Um, I could not imagine swimming with a broken collarbone, nor the damage that COULD be done in 2.4 miles. At this point you'd basically be into the "barely healed" period for the bone provided the fracture wasn't that bad.

That said, everything depends on the severity of the break. In my case the bone separation was 8cm's and I had no choice but to have surgery. Two hours later I had a bitchin plate and 11 screws.

Bob

Mine was 10 weeks. Broke it on May 1st, surgery May 2nd for titanium elastic nail. Raced rev 3 Quassy 70.3 on June 2 or 3rd. I had no fitness half way thru the bike and suffered the run. Raced IMLP July and was ok on the swim in the no wetsuit category, good on the bike, lost all fitness at mile 13 on the run.

Very doable.

By the way, the male or female assos model......

My friend broke his 6 weeks before Kona. (Training accident, of course. Rode into a dog.)

It was his first, and probably only, chance to go to 'the big dance', so he naturally didn't want to miss it. He had an operation to have it pinned, and completed the race without too much drama. When he had his next check-up it was found that he had pulled the pin clear out of the bone, and he had to go under the knife again. He thinks he did that putting his luggage in the overhead locker on the flight home. Hmmmm.

I broke my collar bone (and 11 other bones, and some other stuff) 3 weeks before IM one year. There wasn't much to consider - I could barely walk. I had to be a brave little soldier to even have sex. I don't know how soon I could have raced again, but there was a huge difference between how it felt for a couple of weeks and how it felt a month later. I'm sure the calm, impartial medical advice is to give it a miss. I would personally probably ignore that advice, but you might be smarter than me.

I only seperated my shoulder...i can not imagine pulling down water with you hands/arm/shoulder after only 2months of breaking your collar bone. Hope you have a high threshhold for pain :0) btw.... Hope it was notnyour butt wiping side, man did that hurt. Kind of wish i had a bidet (sp?) to do it for me when i seperated mine.

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If you're running already, that's impressive. I was able to ride easy on the trainer after 2 days, but it took around 5 weeks to start running. My bone stitched together right at 6 weeks. I wasn't swimming for about 8 weeks, but our only pool is outside and it gets pretty cold in the winter. That was a good enough excuse for me. When you start doing activities, don't overdo it. If your shoulder starts to hurt, stop doing what you're doing. Pretty simple. Younger people heal quicker than older people. I'm 41. My teammates 4-yo daughter broke her collarbone a couple weeks after I did and was fully healed in a few weeks. I was racing (bikes) about 8 weeks post-break.

Try the different slings (regular and figure 8), and stretch your shoulder as soon as you can to keep it limber. Stretching it out in front for a pull during the swim is still a bit rough. Initiating the pull took a few sessions before it really felt good too.

I used the figure 8 brace instead of the regular sling and I liked it a lot better. Doctors don't really recommend them any more as they don't help healing better than a normal sling but many people swear by them. The sling is more for pain relief than anything. the figure 8 allows more mobility and still keeps the shoulder pretty immobile. Good luck!

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Thanks for the responses. It seems like there's a wide range of outcomes and recovery periods for collarbone breaks. I had a pretty good session on the trainer tonight and followed it with a short run afterwards with no real problems. I'm going to keep doing this for a couple more weeks then make a decision. My break is on the edge near where it attaches to the shoulder and the two sides have good contact so I may be able to heal faster than average. My doctor said that if any kind of movement causes pain then don't try and push through it, but if you can ride your trainer or do an easy run without pain then it's probably OK.

Dude you sound just like the girl in this video, stay in touch with your doctor who can look at the information & x-rays etc. and give you a proper informed opinion!

We do not know the intimate details of the damage, you seriously risk damaging yourself in the long term if it's not properly healed... and what for?

It sounds like my break was worse, but I decided on surgery to try to ensure the return of full range of motion. I'm a swimmer so reduced movement in my shoulder was not really an option. I had surgery one month post accident (VA healthcare). My recovery was about 4 weeks before I was in the pool swimming one armed, and by 5 weeks I was running and riding. I took it very easy though. I wanted to make sure my injury healed. Better to give it time then and let it heal, than to push it and end up with complications for the rest of my life.

jake

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Get outside!

I had a class 1 separation and a non-displacement fracture. My dr didn't even give me a sling. I was running in 3 weeks. Recovery from my appendectomy last month has taken longer :(

Broke my clavice 6.5 weeks prior to my IM. No surgery required, but I don't ever want to see my xray again :)

rode on the trainer slowly, to guage the pain/comfort level, 10 days after the break

started running 2 weeks after the break

started biking on the road 3 weeks after the break

did a 100 mile ride 2 weeks prior to the IM

Started swimming again 2-2.5 weeks prior to the IM

Finished the IM faster than 50% of the field.

I had two issues during the race

1. swim was very slow. I didn't want to do anything to cause imflamation or pain. I veered off course a lot more than normal due to one side of the shoulder being stronger than the other

2. getting in and out of aero was a slow motion process. If you are riding a tri bike, I suggest that you get out of aero way way way sooner than you normally do.

The one thing I did that might be a good idea for you is to stop taking the pain meds as quickly as you can tolerate. It will give you a better indication of where you are on the pain tolerance side. You can't take pain killers during the race, so getting off of them during training will give you a better assessment.

If your goal is to finish, you can definitely do it. Good luck :)

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My marathon PR is "under three, high twos. I had a two hour and fifty-something."

3 weeks for the initial recovery but it took me a year to improve my PRs in my best events, this was as a 12 -13 year old swimmer. I still ran, kicked in the pool and swam 1 arm drills for that time frame. I only took 3 days off after I crashed.

Get back in the pool and work on your kick it will help more than you think, especially if you are swimming without a wetsuit. If you don't have good swim fins get some. I know a gal who did great white north half and swam 1 arm freestyle, she was under 32 with one arm.

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Have actually broken my collarbone 4 times.. however all of them were far before I ever started triathlon. In my case they all occurred playing hockey and the diagnosis was usually to be out 6 weeks before I was able to resume full contact sports again. I always found that by around week 3 the tenderness and pain from moving the shoulder around had gone away and at that point I was allowed to resume skating and by about 4-5 weeks I was able to start weight bearing (at the time this was weight training and pushups) again. If I was able to start running into people at full speed after 6 weeks I don't see much reason why you couldn't be swimming again by then

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Team Every Man Jack

I broke my collarbone 4.5 weeks out from my first IM, IMLP in 2007.
I come from a swim background which was a huge help. I wore a sleeveless wetsuit, pretty sure I couldn't get it into sleeves on race day. I swam a 1:03. I was able to swim 1000 yards 2 weeks and 2 days from the crash.
On the bike I lost a bunch of fitness (managed a few 2 hour trainer rides, one 4 hour trainer ride and only one outdoor ride of 2 hours). I was worried about grabbing water bottles - ended up being a non-issue. Aero position actually felt perfect, didn't feel different at all.
On the run - well - I walked a large portion of it. My long run was at 15 miles and I had also done a 13 miler. I was really happy to just be able to start and finish the race!

My Doctor had said that he would allow me to compete in the IM but that he didn't think I could finish.

Turns out, it never healed. And I have chosen to never get it fixed surgically. I still swim fine (again, swimming background helps) and other than rock climbing or other random sports, I am fine. I have just had a broken bone for 5 years. My Doctor wasn't really sure if it would have ever healed. He said that many never heal but never bother people so they don't go back to the Doctor.

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Take your time to heel and follow Doctors orders.

I broke mine and had to have surgery...I tried to get back into the swing of things way to fast...Then was faced with a second surgery to replace the screws and plate (new drill holes, opening, etc)....

There will always be Ironmans, races, etc. Get healthy so you can train and race without worry or concern.


HTH.

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http://cmkracing.blogspot.com

Hey Ckotte,

How are you doing now after that experience? I am getting a plate installed in February and am worried about these complications. Also, for those of you who had surgery - did you have the plate removed once the fracture healed? I am thinking I will probably want this because I am thin.

B

Doing well.

Plate is still in. Not sure that I have the need to ever take it out. Arm feels strong and I can do everything I could pre-injury.

Of course, I now need to go out and ride my bike.

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http://cmkracing.blogspot.com

I broke my left collarbone 3 times in 12 weeks when I used to road race motorcycles. I had 3 races, each 4 weeks apart - crashed on the same collarbone each time. After I crashed on it the 3rd time, I didn't even go to the ER, because I had a checkup the next day from accident #2. I didn't say anything about #3 when I went in…they x-rayed it, and put me in a room to meet with the doctor. The doc did a side-by-side comparison with how it looked 4 weeks prior, and had a dumbfounded look. He said, "it doesn't appear to be healing at all, in fact it looks worse than it did 4 weeks ago and is shaped more like a V." I then informed him of accident #3, and told me to hold on a minute and left the room. He left the door cracked a little, and I heard him approach a group of technicians/doctors, and say "you'll never believe this…."

You're lucky if running is a possibility that soon after your break.

I broke mine snowboarding in 2006. The break was so bad it punctured a lung. I also sprained my jaw and knocked myself unconscious (I don't snowboard so much anymore). I had that awful 'figure 8' brace plus an arm sling for 3 solid months before I could even think about doing any sudden movements. If I moved too quickly with my upper body my chest muscles would spasm to keep my bone in place. Since the bone had completely separated it needed to grow back together. Now its good as new. All I can say is listen to your doc. If they advice against doing something put some serious thought into it. Better to think long term.

TLDR: breaking your clavicle sucks

After my clavicle didn't heal, I had surgery to have a plate and nine screws put in. That was 16 months ago. The only time I really notice the plate is when I carry a heavy bag or backpack with the strap directly over the plate. Otherwise, it has not bothered me at all. The concern was that, since I am thin, it would bother me quite a bit, but that has not been the case. At this point, I don't plan to have the plate removed.

Richard

Thanks for the replies, guys!

How about the scar? Does that bother you at all? After 16 months I assume it is no longer red but white and hardly noticeable? Any numbness?

I appreciate the quick info!

B

It's a great scar! Actually, my orthopaedic surgeon did a really nice job of following the contours of my clavicle. I'm not a person that develops keloids, so the scar is not too big. It is red, not white, but that's probably because of my pigmentation. So, it is noticeable, but not bad and doesn't bother me at all. No numbness over the area. Make sure to cover the scar when you go out in the sun. It's less likely to become hyperpigmented.

Richard

Sounds cool! Haha. I'm sure the redness will fade with time too. Can you see or feel the plate? I am surprised that the hardware doesn't bother you if you are a skinny guy. I am 5'11" 160 lbs so I am a lighter build but I like to think I have enough meat on me for it to not be too noticeable. It can't be any worse than the spiky bone sticking out of my shoulder right now anyway! My bone healed in a "malunited" position (kind of like ^ but not so severe) which causes tenting of the skin and other functional problems like strength/endurance. The idea is to re-break the bone and line it back up in the right position. Should be a fun ride...

B

If you went for a run after 9 days you didnt break it like I did. Mine was split completely into two after a snowboarding accident and for two weeks I was sitting in bed (sleeping like that too). I was on heavy painkillers and it took a couple of months before I could do light exercise (including one-armed waterskiing on my honeymoon!). I did not have an op as I didnt want a scar. Bit of a lump now but otherwise no issues. I think if it's just cracked and you can run now you will be fine to race in May. Swimming will be the toughest thing to get back to obviously, but as you say, do what you can closer to the race. Good luck!

I guess "to each their own" because I would much rather a scar than the big lump of bone sticking up off my shoulder. You can see it popping up through a t-shirt!

Actually you can hardly notice it. If I run my fingers over it, then yes, I can feel it, but it is not really apparent to the eye. A scar would be more prominent. I went with the doctor's advice, which was basically: get an operation and heal more quickly, or leave it to nature and have it less noticeable.

Ah, I see. Mine must be worse than yours then. Hence the symptomatic malunion I am dealing with after leaving it for 3 years!

The shoulder blade on the broken side has also "winged" out and I have pain under my scapula. It sucks.

That sucks. I wore a very painful figure-eight brace for a month, so that may have helped keep stuff aligned, though maybe you did too. Mine was 10 years ago.

Well, I'm not quite as thin as you are (5'6", 135#), but you can definitely feel my plate, even through clothes. And you can see it as well. I also had a non-union and had daily back spasms. The day after my surgery, the back spasms were gone. And my strength is back to pre-fracture levels. Good luck with the surgery.

Richard

I fractured my clavicle in a cycling crash in late June and had surgery 2 wks later. During the first week after surgery, it was painful, but this improved. I did not do too much for the three weeks following surgery, and then I started doing some light activity, such as spinning on the trainer in a sling and running with a sling. By about 8 wks, my clavicle was feeling pretty normal (I specified "clavicle" as I had some other injuries so the rest of me and my fitness was a little slower to get back than I hoped). One thing that I still notice is an area on my upper chest and part of my upper arm is numb from the surgery incision, and it sounds like it may be that way permanently.

Regarding the plate. I do think I will have it removed. The surgeon said that I would have to wait for at least 6 months after this past summer's surgery before the plate could be removed. I find that I am aware that the plate is there at least 50% of the day. I can't place a bag on that shoulder and sports bras can be very aggravating (but I'm guessing the latter won't be an issue for you!). However, from talking with others, it sounds like most people don't have issues with the plate.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Teammate just crashed in a practice crit 3 days ago and still did a 4 hour ride after. Went to get it x-rayed and had a complete break in one spot and a hairline fracture in another. He is really sore, but has been still riding his road bike 3 hours a day - just without much standing and pressure on it. He is also an animal and this is his 4th break...

Fractured the right one 4 times, no surgeries.

age 6, basketball
age 16, hockey
age 17, football (4 months after previous break, separated at the healing site)
age 19, mountain biking in Switzerland

Wore the figure 8 brace every time. I'm a little asymmetrical now and don't have quite the same range of motion as the left arm (95%), but it doesn't affect triathlon at all, or any other sport. As long as the 2 ends are in the same room together it'll heal.

Sounds just like mine. Sleeping while having to sit up in bed was the worst. Although, the pain meds were quite nice : )

I did a number on my left clavicle last April In a road race. Bone was almost sticking though my skin. Had surgery with plate and screws and was on the trainer in three days. Running a couple of weeks later. I have to say my Md did an awesome job at Brigham and Woman's Hospital in Boston. I am completely pain free with full range of motion. To anyone who is a candidate for surgery, I highly recommend it......assuming it is done by a good surgeon.

I feel much better and less clutzy after reading this. I've broken both of mine. One getting dumped in Hockey and one low siding on a motorcycle. Six to eight weeks to heal each time but I wasn't training at the time. For the hockey one, it was near the end of the season so just started the next season. For the motorcycle, I had someone take me for a ride after 1 week (boy, is that scary), then after 2 weeks I was back on the bike (but not at the track for a few weeks longer).

In each case I didn't get any plates or screws, I had a the clavicle broken in 2 places. Had to sleep on my good side with my injured arm behind me so it stretches my shoulder back, then the sling and compressions strap during the day. Until the pain had subsided and I was off the pain meds.

There will always be the chance to enter a Tri. I'd talk with your doc about level of exercise and when to return to what activity, especially the swim part.

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BC Don
Pain is temporary, not giving it your all lasts all Winter.

I broke mine 6 weeks from imlp. Did nothing but sit on trainer for four weeks. Running was painful and swimming almost impossible. I went for the reverse taper and lots of art during the last two weeks. I had good day. I did not push the pace and enjoyed the day. Embrace the day and be grateful for what you have.

I fractured my collarbone in a bizarre tuba accident when I was thirteen. I dropped my tuba on myslef from a high shelf. The mouthpiece which had been stuck for months hit me on my collarbone and broke it halfway through. It healed quickly but It's noticably thicker in that area of the bone. On the bright side, the mouthpiece popped free. I forgot about the athletic tie-in. I set the school situp record two weeks after that.

Some pretty interesting stories here. Good to read! Below is an x-ray of my malunion that is from just a few months ago. As you can see the two bone ends were touching so they formed a bond but at a terrible angle and there is a spike of bone still sticking up there. The idea is to cut along the original fracture site and then realign everything to restore the anatomy of the skeleton.

That does not look like fun. Best of luck to you!

Good luck on your operation.
I injured mine last April mountain biking. Took it real careful @ Leadville in August. Just getting back to semi-normal. Weights and easy swimming were my cure. That's after stopping all swimming from September to just last week.

Thanks for the kind words, guys. I'm guessing it will not be fun at all but I have mixed feelings of nervousness and excitement to restore the length of my shoulder and hopefully feel some balance come back with time.

That's almost exactly what mine looks like from 2003! I didn't have surgery & they just put me in a Figure 8 brace & said go for it. I still have the awkward bump of bone (my sports bra straps always get weird, seat belts sometimes bother me too) & I'm a really good predicter of weather changes. My left shoulder is about .5" shorter than my right & it gets REALLY sore if I stand or carry a purse/backpack for too long still. But I'm functionally fine, just a little unique.

I did my first triathlon about 8wks later. It's been fine through about 30tri, didn't give me an problems with Silverman in 2008 & I swam a 10mi swim last fall.

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AW

The thing is you can live with it like this but I'd just really rather not (have been for years now). Recent studies have shown that surgery can provide very satisfactory results in active individuals. People are also a lot more satisfied with the shoulder aesthetically after surgery. This is not a good enough reason alone to want to go through with it but I guess it comes down to the fact that each person and break is different and it will affect everyone differently. I am able to use the arm fine most days but the fact is I am 26 years old and have a lot of life ahead of me. I'd prefer to live out the rest of those years with a straight collar bone if possible.

As a swimmer, I opted for the surgery to ensure that I had a higher rate of success on achieving full range of motion again. I consulted with several doctors and did my own research, and the surgery option is looking to be a better option these days. (surgery is never a good option for me)

I had the surgery, was in a sling for a week, then I was just very stiff trying to move for a little while. But I regained movement fairly quickly, I didn't do any PT, I got in the pool as soon as the stitches were out and start with one arm swimming (good shoulder only), then slowly integrated my rebuilt shoulder. I regained full range of motion, and the only downfall I have seen so far is the scar, which is not a big deal to me. 2 years later, I am very happy with my choice to go with the surgery.

Good luck!

jake

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Get outside!

Chicks dig scars! A scar is a lot better than a deformed shoulder. At least normal looking.

2 years later your scar must just be a thin line barely noticeable though?

A few years back I had broken my collar bone in 5 places (4 pieces) and they thought it would heal about 1" shorter and warned of all the future problems that it could cause. I opted for the surgery and have no regrets. The surgeon did brag that he "had to get a bit creative" because it was the second time I broke it so he had to bend the plate to fit the previous break. I have full range of motion and no real issues since. I do still have some areas along and just below the scar with no feeling but that is a price I was willing to pay to have normal use of my arm.

I dig the scar, my girlfriend is kind of grossed out by it.

It hasn't gone away, but I haven't done anything to make it go away, but it is still there for sure. But it doesn't bother me at all.

jake

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Get outside!

Well it will never go away. You can probably do things to try to minimize its appearance but a surgical scar will never fully fade. Is it not more white than red now though?

Trust me, your girlfriend would probably be a lot more grossed out by a bone sticking out of your shoulder than a scar. The girl I'm seeing says she is excited to unwrap my new scar after surgery. She's a weird duck though. Says she will be my nurse though so god bless her.

Do you work out? How soon did you return to resistance or weight training? I'm scared of losing weight during the 3 months off working out that my doctor has informed me of. I am allowed to do cardio running/stationary bike fairly soon so I can stay in somewhat shape but with my body type and build I wouldn't be surprised if I got really skinny free 3 months. I've worked really hard to reach 160 lbs over the past year or two.

I broke mine severely several years ago, requiring plate and 12 screws. I tried to come back too fast, and eventually gave up and let it completely heal. I can't beleive you are running already. I would drop out of the IM or do it purely off trainer fitness. But that's just me. BTW, I left the plate and screws in. I love the scar and lumps, and everything works perfectly now. I also know others that are back mountain biking within 6 weeks of their surgery.

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Damn, that's a cold ass honkey.

I wasn't given surgery as an option, was actually dissuaded from it. I probably would've had it if given the choice. I probably would now if it bothered me, but I'd worry the adaptation period from where everything has settled would cause more problems than help.

Mine shattered into 4 ragged & random pieces when I was 22, less than a month before I graduated college. I'm glad the recommendations seem to have shifted back to surgery recommendations. I was told to give up crit racing - if I crashed & did that again it would be a serious problem...haven't raced a bike only since that day.

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AW

Crashed my bike and broke my clavicle 24 days before IM MOO last year.I had given up on the idea of racing because of the pain, but my pain went way down the Thursday of race week. I figured I had already paid, so I would at least give it a try. I went in figuring I would drop out if the pain came back, but it held up and I was able to finish. I wasn't able to train at all from the time of the crash to the race but my fitness allowed me to finish. I just went into the day with a positive attitude- YMMV

I stopped lifting. It's not that I don't trust it, but I would just rather give it a few years to get better.

I don't have trouble with the weight gain or loss problem, I stay the same no matter what I do.

I'm not hating on my scar at all. I think it looks kinda cool. My girlfriend is fine with it.

I was swimming literally the day after the bandage came off. It was healed for the most part.

jake

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Get outside!

That's cool. It seems that's more your choice than anything because my doctor says lifting should be okay to start again after 3 months. Obviously will need to start really low and work my way back up though. I am working out 3 or 4 days per week right now and the shoulder with the broken clavicle (seen in my x ray earlier) drives me mad most days. I really do wish I had surgery right after the fracture.

The good news is that I have done a lot of research, read studies and discussed with my doctor and the outcomes of acute fixation vs. delayed surgery are pretty much the same. It just means I will have to go through the downtime and healing process another time.

It's good to hear that it doesn't bother you, AWARE. Mine felt good for a couple of years actually and then it decided to wake up when I began exercising harder and playing lots of golf. I think it must be from the way the muscles have all been pushed off but I noticed last summer I was unable to even get through 18 holes. Unfortunately the surgery will put me off the course for at least 4 months so I am not happy about that but I would rather take some down time and let the thing heal straight so I can be better off later in life.

Well, my surgery is tomorrow! I will be sure to update here when I am feeling up to it. I am sure there are other "Googlers" out there on this subject who will be glad to come across a thread like this with information.

My girlfriend says I ruined Valentines Day ;) Haha, I will still surprise her, one armed and all!

Cheers,
Brad

I broke mine and it looked similar to this. Got body slammed in high school and it just snapped. I had to wear a figure 8 brace for 6 weeks. It healed pretty well but I have a weird shoulder pop sometimes. I never broke it again and it hasn't been an issue with any exercises or swimming or anything else.

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Hah! Broke mine last week, surgery as well. Curious how recovery runs the gamut. Strenuous walking is too much for me so I cannot even imagine running or even holding myself stable on my trainer. Though we'll see - bike gets back from the shop in a few days; might try to set it up.

Ironman 6-months to the day out from break date. Doable but recovery should be interesting if I still want to have a competitive race.

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Rusch Racing | website | @maggieru | Instagram
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I had the surgery 10 days ago and am starting to feel a bit better each day. The first week was pretty painful but now it is just some lingering soreness/aches that occur late in the day. There is still lots of stiffness and tightness in the shoulder area which takes at least a month to subside. I do have some numbness around the incision area which may or may not diminish with time. The whole shoulder girdle actually already feels better than it did for the 3 years it was all out of shape. My scapula is back in place now and my shoulders are more broad and symmetrical (even with the swelling). I no longer have a big lump of bone sticking up off my shoulder.

Next question is whether or not to remove the plate later on... Will have to wait and see how my body agrees or disagrees with it.

All in all I would recommend the surgery to anyone with a severely displaced fracture or a very shortened/angulated malunion.

Brad

I broke mine on a final spin-the-legs ride before riding the 2007 Tour de France route. To recover I decided to suck it up and ride 2300 miles over the next 21 days. It hurt, but beat the alternative of flying home or bouncing around in the back of the support RV.

Agree. I broke my left collar bone last April. Will try to post a picture. It was bad and almost cut and popped out of my skin. Surgery with plate. I was on the trainer in three days. Yes it was uncomfortable. I did my own P.T. took the sling of in a week and only put it on during doctor visits. I recovered very fast doing my own therapy and now have full range of motion and no pain. The plate does not bother me at all. if it does at some point, I will consider removing but for now it is fine. Had a great surgeon at Brigham and Womans Hospital in Boston.

Mind if I ask what specifically might have messed up the original surgery/screws?

Broke mine 2 weeks ago and just now starting back on walking and trainer rides. I've noticed that I can feel it moving around more than I like when speed walking (not pumping my arms, just can feel it from my stride) and then I've had more residual pain since starting the walking.

Trying to find the fine line between recovery and getting ready for an August IM...

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Nothing should be moving ( screws and hardware ). It may just feel like its moving. If plate is loose go see your surgeon ASAP

Broke mine 10 days ago. Ran 6m and then a 22m before I knew it was a broken bone not just soreness. Thankfully then to taper mode for a marathon in 3 weeks that I plan to do unless the xray next week suggests otherwise. Running does't hurt so I am hoping no harm...Would like to get on the trainer but am worried about that--will wait until the xray and doc opinion.

you're THE assos model..uhhh, which one...male or female.

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47M. I'll wait to find out what that means before I say "thanks". ;-) A little help please?

17 days out and green light from doc. Bones are coming together and no risk of further displacement (without another fall) from my normal activity. Sling only if I want (and I don't). So in my case the running from day one didn't do any harm. Start PT on thursday, marathon on sunday, will try pool monday if I can get my arm over my shoulder... Same for bike trainer if I can get into position. Have been using a more upright bike at the Y in the interim.

thanks for the stories. tomorrow i go to have surgery scheduled. Supposedly the er told me a plate since the distal end is in a few pieces.

Any more plate stories?

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Have had mine about 6.5 years now, no issues with it. Good luck!

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"You can never win or lose if you don't run the race." - Richard Butler

Going on 2 years since I broke mine into 4 pieces after wiping out on gravel on a descent. Plate is in there, one screw protrudes slightly, but I have very little skin numbness. I don't do heavy overhead weights, but I bench press (I never max out) and have full range of motion.

My physical therapist SUCKED and I stopped after two sessions.

You'll be tempted to call BS on this last bit but . . . the only times is bothers me swimming are near then end of a workout when my stroke begins to break down--a deep-water pull begins to hurt, but the pain doesn't happen when I focus on vertical forearm and high elbow.

Good luck with the surgery.

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What are you people, on dope?

—Mr. Hand

Did my marathon 3 weeks out no problem, no time off due to break. Since I started PT things have been much more uncomfortable than in the sling (out to run). Swim try at 3 weeks didn't work. News flash: You need to be able to lift your arm over your shoulder to swim! Ended up doing one arm free and even that not pain free. Bike on trainer a bit better but still bearing more weight than shoulder wanted last week. Pain is limited where the break was, but more or less also floats around to upper arm, back and lat.

Ugh, sorry to hear that. Good call on the surgery - that's really the way to go. Right now I'm 11 weeks out from my surgery (broke in three places, 7 screws (plus some back issues from the car that hit me) and am now 100% on running/biking and swimming is good but still feels "soft"). The great news is that if you have a decent base, I found that I barely lost much of my fitness since I was able to keep biking/walking. I'm basically as good as new, have just lost a little bit of power on the bike and endurance on the run.

Let's see - was biking on the trainer one-week out, just low power. Since I wasn't allowed to put pressure on my upper body and lean forward, I rotated my aerobars toward me so I was able to sit straight up and hold on, like this. This made a world of a difference and I spent less time shifting around, trying not to fall off my bike.

Doc didn't let me run until 8 weeks out but I'm pretty sure I would have been fine starting back at 6 or 7 weeks. In the interim, I went on lots of long, boring power walks in the sling and spent a lot of time on the stair-climber. I didn't discover the stair-climber until like week 5 - if I had to do it again, I would spend more time on that or on a high-incline treadmill because the powerwalking did aggravate the collarbone somewhat.

On swimming - doc was conservative again and said 9-10 weeks. I definitely eased into this - not because it hurt but because there definitely was some missing muscle or something where the cut into me. Wish I had been a little better on rehab because I had to ease into it not to overwork the muscle (so all about the surrounding site and not necessarily the bone here).

Tips for right after recovery - some swear by sleeping in a chair but I just bought some of those bed risers for college kids and doubled up under the headboard so my upper body was elevated in bed at all times. I also created a pillow fort around me to keep myself from rolling over. If you can rent one of those ice machines that pumps cold water into pads around the injury site, I highly recommend it. I was hooked into that constantly for the first 4-5 days and it was absolutely amazing.

Good luck with surgery and recovery - you'll be fine!

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Rusch Racing | website | @maggieru | Instagram
Ask me about: Alto Cycling | Cuore | Base Performance | XTERRA Wetsuits | Cadence Run Company | First Bourn. Coached by: Desert Dude

I've broken my left clavicle twice and my right once; the latest was almost 5 years ago to the day. I was going for a ride on my mountain bike when my son, MiniGadget, asked me if I wanted to go to the dirt-jump park with he and a friend. I thought some quality time with my son at the DJ park would be a good idea.

After rolling through the beginner line numerous times, I started carrying a bit more speed and getting a little air with each pass. MG and his friend suggested I try rolling through the intermediate line. Several passes later I cleared the table-top on the first two jumps and felt great approaching number three. I landed, my front wheel washed out and I went down hard. I distinctly recall smacking my head and as soon as I came to a stop I knew I had broken my left clavicle.

Final damage report:

Broken left clavicle - titanium plate and 13 screws installed during surgery
Broken left scapula
Several broken ribs
One destroyed Giro E2 helmet

I didn't understand why the ER folks were making such a big deal over the broken scapula. When I later googled scapula fractures, I realized that if you thump yourself hard enough to break your scapula it's wholly uncommon that you die in the process. I was down for several months; you may be able to do an IM 2 months post Fx, but to me it sounds either optimistic or painful. Maybe both, but a surgical repair improves your chances of completing the event.

Good luck either way.

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DFL >> DNF >> DNS

I'm about 8d post op, every day brings an increase in range of motion, what I can do and how long I walk the dog for, sometimes even 2 a days.

My shoulder is tight though, very tight. I think it's because they lasso'd the clavicle to the coracoid process in order to stabilize it.

I'll probably hit the gym next after I go back for my 2 week surgery fu.

The biggest thing I'm worried about is my hand. I've been losing strength and function in tandem with the increases in my ability to move my shoulder. I'm going to have xrays shot to see if I fractured any bones in the hand.

thanks for all the good words and thank you to everyone who emailed or PM'd good wishes.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

I broke my collar bone about 27 years ago in a ski accident. I managed an explosive compression fracture while crashing in a slalom course. The doctor said there was nothing to pin, so he gave me some pain killers, grabbed the pile of about 1000 bone fragments and went "squidgy squidgy squidgy" until it resembled the right shape and said "Hold it still for a week".

I was back skiing about 2 weeks later, as high as a kite, on some "wicked as" pain killers. I'd have a fellow ski instructor duct tape my arm to my body, and ski with one ski pole. I'd tell my students I did it in a car accident :-)


It healed sorta the right way and generally doesn't cause me any grief. Several times a year however, I get sharp "phantom" pains from it. It only lasts a few seconds but almost brings tears to my eyes when it happens.

If yours was a crack with no displacement, you'll probably be fine to train and race. Let pain be your guide (ps, if you need pain killers, that's God's way of saying don't train or race!) If you had displacement and or needed it pinned back in place, probably don't train or race. If it punctured the skin, don't race. If it was a shocker like mine, and there were more than say 10 pieces instead of the more normal 1 piece, then don't train or race.

FWIW, a buddy ofmine broke his collar bone the same week as me. He didn't listen to his body and did too much, eventually the 2 halves healed without joining. They cut him open, smashed the two ends to stimulate healing but still didn't work. They pinned and plated it and he again did too much and he managed to get the pins to pop out from too much wiggling (I can't imagine the pain he must have suffered) and finally the doctors gave up and he operates with a two piece floppy collar bone, and looks like a retread at the beach!

Take care of yourself first. THEN worry about racing

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TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

I haven't managed an IM two months out from a break but had similar experience to many of the previous posters. Broken mine twice - once compound (out of skin exposure) and once a clean separation internally coupled with some broken ribs. Mountain biking in the desert stone can be unforgiving at times...

Best thing is the trainer. You can set it up so that you don't have weight on the upper body. Just shift your seat so your sitting a bit more upright and wait a couple of weeks so that the throbbing with the increased HR goes away. You'll be able to push serious watts without any strain on your collarbone. The hard part is returning to road riding and getting your lowerback used to the aero position again. I recommend some yoga stretching to keep your lower back limber, again without weight on the upper echelon of muscles that would strain your collarbone.

I also did A LOT of pool running, which based on the literature isn't a great crossover to running roads, but it kept that bouncing that just made running unbearable disappear, while maintaining some of my fitness.

I can't speak to the swimming as I avoided that for 3 months min after each break, but you should be able to maintain an ok level of fitness for the other two disciplines relying on the trainer and pool running. Best of luck in your recovery!

So did you all see that Grenke was starting tonight? MLB Pro Baseball pitcher, 4 weeks after collarbone break. Non pitching side. They must do some intense PT. I'm 4 weeks out, and while I can get my arm up after it's all stretched out, I would be very worried about trying to catch a hard come backer, as anything resembling reflexive speed is a LONG way away.

Collarbone Broken in 3 on May 2 (incl 3 major cracked ribs), Surgery to insert plate/7 screws on May 7, Recovery walks started May 15, Started PT on shoulder May 20, First swim June 14, First hard swim work out July 10, Oly Tri on Sep 4 with PR.

Most important is no follow on issues as all this happened in 2011.

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Such a Bad Runner

Broke clavicle and ribs 1 and 2 on July 4. Surgery scheduled for Monday. First HIM scheduled for August 4 (steelhead, MI). Looks like I'll have to wait until next year to accomplish this goal as race is too close.

Thanks for all of the info and stories. Good to hear everyone's experience. Will follow up post surgery.

Day 1 post surgery. Plate and 8 screws. Feeling really good today. Minimal pain and can move my left arm again without any real pain. Already reducing meds too. . Follow up dr visit tomorrow.

Plan to take recovery slowly. This would have been only my 2nd tri season so no need to hurry and not make it to season 3. Also, given that this season is already well underway, i see no reason not to wait until next season.

Looks like I'm late posting to this thread, but I'm in the boat, and have been before, so figure I'd offer my experience:

I cracked my collarbone three days ago, but it's not severe feeling and way less significant than when I effectively snapped the other one a couple years ago. For the first experience, I went too high in a halfpipe snowboarding and freaked out, falling straight from ten feet out of the pipe to my shoulder in the bottom. I had a triathlon three or four month's later. Clear break, in two, bone pieces not even close to each other. But my ortho kept pushing me away from surgery, saying to give it 'another month, as the bone pieces appeared overlapped and should be healing. Two months later and I was still not legit, though I can't remember what it felt like. Sore, clicking bone if I tried swimming probably, etc.

So at the two month mark or so, we did an angled xray to see what was up. Here is the discovery (non union!!):


Ooops, the bones aren't connected! Yikes. I kept asking about surgery. "No no, lets still give it time" says my doc (ortho surgeon). I was really surprised how anti-surgery he was, given that it would put money in his pocket. But I kept listening, and slowly was able to swim, do indoor cycle training, and pulled off the tri. That was a couple year's ago, and I'm really glad to have not gotten surgery. The logic the doc gave me was that tearing tissue to get in and such was not really worth it given that the surgery would give at best a quicker recovery, and likely the bone would be weaker in the end because of screws. I have a gnarley bump now that you can't see with a shirt (even without one) unless grab a girl's hand and put it there (a good conversation starter lol). I consider it an awesome spot, way better than a fading scar ;)> But I'm a big swimmer, and back past 100% (built up to better swimming than before) and am fully functional, no surgery, even after it staying 'disjoint' two months into healing. I swear that collarbone is stronger than it ever was before (big knot of new bone fibers!).


So as luck would have it, I cracked my other collarbone the other day, like I said. Less severe feeling, I can take a shower without a sling and it already doesn't hurt. Just sitting down and getting comfortable, then having to twist to get up again sort of risks tweaking it. I'm going in for an xray tomorrow, where I plan to pitch the 'no surgery' solution myself, and am really hoping to be back in the pool within the month. If this isn't a dead topic then I'll post up any results. It's sort of more badass to have this type of torn up bone but have let your body do the healing and be able to prove the recovery possible, than saving a few week's recovery with plates, IMHO. The body is an amazing machine!


(when I get the right collarbone xrayed tomorrow, I'll see if they can xray the left one too to see what it looks like now after two years :) )

Broke mine August 24th and was told to leave it slung and not use it until I had surgery to insert titanium pin (12screws) on September 2nd. I got on trainer post op day #2 and rode a half hour. The clavicle felt ok but the five broken ribs were more of an issue. Rode six or seven days a week until six weeks out when ortho agreed to let me try to swim and run and see if I might be able to make the starting line at Florida on November 2nd. Could only manage about a half stroke with left arm but running felt ok.
I had 16 days to go from zero running and swimming to ironman so I wasn't expecting much. Managed four outdoor rides before race day to test out aero bars. Did a super slow two hour trail run ten days out from race. Mild ITB soreness from rapid progression but the almighty Hokas kept everything else in check. Went from 500 yards to 4k in 9 days but could tell I had a lot less range of motion on that side.
Brief race report: felt like I could finish so I started very wide right on beach to avoid any and I do mean any contact to my injured clavicle during swim. Added a third of a mile to swim but wasnt touched and finished in 73 minutes. Stayed in aero bars the whole ride but could tell I was getting stiff but just suffered. Was about 15 watts under goal wattage but rode 4:45 though was hoping for sub 4:40 Pre injury. Strolled through T2 and planned to start at 9 minute pace and jog until I couldn't run then alternate jogging and walking to the Finish. Presumably around 16 miles. Slowed a bit in last ten miles but never had to walk other than through aid stations and finished the run in 4:17.
Total time : 10:28 two months to the day from my surgery. Took two weeks off completely and have been rebuilding aerobic base since. Nearing full range of motion and up to 11,500 yards last week in pool. Saw my ortho today and got X-rays and nearly fully healed.
I feel very fortunate to have had such a good surgeon and uneventful recovery. Surprised ortho allowed me to even attempt to race a full considering how conservative he is but I lobbied him hard.

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Primum Non Nocere, except to Kempy!

I know it has been a while but how'd it go with your second collarbone injury?

6 weeks before IM Brazil, I crashed my bike and broke my collarbone - I could feel a 1cm step where the crack was (still there 10 years later). I knew a fracture usually takes about 6 weeks to repair - so was hoping that the doctor would put in a plate or screw to speed things up. But they rarely do that anyway. In the end I trained a bit on the turbo, until I could run again and it was ready for swimming surprisingly quickly - I think about 2-3 weeks instead of 6. I would say the 6 week rule definately a general rule that doesnt apply if you are fit and eat good. Then I had a great race - not overtrained thats for sure ! It felt really great to appreciate the oppurtunity to race when weeks before I was worried to be a non starter.

What I learned as a physio for rugby teams is :
- sleep sleep sleep
- strapping tape - can get you back to normal training faster and can hold the bones in place a bit
- dont use a sling unless you have to stop pain - shoulders can freeze quickly which can be more of a nuissance than a broken bone
- pain is your guide so only take painkillers if the healing ache is preventing you from sleeping
- anti-inflammatories can slow healing
- they say extra calcium doesnt help but you can still eat a supplement or drink milk with every meal just in case
- keeping a pillow under your arm while you sleep, whether on your back or side, can help you keep a good position so you get better sleep
- if you can get a massage - keep your neck and pecs loose - since holding your arm tight all day can give you trigger points
- tiger balm or something like that around your shoulder can feel good while falling asleep
- compression shirts with sleeves can feel supportive so your muscles around your shoulder can relax
- studios show that physios can use ultra sound to stimulate bone growth, but I never saw any miracluous results

Since you can run the first week - I am sure that you are going to be fit on time ... so good luck and have a great race !