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 !