OK medics please advise me with rule of thumbs (no worry of me holding you to anything and I will be seeiing my Dr in the morning. So vent forth.
I broke my left collarbone Saturday pm on my mtb ( well slightly off technically) and have vey little info from the hospital. The standard paperwork from the hosp. says six weeks before swimming and non contact sports (although I guess that doesn’t mean crawl or 100s in open water crowds and three months before contact sports (mtb, the way I was riding!). I am off to see the GP to get signatures for work and travel insurance in the morning plus a lot of answers to my questions. Poor guy!
Aside from the paper I was given ibuproben 400mg for 3 times a day, codeine phosphate 30mg for 4 times a day, a triangular sling and apromise of a fracture clinic appointment Friday. Naturally, like most here would have done I have been reading up online and found a number of hits on Google including
Pittsberg Uni medical centre:http://www.sportsmedicine.upmc.com/InjuriesClavicleFractureRehab.htm which suggests:
rest during the acute phase ice the injury multiple times per day compression of the injured shoulder with a secure wrap or ACE bandage elevation of the injured shoulder above heart level use anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen to reduce inflammation and speed up recovery Most clavicle fractures can be rehabilitated with a figure-of-eight strap, which is wrapped around the body and the shoulders, or a sling. These devices help hold the shoulder in place while the clavicle heals. (Mediweb says they no longer use these straps).
All fairly standard RICE treatment procedure, is it all (particularly ice and fig 8 strapping) appropriate? I want to lose as little of my season as possible since my A race (Xterra Richmond) has gone and living alone means I want to get on with it asap. Would any water resistance exercises be benefical before I can swim? The two halves of the boneare lying parallel with about a 30% overlap along their lengths, I have little discomfort aside from when I inadvertently try larger range of movements than I should, hence am keen to come off the painkillers (codeine) although stay on the anti inflammatories.
Thanks for any help or suggestions possible particularly if there is something I should be askiing the Doc for tomorrow.
Sorry to hear about the break, welcome to the club. One thing that helped me when I broke mine last fall was doing basic range of motion exercises such as leaning forward and letting the arm dangle, and then slowly doing small circles with the arm in each direction, and then letting it gently swing like a pendulum. Another one was holding a broomstick in front of me and letting the arms slowly swing back and forth. A third was standing in a door frame and slowly letting my arm go up the wall in front of me. I was back in the pool six weeks later and swimming ultimately was the best therapy for it.
Hey Brian, I have been a member of this club for over 30 years! It’s the only bone I have broken and this is the third time! How long after you broke it did you start these exercises? It’s too painful to move the arm from the body just now. You say you were swimming after six weeks was that crawl or breastroke? I am trying to gauge long until I can get it at full stretch.
I’m no doctor, but have this piece of advice: do exactly what your doctor tells you to do, don’t try to short cut the recovery.
I unknowingly broke my collar bone a few years ago (hairline fracture), didn’t go to the hospital or see a doctor, just toughed it out with Tylenol & Advil. A year or two later, I started getting numbness in my arm, and it turns out it is all due to the bone not healing quite right. I have to routinely do some physical therapy to prevent the numbness from coming back, and probably will for the rest of my life. My whole arm/shoulder area is weaker on that side, regardless of how much weight lifting or physical therapy I do. Fortunately it hasn’t had much effect on my swim stroke, but it is noticeable.
So, do what your doctor says and take as much time as your doctor recommends to let things heal, or you may be paying the price for a long time. Missing a race or two, or even a season won’t amount to much in the long run, you don’t want to be like me, still dealing with it 6+ years later.
D, I understand exactly what you aresaying and appreciate your taking time out. I will listen to the Doc. If I can get my Doc I will be happy as he is an athlete too but wanted any suggestions unless I get the other who will likely not bother examining me and tell me to do nothing for 12 weeks as he waddles over to his notes.
I had to have surgery for mine (multiple displaced fractures) and started with the first exercise (the small circles/pendulum) the next day. Granted, the circles were very small and the pendulum motion very slight, but it gradually increased each day (the surgeon recommended doing it 3x’s per day). It was about a week later that I started the broomstick exercise and then about a week after that when I started doing the one in the doorframe. I was in a sling rather than the figure-eight brace, so my arm was restricted most of the time. When I was able to get back in the pool, the first few times were purely drill work rather than actual swimstrokes (Doug Stern’s “sewing machine” drill was a huge help).
I did the frozen gel packs instead of ice (could form them better around the affected area than an ice bag) 2-3x’s per day for about 15 minutes each time, usually after I did the range of motion exercises.
and three months before contact sports (mtb, the way I was riding!). I am off to see the GP to get signatures for work and travel insurance in the morning plus a lot of answers to my questions. Poor guy!