing pain when I try to lay down. Slept in a chair last night and pain meds did not touch this pain. Have any of you brave souls had this experience also?

Tom, I had the burning, stabbing pain when I did mine, especially when laying down or trying to sit up, before it was fixed. In my case it was the loose fragment moving and causing damage to the surrounding nerves & tissues. It was at it's worst for about the first 4-5 days and then seemed to ease off. I had surgery to fix it after 2 weeks.

I broke the middle third of my left clavicle in a hard fall in April. The bump was high and noticeable. I was in pain and couldn't move the shoulder without experiencing pain at all. Somehow I managed to get in my car, strap on a seat belt, and drive stick shift home. Two days later, I went to the emergency room. I broke it in two places as the clavicle looked like a "z". The top part of the 'z' is closest to my neck and the upper break looked like a sharp bone. They gave me a sling and told me to let it heal. They also referred me to an orthopedist. The next day (day 3), at the orthopedist's office, 2 orthopedists said to let it heal. So that's 3 professionals sticking to conventional orthopedic textbooks. For a few days I trusted their unanimous decision. When the pain subsided after day 7, I tried to raise my arm. It was uncomfortable because of the 'z' fracture, I felt something was stuck, so I sought Eastern help and went to get opinions from Chinese Traditional Medicine doctors. The first one I went to said that because I broke it in 3 places that I should get surgery. He talked about plates and screws. His comment carried weight because he's open-minded enough to consider options outside his discipline. So I bore that in mind. The second Chinese TM doc I went to thought the clavicle is fixable. I gave him a try as he broke the middle piece of the 'z' off without anesthesia (OOOOOW!). For the next 3 weeks (to week 4), I was re-bandaged almost daily to immobilize the bones. The bandages were very tight, restricting motion of my left arm and in the beginning overly tight that my arm and hands swelled. I wondered at the time if that was all necessary. In fact, I was told to pull my elbow straight back so I can pull back the clavicle, allowing it to heal better. This makes sense because one of the things you don't want is a shortened clavicle. According to the Chinese doc, supposedly the middle part of the 'z' fused with the top part of the clavicle (which is closer to my neck). So during week 4, I went back to the orthopedist for a follow-up. The x-ray seemed to suggest that either the bones did fuse or that there was a lot of calcification to dull the sharpness. There was also something that suggested that the middle piece grafted itself to the lower part of the fracture, resembling an "L". In all fairness, I should have another x-ray to make sure, but it's been almost 5 weeks and I need something more definite than these "closed reduction" methods (bones manipulated without breaking skin). The orthopedist also got me a bone growth stimulator, which from what I read in testimonials online are ineffective for clavicle treatment. My friend, an MD, thought the same. Since my injury, I've been working from home and sitting in a couch all day, trying not to move too much. It's been a real challenge because the skies have been blue over here in New York while I'm stuck indoors and long to go outside to have fun. I've tried to keep positive on my recovery, but uncertainty weighed on me and I got depressed. But I wasn't going to let things lie, so I did more research online and found some potentially helpful links. It seems that Dr Basamania has developed an IM pin method, which seems to have a high percentage of satisfaction with few complications.

Dr Basamania's physician page:
http://www.dukehealth.org/physicians/F389C81B5DCEAC8985256DFD006A9302

Testimonials for Dr Basamania:
http://cluster02.shoulder1.com/community/forums30.cfm/1366/11/1/recent
http://www.body1.com/talk/forums30.cfm?action=4&threadid=9826#28952

His procedure:
http://www.wheelessonline.com/ortho/im_pin_fixation_of_clavicle_frx

A perspective on clavicle breaks from someone who's broken both:
http://www.jpy.com/john/clavicle/

After reading the stories about Dr Basamania, I've become more optimistic about pathways to recovery. At the current time my shoulder area is still wrapped in bandages and I'm still trying not to force things.

There are a lot of cases in which malunion had long-term problems, so I'm really considering on consulting Dr Basamania.

I hope some of you find this useful.

I posted a comment a while back-- this is an update. I had a complete break about a 1/3 of the way from the shoulder. I'm 36 and athletic-- had to cancel plans to do the Hawaii 1/2 ironman (june) when this happened in March! ARRGH. Anyway, I'm at week 9, and getting pretty frustrated. The Xrays at week 8 looked the same, to my inexperienced eyes, as the Xrays taken right after my fall-- definitely still a big gap between the bone pieces. I've gotten to the point where I can (carefully) move my arm up enough to wash my hair with both hands, but it aches. If I move my arm around too much, the break point hurts. Of course I'm right handed and it's my right clavicle. Wore the figure 8 brace religously for 5 to 6 weeks, then stopped because it wasn't helping anymore. However, the docs think it's helped me not have a much of a bump... I, of course, think that the reason I don't have a bump is that IT'S NOT JOINING UP! Sigh. Exercise consists of alternating between a stair climber and a stationary bike. I can do some abdominal exercises if I'm careful. I tried running at week 7 but that was too soon-- the docs say that "bones like stability," so probably better not to run (yeah but how do you keep a clavicle "stable", anyway??) Next week I'm going to another set of doctors for a second opinion on the worth of surgery at this point. Apart from the limited arm mobility and pain at the joint (which isn't bad, honestly--well, not usually), the thing that's driving me crazy is that the 4th and 5th fingers on my right hand keep falling asleep/not working right. Plus my forearm hurts. Typing is hell. I feel sure it's related to the break, because this didn't happen before. Anyone experience this?? --Kiara

Kiara, the big gap between the bones is a legitimate cause for concern. A bump does signify overlap and makes it easier for the broken ends of the bones to join up and find each other during the healing process. The figure-8 brace's effectiveness should depend on the fracture. The brace pushes down on part of the clavicle and that might not work for some fractures and possibly force the bones in an unjoining position. Clavicles are very difficult to immobilize. You basically can't do anything because the clavicle is somehow used to so many activities. I hope that one of the doctors you visit will give you sensible advice.

Let me first publicly thank the gods of vicadin- for they have allowed me to sleep every night for the past 2 weeks relatively pain free.

About 2 weeks ago I was tackled from behind while playing rugby. I showed up at the ER and assured the nurse that on a scale of 1-10 the pain I was experiencing was most definitely an 8 or a 9 and was ushered to the front of the line. A sling, 2 percasets (spelling?) a prescription for vicadin, a box of tissues and two hours later I was a free woman.

I spent the first few days in bed, afraid of moving a centimeter in any direction for you all know the pains that would ensue. I watched far too much reality tv, did not shower and cried a lot. Then magically, about 5 days later it became easier to get out of bed and gasp, even shower! I felt better and better until I went to my orthopedist and he explained my x-rays in greater detail and told me that I broke my clavicle in 3 places. He then introduced me to my new best friend, my figure 8. With instructions to always stand, sit, and sleep like a marine I walked out with a new definition of good posture and 4 weeks of bonding with my new friend to look forward to.

Yes, breaking your clavicle is a horrible, painful thing to happen but I think it gives you a deeper appreciation for some of the simple things in live:

Spray deodorant
Button up shirts (but not button fly jeans- avoid those at all costs)
Pillows- as many propped up as possible. Designate your comfortable sitting areas in your home and make sure that no one removes a single pillow.
Vicadin and motrin- try not to miss a scheduled dose.

Finally, I did some reseach online and I'm sure most of you know the importance of getting plenty of calcium, but don't forget your multivitamin and vitamin c. IF anyone has any other tips for vitamins and minerals to take please share! Happy healing everyone!

On April 4/05 my clavicle was severely damaged in a cycling accident. There are now 4 pieces of the clavicle. The end piece is jagged and presses against the shoulder causing considerable pain. Since my accident my GP, surgeon and ccupational Therapist all have told me to not wear a sling. In fact they have been vehement about it. Yet I notice on the postings that many who have suffered clavicle breaks have been told to use a sling and keep the shoulder as still as possible.

Obviously what I have been told is exactly the opposite. Surgery had been ruled out until at least 6 months have passed since the accident.
I realise the immobilising the clavicle by wearing a sling gives the broken pieces of the clavicle a chance to fuse together whereas constantly moving the shoulder gives it no chance to do so.

What do you think of the two extremes, one of doing shoulder exercises every day and never wearing a sling, and the other of keep the shoulder as immobilised as possible?
And comments would be welcome.

Ron

Ron - I think the difference between others and yourself is that you are scheduled for surgery. And the surgery won't be for at least 6 months. Having a shoulder immobilized for a long period of time can lead to a frozen shoulder:

http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/frozenshoulder/a/frozenshoulder.htm

This condition can require a long recovery time with lots of therapy. For those with "simple" calvicle breaks, immobilizing is necessary during the time while the bones need to fuse. But I recall that my doctor had me taking my arm out of the sling several times a day to flex the arm at the elbow. Your docs recommending that you keep the arm and shoulder moving then makes sense. You mention having to do exercises but don’t mention the type. Are they simple exercises? Probably to help to keep from getting a frozen shoulder and your muscles atrophying.

So I think you should follow the advice of your GP, surgeon and occupational Therapist. That's three people giving the same advice and they are specialists.

Hans

P.s. If possible, post a comment on the site with an update on how it goes.

P.p.s. Don't let yourself get a frzon shoulder. I'm dealing with a shoulder injury at the moment and have gotten a case of it. It's no fun and worse than my broken collar bone.

Glad to find this site! I'm on week 3 since breaking my right collarbone in two places during judo training. Fortunately it looks like all the pieces are still neatly lined up end to end, albeit with a bit of a zig-zag. The doctor said I could have it pinned and plated to hold it in place but that it was only for cosmetic reasons. I turned him down on that to avoid unneccessary surgery. Everything seems to be sticking back together on it's own like he promised, so i'm just playing the waiting game now!

Thanks everyone for loads of information, I was amazed at just how similar an experience this is for many of us! And yes, I'd like to thank ibuprofen, button up shirts, hot showers and daytime tv.

Really nice blog to comfort me and my broken clavicle. I wish I had stumbled upon this site in the first week after I broke the bone !!! Thanks Laura for sharing your experience, and what a marvelous way to share :)
I was traveling in a bus and one of the rear tyres of the bus came off !!!! The bus overturned completely and the first thing I remember was waking up to blood trickling from somewhere near to my left ear. It so happened that the cartilege of my left ear was torn, probably because I fell on shards of broken glass, and was dangling from the rest of the ear. But the piercing pain in my left shoulder took my attention off the blood and the dangling cartilege.
I had a middle 1/3rd clavicle fracture with the bone breaking into 2 clean pieces. Fortunately the dislocation was moderate without any damage to the nerves.
I am into my 5th week already and healing slowly. The healing was real fast in the first three weeks. However since the last two weeks there isn't much progress. I am off pain killers and waiting for the day when I will be able shampoo the left side of my head !!

-- Jaha

Few things I would like to add to my post earlier. Since I broke my clavicle I have been examined by three doctors. The first doctor (Orthopod) put just the figure-of-8 brace and said I am good enough to travel 400KMs by rail. The next morning I went to another doctor, one more x-ray and he said I need a arm-pouch (sling) ALONG WITH the figure-of-8 bandage. He put some cotton padding below the figure-of-8 bandage to avoid blisters. It is month of April and I am in India where temperatures reach upto 40 degC. The figure-of-8 became too uncomfortable for the sweat and grime and I took it off in a fit of frustration and went to another doctor.
This gentleman opined that figure-of-8 has been discarded '15 years ago' as a therapy and the doctor who prescribed it must be out of his wits. He said I should keep JUST the sling and the clavicle should heal on its own.
I am into the fifth week and my left shoulder is noticeably shorter than my right shoulder. Don't know if getting rid of figure-of-8 was a right thing to do.
I would like to know what others think of Sling Vs. Figure-Of-8

-- Jaha

I was riding a week ago in the rain when I hit a set of train tracks at the wrong angle and ate the asphalt pretty hard. Got up swearing and clutching my shoulder, it was intensely painful but I thought I had dislocated it or something. Got X-rays that showed I had broken my left clavicle in 2 places. The ER doc (general practitioner) put me in a figure 8 and told me to keep my shoulders back because that would help the bones align properly. 6 days later I went to see an ortho doc and he told me that I could stop wearing the figure 8, that it was really only for my own comfort. When I related what the ER doc had said he smiled and said "nah, that's just witch-craft". I was confused but he continued that there was really no way to imobilize the clavicle and that it would heal up fine on it's own. He basically said that pain would keep me from doing anything that I shouldn't be doing. I have gotten a lot of mobility in the last 7 days and and am able to wash my face with both hands! However, the right armpit is still just out of reach, thus, the pit of dispair... (Rodents of Unusual Size? I don't beleive they exist! - sorry, the obvious Princess Bride reference had to be made)
The real crappy part of the whole situation is that I have been training for the last 8 months , and raised $2500, for a 600 mile, 7 day charity ride from San Francisco to LA which is happening in another week and a half. I am debating whether 2 1/2 weeks of healing is enough time to get back on the bike. Doctors have told me not to, but I would be so bummed to miss the ride after all this preperation. I am considering borrowing a recumbent from a friend and riding that. However, I would feel really stupid if I fell and hurt it again. So Frustrating!

-Zach

Hi all,

7 weeks into a broken left collar bone and my doctor tells me there's not much sign of union - a few white smudges on the ends that should lead to something, he thinks. Well I'm female and 55 and really thought I'd be back cycling and running by now so I'm a bit shat off.

I broke it April 12th, my fault, doing a really fast cycle in training for the Mooloolaba Triathlon. I figured I'd have a good chance of placing having done the full 1.5k swim, 40k cycle and 10 k run in under 3 hours at my first attempt one month previously. Anyway, 6.30am and dark, and I'm out on my bike. There's supposed to be no body else on this road at that time of the morning but there was another woman cyclist completely within her rights, zooming down the hill into the roundabout that i was also zooming in to. Except I didn't see her because of the trees until the last minute. I wobbled my way around her, hit the gutter on the other side and bang on to muddy grass ( it rained the night before) on to the point of my shoulder. Thank God I didn't hit the bitumen. Having acres of skin peel off is not fun - been there done that. I knew when I hit there was somethng wrong with my shoulder. From having no one on the streets, all of a sudden people appeared from everywhere with mobile phone. My daughter freaked out when I rang her to come and collect me. I insisted my new Giant bike be put in the car first, giving instructions through muffled pain to all the bystanders as to how to dismantle the two wheels. then off to the hospital. Do you want pain relief love?? No thanks, I'd just seen my mother die in a state of morphine induced euphoria, and didn't want to pass out completely - too much to do that day. Well we'll have to cut that shirt off you to take an exray. No way hosay. That's my best and most favourite cycling shirt. 10 minutes and 10 tonnes of pain later, my daughter wound the shirt off my back in one piece.

The xray showed a complete break in the distal third with overlapping of about 1 cm. Here's a collar and cuff and a prescription for panadeine forte and off you go. See you in 6 weeks. One tablet of panadeine forte later and I was off with the faries - so i started on Nurofen - and then eventually after a few weeks to just basic paracetamol every few days when the pain got real bad. I threw the collar and cuff on the first day - the weight around my neck caused worse pain and I developed a technique to wear a tight singlet and walk around clutching the opposite shoulder strap with my arm. This made me look normal when i went shopping and also was a lot less painful. Then I needed to get back to doing some exercise before I went bananas. Walking was OK but after 1km, my shoulder ached. So I tried the stationary bike at the gym where I could rest my arm on the bars.

Well I can tell you sitting on a stationary bike at the gym everday for 6 weeks is no fun. At least I'm up with all the latest video clips and know all the songs of Delta Goodrem and Bachelor Girl that my kids play. The pain went from be excruciating when I moved over the first 3 weeks, to almost better, and then for the last 3 weeks i now have this this chronic ache.

I really don't want an operation and I'm prepared to wait a little longer for the break to heal by itself. But my husband and i have booked this trekking tour around Mont Blanc and in Peru in 4 weeks time. And I'm definitely going - broken collar bone or not. I've re designed a back pack and will take loads of paracetamol, But I'm going.

Would like to hear from anyone my age - 55 - oh dear (maybe someone's trying to tell me I 'm too old to be out racing cycles) who's had a broken collar bone and how long it took to heal - with or without and operation.

Jan

Jan - Don't let anyone tell you that you are too old to ride or race! Here in Northern California we have many "old" cyclists. But you would never know since many of them can put younger riders to shame.

I would recommend you get a couple of opinions from doctors you trust. You might also consider seeing a physical therapist that's familiar with your type of injury. Mine has been more informative about the specifics of my injury that my doctors.

Also, if you haven't, read my two other "collar bone" entries (links at the top of the page) and the comments. More good information.

Take care,

Hans

I posted a comment several weeks ago, i'm into week 7 post break now. I'm not having much joy, been to fracture clinic, they didn't really tell me anything, didn't even show me the xray they did. The specalist did say that they would still consider grafting and plating for me, but it wasn't really advisable as there would be scarring and sometimes the plates need taking out.
Went to GP for second oppinion / explanation to help me understand.... Apparently i have crepising (sure i have spelt that wrong!) in my shoulder, little nodules of bone kinda makes a cracking sound when i move it now... Lucky enough i have two lumps and a ridge where i broke my bone on a diagonal! anyway, my GP referred me to the physio,as i was complaining of aching muscles, they can not do anything about the bone obviously but they can help you feel some relief with muscular aches and pains. My physio said she raely saw people with broken clavicle, only usually when things had gone wrong- often after plating! She did say to help ease an aching shoulder, as well as gentle excerises that they give you, to get someone to rub round your shoulder blade with an ice cube. It does work!
I still do not have the full range of movement in my shoulder, taking off a jumper still seems to make me look like Houdini. I have a vist to the specalist in 3 weeks, i just want to know now if, the slight pain will alway be there and never go away - in which case i'll just get on with things- but i don't want to jepadise any chance i may have of it fixing properly. Watch this space.

For those wondering how long it takes - well i think that's an individual case thing. (i know that's not helpful when you are sat there in week 2 of your break desperate for information) When i went back to work, i found loads of people who wanted to talk to me about their experiences, one who had fixed in 6 weeks and another who took 7 months to heal (a road cyclist who'd broken his collar bone in 3 places and when he felt ready to go back to work got in his car tried to take the hand break off and managed to rebreak his bone!)
Got back on the horse yesterday, who was responsible for the accident- he seems to have forgotten.

It's official, I'm healing! Four weeks after the crunch heard on the rugby pitch I went back to my doctor, got some x-rays and found that my bones are joining up. He made me lift my arm above my head, something I couldn't even know I could do without mind altering pain. We also discussed the fact that having a figure 8 splint while out at the bar can lead people on. You stand there, shoulders back, chest out and then when someone tries to hug you, playfully knock into you or something else you freak out and scream, "I have a broken collar bone, don't touch me!" Not that this happenned to me or anything. Ok, 4 weeks down, 4 weeks to complete recovery. Good luck everyone!

Hi Hans,

I was sorry to hear that you undergoing painful physio. I know that all of us with a serious clavicle injury have had more than our share of sharp, nasty pain. In my case calcification has set in and I have take 2 pain killers in 10 days. However there is concern about my injury. I visited my attorney yesterday and he read aloud from several surgeon’s reports. The pieces are out of alignment and I believe that only using pins now will allow them to line up. Also the report mentioned "fibroid" although I did not understand that.

(Edit - Hans) Fibroid = "Composed of or resembling fibers or fibrous tissue"

Of course I have been encouraged to use the shoulder a lot and that means that pieces have moved more. There are two fractures so I presume that means 3 pieces although I thought there were 4 pieces. I may have mentioned in a previous letter how similar my injury is to Lyndsey’s and yet how different our treatment has been. She kept her arm in a sling, then had surgery 2 weeks later. It is almost as if there is a "British school" of treating this injury and a "Canadian school". I phoned an Ortho’s office here to see what the wait time was for an appointment. The nurse in the office said that the surgeon in question simply did not do clavicle surgery.

I realise that there can be serious problems in inserting a plate.

1. Then there can be an increase in pain from it.
2. There is an increased chance of infection and of vascular problems.

A disconnected clavicle is a unusual injury. My GP and Occupational Therapist had never dealt with it before. Of course a simply clavicle break is much more common and usually much easier to treat.

I have a 5 lb weight limit for the arm. I just made a fairly heavy casserole. I may have exceeded 5 pounds with the affected arm in putting it into the oven. Oh well. The function of the arm is very good for strength and mobility. I can place the arm normally behind my back and elevate to 65 degrees from the horizontal. In fact use of the arm is almost back to pre-injury level except that I now have a weight restriction. Still I know that a lack of healing in the shoulder cannot be ignored. So we shall see what happens.

I am interested in knowing how your injury happened. Was it mountain biking down a trail, or was it in the city?

(Edit - Hans) My recent accident was from a MTB crash.

On April 4 I was cycling along a boulevard when a car door flung open and I had nowhere to go. It happened so very quickly. I had numerous injuries but all have disappeared except the clavicle injury. The motorist was given a ticket since the liability was clearly hers. As far as the insurance goes there is no question about who is at fault. Still there is a saying "The graveyards and hospitals are filled with people who were in the right in traffic."

The woman has my address from the accident report but she has never written to apologize. What a difference! I have to live with this for the rest of my life and she has an increase in her insurance rates. Some difference!

Obviously I get depressed at times, I would not be human if I did not. Just one small example of the change in lifestyle. I used to occasionally use the Internet terminal at the library. Well I tried it yesterday and found that keyboard is so high up that using it irritated my arm and shoulder. So I won’t use that again. How do you deal with depression?

(Edit - Hans) I've been lucky and haven't had to deal with it. Maybe others will have suggestions.

Sometimes I beat up myself for cycling on the streets when I knew that an accident for a cyclist could turn very ugly indeed. I always realised that the lack of protective clothing meant that it would take little for a cyclist to become seriously injured. Now I know that first hand. A few weeks before the accident I had a close call when I made a mistake, got into the wrong lane and was almost destroyed by a double-Decker bus. The incident shook me badly and should have been a wake-up call to understand how deadly is could be to cycle in the city. That losing focus for just a moment could have deadly consequences. However I was too arrogant to reach the logical conclusion. How I have paid for that lack of insight!

Victoria, BC has a strong culture of cycling. It has the highest percentage of the population who cycle of any Canadian city. The weekly newspaper just had 2 articles about cycling in the city and the government offers its employees inducements to cycle to work. Sadly the motorists are particularly slow witted and unpredictable. Despite this culture there are only a couple of bike pathways for recreation, none which can be used to go from A to B. Some of the streets are dangerously narrow.

I spoke to a fellow recently who has a wife and baby. He was recounting several close calls he has had. I tried to convince him that it was not fair to his family to keep cycling to work when he could use the bus. For example one day he was cycling in the normal position on the right when a car in front suddenly turned right, leaving him with nowhere to go. His bike slid under the car but he was unhurt. I said "For God’s sake learn from what happened to me! You just have to have one close call that turns tragic to be hurt for life. Think of your family and where they would be if you became disabled." Of course he did not listen.

That’s the trouble. Once so many of us get into urban cycling we think that we have experience and that serious injury cannot happen to us. Well, it sure can. Ironically I had been cycling fairly slowly as a safety measure in the weeks before the accident. . However I was going down a gently descending hill and let the hill carry my bike instead of braking. It is amazing how much damage can happen to a cyclist at a fairly slow speed.

It is strange that there is no protective clothing for cyclists. For example what about wearing a Kevlar vest? Would a vest that protects against bullets also protect against impact in a cycling accident? I am not aware of anyone trying to develop such shock-proof clothing.

(Edit - Hans) There is gear that is sold for downhill or extreme riding. It's similar to motocross gear but lighter weight.

I want to end by thanking you for starting the forum It is a great asset to have a place where one can share experiences and learn more about conditions like disconnected clavicle.

Finally, I was wearing a good helmet when the accident happened. Even so I had a severe concussion. Without the helmet well...

Hi All,

Broken Clavicle here. almost 3 weeks now. Lots of back pain and shoulder pain that seem to be residual of my bone not healing straight, we will see in a few days w/ follow up xray.

I want to suggest this brace http://www.shouldersback.net/. It may not be for use the first week, but it is definitely more comfortable than the traditional fig of 8 brace. I recommend it to anyone who has a broken clavicle...and you will look somewhat normal too!

Sure is nice to know one is not alone, although this is not a club I would recommend that everyone join.

May 25th - I went high side dump off my mt. bike and collided with Earth. I don't think it moved, but my collar bone did.

I broke it about as far out as you can on the middle third..borderline distal. I think I'm lucky because the gap between the bones is about 1-2mm.

I am wearing a figure 8 harness, but may use the sling with it. I notice that I get pain in the trap muscle, kneck, pectoral and the opposite muscle on the back. I think the impact transferred to rib cartilige and/or muscles/tendons. I get a lot of muscle aches depending on position. anyone shed some light on this?

Of course, the timing on this could not be worse. Supposed to be in China now and have postponed for a month. That would be 5 1/2 weeks after the intial break. I got a sling/harness 6 days after breaking it.

So, I know most are not doctors but seasoned veterans of this injuries, what do y'all think about me travelling 5 1/2 weeks after breaking? I get pic's of this on Monday to see the progress and understand that is what will dictate my ability to do anything.

I look forward to all replies and hope everyone that has posted a story about their own break is healing well.

Best Regards,

Tim
38yr old male.

Tim - Sorry to hear about your crash. Take a quick look at my other 'collar bone' entries that are linked at the top of the page. Your break is similar to the one I had but I had a larger gap. I was back on my bike a month later and touring Europe. So a quick recovery is possible.

The muscle pain you are experiencing may be from bruising, strains, etc. from the accident. But some of it, such as in the opposite muscle on the back, is probably caused by compensation for the damage. The muscles opposite of an injury work to protect the injured site. This leads to muscle fatigue, soreness, tightness, etc.. I'm dealing with that now for a new shoulder injury.

Hope you heal fast. Let us know how it goes.

It sure is "nice" to hear of other broken clavicals...
About 10 years ago, I was on my 3 wheeled scooter....and somehow, I fell over sideways on my left arm/should/clavical and proceeded to break my clavical with the end of it protruding up thru the skin, not out just a big hump
Doctors said, I could get operated on and get back ~ 75% of range of motion.....and being on Medicare it was decided not to be done by doctors for whatever reason.....
About 3 years prior to that clavical break. I had a severe head injury from a motocycle accident, which made my WHOLE left side (arm and leg) paralyzed-like. I've learned to live on my own with that....for those 10 years..
Then a few days ago, I stumbled and fell on that broken clavical
Hurt like a ^&^!. So I got it xrayed again, only to show the gap between the break was still the same, only gap was farther apart. being "lucky" to live with this condition 10 years prior
life for me has changed little for me....I live with that constant ache.....Thank god for Ibuprofin!! lol