I'll add to the chorus of "do it". I broke mine last year about this time by doing a ditch dive after hitting a piece of wood in the road.

They didn't fix it right away because of COIVID so I had to wait a couple of weeks for a slot to open up. That sucked. The surgery was outpatient and I felt better almost immediately. I ended up with a plate, 13 screws, and a wire.

The thing that set me back was frozen shoulder. I don't think I moved it enough before the surgery or after. Make sure you ask questions on how to avoid that. The PT to get the range of motion back was not pleasant.

Good Luck

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-- Scott

Don't listen to us.

Listen to the doctors. Get a 2nd opinion. Get a 3rd if the 1st and 2nd are vastly different.

Yes, I'm talking to two different docs. I'm interested in the experience of other athletes since it can raise issues I never thought of and can then ask my docs about.

Thanks, that's very helpful.

I normally avoid surgery unless absolutely necessary since there is alway a potential for bad results (infections, problems with the anesthesia, errors).

However, the thought of missing so much of the outdoor riding season is really problematic given that I already have a cycling trip planned for August. Plus, I can't overstate how mentally low I am after all group rides, races, and pace lining got cancelled in 2020 due to Covid. Being solo on a trainer for another 12 weeks is really really hard to stomach.

My wife broke her collarbone skiing (ski pole got jammed as she was falling and her collarbone went right onto it.)

Hers was a cleanish break, the break wasn't too jagged but the bone had shifted a little.

She told could have done the set/forget method and had a bump or the surgery to have a plate and screws set in.

She chose surgery and was doing great until til the plate and screws started causing pain.

She had surgery to remove the plate and screws a few months after the initial break and after the bone had healed.

She then was driving and looked over her shoulder and pop was instantly in pain. It broke again where one of the holes was left from the screws and hadnt fully closed yet.

Ortho said he never saw that happen before (well not when someone fell or got hit) and she had to have the plate/screws put back in.

In the end it too longer than if she just did the set and forget but at least now she has a cool scar.

Mine was a double displacement from a bike crash, x-ray looked like a small boat going under a drawbridge where two longer pieces were tenting upward and a smaller piece just floating around on its own underneath. Plate and six screws as a result. Mine happened during the fall so spending time on the trainer recovering wasn’t much of an issue. Swimming (once I was cleared) and yoga ultimately proved to be the best PT for me.

Fourteen + years later and no issues as the hardware is still in there, doesn’t limit me from doing anything.

Hope this helps, good luck!

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

What did you end up doing? I broke mine in November , did the natural healing as my ortho recommended but I still feel the pull sensation where it was broken.

Broke mine 4 mo. before my first full IM race playing soccer. (one break, offset, 40yr old)
Opted for the natural way based on the doctors suggestion.
Willpower to do the race got me back on the stationary bike 1 wk later and one handed kick-board couple weeks after that.
Was able to get back to light swimming 5-6wks after the break.
Feel like that helped me avoid any frozen shoulders and was able to finish the race.

I still feel a slight tightness when the weather is cold or rainy...but other than that...back to normal.

Broke mine due to a pretty hard bike crash. Did not require surgery. I couldn't swim for about 3 months. The biking and running began after a few weeks of taking it easy. Nine years later and I have zero issues.

Went with the surgery. Two weeks post op now and I pretty much have full motion back.

Three days after surgery the doc said I could start running, but it didn’t feel right—could feel unpleasant pull from the sutures and I was worried I might tear the wound open.

I’ve kept to riding the indoor trainer and will try running in another week.

I probably could be back on the road cycling but the doc hasn’t given me the ok — he wants it to heal more in case I crash. But Everything looks good for a full recovery in A few more weeks (total time from surgery about 6 weeks)

By contrast, without surgery I’d still be in a sling and the shoulder would have completely locked up by now. I’d need months of rehab just to get motion back.

Broke mine from longboarding in high school. First x-ray showed a clean break with the two laying on top of each other and recommendation was to let it heal. I stayed in bed for a week and was pretty miserable so we got another opinion and the second x-ray showed a big gap between the bones, too big that they would actually heal and bind back together. Surgery wasn't the worst, I remember the doctor asking "when's the next time you're going to do something stupid?" Needless to say that was the last time I longboarded bombing a hill.

A collegiate swimming career and a few seasons of triathlon later it's never given me any issues. Definitely keep the PT up regardless which route you take.

Six weeks from my surgery. After three weeks doc said I could run and ride (indoors or outdoors). Yesterday he said I can do whatever I wanted including swimming. I’m finding my cracked rib is holding me back npmore than the clavicle.

Swam 750 pm today, but the rib pain was too much to swim more than 100m at a time.

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Not a coach. Not a FOP Tri/swimmer/biker/runner. Barely a MOP AGer.
But I'm learning and making progress.

Congrats!

I'm a physician (pediatric cardiologist) and broke my collarbone a year and a half ago mtn biking. Mandatory disclaimer: my advice does not replace seeking the counsel of your primary and orthopedic care team.

I elected non-surgical and am very glad I did. Long story short, and you can google search pubmed results for case series - although surgery would shorten the recovery time a couple weeks, you're left with a plate there. Makes packs uncomfortable and a surprisingly high percentage of people elect to have a second procedure to have the plate removed. I was out of my splint and feeling "better" after 5 weeks, and back to completely normal by 12 weeks. I have a large bump there, but am otherwise good to go. Personally I'm glad I did not get surgery and would only recommend it (again, not my area of expertise) for just the cases where it's indicated due to the degree of displacement.

Here are my pre/post surgery X-rays

(Trying to upload the X-rays in,one but it’s not work8ng. Both files are below the 250k limit. Any ideas?)

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Not a coach. Not a FOP Tri/swimmer/biker/runner. Barely a MOP AGer.
But I'm learning and making progress.

Nice! I didnt do surgery, the Dr said their was still a lttle bit of bone touching so it could heal naturally. I was running full speed again at 4 weeks after , and long indoor rides of 3 to 4 hours around then too. I have only recently felt comfortable enough to do aero position and put pressure on it. I still feel a slight pull there and its 5 months. Not sure if thats normal or if I should go back for an X Ray. I never did any physical therapy, not sure it would have done any good as I never felt tight.

Broke mine mountain biking also, and did natural healing per Ortho Surgeons advice. Do you still feel a pull there or any sensation or are you now 100? If your 100 now do you recall when you were healed to the point that you forgot it even happened? Im 5 months out now and expected it to feel as good as my other arm by now.

j

Hey sorry you had the same thing happen.

I felt like I was pretty good to go after 3 months (eg could do a pushup but probably didn’t do pull up level efforts til 5 or six months. I hadn random soreness but nothing significant after 5 months.