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.