I was in a cycling accident yesterday and broke my clavicle in four places. I meet with a specialist on Wednesday morning but was told by three separate doctors (the ER doctor, a shoulder specialist and a trauma specialist) that I’ll need surgery.
I’d love to hear any feedback or encouraging recovery stories.
I have some great surgeon and physical therapists as options. I’ll do whatever it takes to make a comeback.
A little background - been racing for 15 years, and I’m in pretty good shape right now. 45 years old, fairly competitive athlete…2:05-2:10 Oly, 4:30’s Half IM. Good family and friendship support.
I’m sure swimming will be the last thing I can do, but what type of time frame am I looking at (knowing that every person recovers a little different) before I can resume training?
Broke mine a few years back, surgery required, plate 8 screws.
I was able to (gingerly) start riding on the trainer about the same time I came off the harder drugs, I think a little over a week.
Running is pretty much when you can stand the jarring, I don’t remember how long it was but I’m pretty sure I had the stitches removed before I tempted it. Walking before that.
Swimming takes the longest, definitely not until the skin heals, probably longer. I was very lucky I had full range of motion without therapy, but from what I understand that’s not very common.
Good luck, hope you heal up fast.
Now you get to compare scars with all the other cyclists
I had a plate in June 2015. Doc wanted me off all s/b/r for three months, but think it turned out to be a little shorter, maybe 10 weeks, not that it made much difference
Running was a big no no as he didn’t want the jarring. Lots of elliptical, walks with the wife, and recumbent. Tried the trainer but too painful with just one arm. Accdg to my TP I started regular training in October.
2016 I did two HIMs (April and May) and an IM. Halfs were pedestrian but IM was a PR
Thank you so much for your insight. I really appreciate it. Right now I’m only 24 hours removed from the crash, and words such as these really provide some encouraging news!
Wow - a PR? That’s awesome Chris! Thank you for the feedback - sounds like if there is a will, there certainly is a way. Much appreciated. Good luck this year.
Broke mine 2 years ago. Tricky distal fracture. Trashed the shoulder and needed a surgery to insert a plate.
It was 4 weeks before I could get on an elliptical and an indoor trainer. Little less than 2 months before I could run (with pain) outside. About 2.5 months before I could ride outside. It took good 6 months before I could swim.
(Have someone help you get on and off the bike trainer. It hurts quite a bit if you misstep and place weight on the bad arm. It’s hard because bike is another 2-3 inches higher due to the trainer and climbing block.)
Thanks for the great feedback! Very encouraging. And good tip on the trainer. Didn’t think about that! Glad to hear that things healed for you despite the trickiness of the surgery!
Back in the fall of 2013 I did the same thing. Judging by the x-ray the doc said there was a separation of 3cm. During surgery they found out it was essentially shattered so I ended up with a plate and 6 screws. I was able to get on a trainer about a week after surgery, just had to be careful about putting too much weight on that arm. Running and swimming were about the same time coming back, I believe 5 weeks post-surgery. My first swim I had some pain but since that first swim back I haven’t had any pain at all. I have full range of motion. Only “problem” is that my shoulders are a bit uneven when I bring my arms up as if flexing my biceps, about an inch lower on the repaired side.
Just be diligent about be PT and getting range of motion back. A friend had a similar surgery and ended up with frozen shoulder, which you definitely do not want
My wife broke her clavicle (plate + screws required) on August 8th, did her first trainer ride on Aug 25th, she was doing full power intervals on the trainer mid Sept, first ride outside was Oct 8th. She doesn’t run or swim so nothing to offer there.
Thanks everyone for the feedback - has really helped my mindset that this is simply a speed bump and with proper PT and patience, it shouldn’t be anything I can’t get through. Really appreciate Twitch Nation.
There are a few threads on clavicle breaks worth looking up.
I smashed mine into many, many pieces. They kept 8 or so and threw the rest away including the AC joint. They plated it with 6 screws some going through multiple bone fragments then I’ve got 4 screws that just joined bone fragments together. Then they taped it to the coracoid process for stability.
You can palpate the distal end of my clavicle and feel the plate/bone, you can palpate the medial end to see where the plate starts and you can fill where the screws are. “Want to palpate the distal end of my clavicle?” is an excellent pick up line though
The drawbacks are I’ll never set a World Record for bench press or push ups as those put a lot of stress on the tape holding the clavicle to the coracoid process. I’m not keen on that ripping since it means surgery to retape it. If I swim too much fly it gets irritated. When it’s really cold out and I’ve under dressed there is some pain along the distal end of the plate. I blame not being well insulated but a jacket or another shirt usually takes care of that.
All in all I don’t consciously think about it too often although I have been told I touch my clavicle a fair bit. Never noticed that but at least 1 other person has.
I was on the trainer 6 days after surgery and I kind of lollygagged at that. Actually, of all the routine daily activities that were affected by having my arm in a sling (and there are ALOT of those), riding the trainer was one of the least affected. At least as far as (indoor) bike riding is concerned, by the time they drive the last screw, you’re limiter is no longer your broken bone but how long you can ride one handed
Broke mine in August 2014 (see thread about riding with earbuds for the story – not me, the other guy). It broke in 3 places; I needed 2 plates and 11 screws. I got full range of motion back almost immediately, but did PT for 3 months because it was prescribed and I didn’t want to take any chances. I was on the trainer in 2 weeks and “running” in 3. Neither felt awesome, but I was extremely pissed about the premature end to my season, and the anger proved to be something of a numbing agent. I didn’t swim until after the 12 weeks were up on surgeon’s orders.
i broke mine in a couple of places, had surgery, i was in a trainer within 9 days of the crash, i think? as leegoocrap says, back on the trainer is pretty quick, just make sure your bike is secure in the trainer
and as he says, running is when you can stand it. 3 weeks? swim is just a case of range of motion. i would ask your doctor the difference between pain that is bad when swimming versus pain that is good, or okay, or that you can work through. that’s a distinction i don’t know that i ever entirely grasped.
i still have my plate in. don’t see any need to have it removed. swimming took the longest. months. but i’m 100 percent.
I broke my clavicle (and scapula, and ribs, with a concussion) in August 2016. Had surgery with a plate 10 days later to address the severe displacement.
I was on the recumbent bike at Day 3 after I was off the Vicodin. Trainer at 2 weeks. Elliptical daily until 6 weeks when I was cleared to run and swim. I am primarily a swimmer and lost all of my fitness in that time, but was back at Masters at week 8 and doing 4,000 yards a practice by week 10. I’m now about 4 months out and back to everything as before - no pain issues whatsoever.
I only went to PT twice, but I had a bad PT experience with my last shoulder surgery and really only recovered after getting back in the water and stretching things out on my own. I don’t really recommend this, but after my last surgery (same shoulder, different injury), I kind of knew what to expect. Also, broken bones heal fast - it’s not a bad recovery when it comes to shoulders.
I was in a cycling accident yesterday and broke my clavicle in four places. I meet with a specialist on Wednesday morning but was told by three separate doctors (the ER doctor, a shoulder specialist and a trauma specialist) that I’ll need surgery.
I’d love to hear any feedback or encouraging recovery stories.
I have some great surgeon and physical therapists as options. I’ll do whatever it takes to make a comeback.
A little background - been racing for 15 years, and I’m in pretty good shape right now. 45 years old, fairly competitive athlete…2:05-2:10 Oly, 4:30’s Half IM. Good family and friendship support.
I’m sure swimming will be the last thing I can do, but what type of time frame am I looking at (knowing that every person recovers a little different) before I can resume training?
Thanks!
I’m 44yo male. Two years ago, I broke my right clavicle (a few little bits that needed to be reassembled), and had a class 5 separation of my AC joint, when I went over my bars. I got a plate + 7 screws to put my collarbone back together, and a butterfly to tighten up my shoulder.
I was on the bike trainer 2 days after surgery. I was bike racing 4 weeks after surgery. I was back in the pool 3mos after surgery (I intentionally waited some extra time for complete healing, and then post-op PT). And then, my swim took a little over 3mos to get back up to speed. According to friends who are PTs, the swimming made all the difference w/r/t full recovery—full strength, full ROM, etc.—compared w/ roadies, in their experience, who just get back on the bike and didn’t swim.
I broke my clavicle back in 2012. It was a mess, including tearing a ligament. The first doctor I saw in my somewhat small town took one look at it and said he could not fix it. Instead, they referred me to a specialist at Duke. After meeting with the surgeon at Duke, it was decided they would plate my clavicle and use a Teflon cord to fix the torn ligament.
When the doctor got into my shoulder he discovered that my clavicle was really more “shattered” then broken. I don’t know how many screws they normally use, but he could only get three in. He was afraid putting more in was going to further damage what was left.
My left arm was in a sling for 8 weeks. After 8 weeks he let me out of the sling, and we started physical therapy. After 4 weeks of PT he let me start to swim, bike, and run again. I was allowed no physical activity above walking for the 8 weeks I was in a sling, and only the exercises that were prescribed by the PT the 4 weeks after. He would not even let me ride the bike on the trainer.
I followed the docs orders and while it sucked, today my shoulder is almost where it was before the break. My suggestion, find a good doctor and follow directions. While I hated having my activity limited, I would rather give up a few weeks of activity to not have any long term problems. Maybe the first doctor (the one who did not think he could fix it) was just trying to scare me, but the picture he painted of it not being fixed correctly was really lousy.
Sorry to hear about your accident. In July of 2015, I broke my clavicle in 3 pieces and fractured 6 ribs and my scapula. I had a plate and 5 screws put in about 10 days after. I was 47 at the time.
I know a lot of Slowtwitchers have been able to get back to their training very soon after this kind of surgery, but I would recommend listening to your surgeon and not rushing back. I was walking on the treadmill on an incline and using the elliptical within a few days. I don’t think I lost much in the way of cardio fitness, as I was still able to get my heart rate up without much impact. Probably did not get back on the spinning bike for 6-8 weeks, because I didn’t want to put a lot of weight on my arm/shoulder. Probably started running again on the TM about 4 weeks out. Started rehab for the shoulder after 10 weeks and did it religiously for 2 months. For me, the rehab made a huge difference, and allowed me to get back 100% of the strength and ~95% of the range of motion. Swimming was the longest break … probably got back in the pool at 10+ weeks and took it very easy.
Everyone’s different, but for me I didn’t want to jeopardize a full recovery and my ability to continue to enjoy the sport that I love as I get older. So I took it very gradually and listened to my surgeon and my body very closely… .
Did mine over 10 years ago, broken into three separate pieces, got a plate and six screws (still have it!). Was back in the pool within six weeks for drill, that and yoga were best PT for me as far as range of motion. Look up Doug Stern’s sewing machine drill in the archives as that one was a huge help for me. I recovered fine and was able to do IM the following summer, no issues/limitations since.
