broke my collarbone this past sunday. what’s a reasonable time to wait before returning to tt training? what/how much can I do w/o doing damage or inhibiting healing? past experiences would be welcomed. thanks.
Did the same three years ago,and was told four weeks and your good to go,well i was 42, no longer a kid so my dr did not know what he was talking about, after two weeks in the sling i was told i did not need,i started moving the arm and had no pain or discomfort,three weeks after the break i rolled over on it in bed and had a restless night then pain,went to a different dr and was told to sling it and keep it there for six weeks,i begged for it to be pinned but was told only 2 percent get pinned,6 months of pain followed,i never took any pain med after the first few days,after the rebreak finished the meds up and went for more,be careful and let it heal,i just prolonged my return,got real upset about it gained weight and kind of gave up thinking i would return again,but did get on track and return,good luck and get a good dr
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I was out for 8 or so weeks after going to the Dr from mine. I had waited 2 weeks after the break though to see a doc. Just thought I had a bad bruise. Mine never heal right even after rebreaking it (not fun), and still seems to get bruised easier now.
I slammed mine against a rock on my MTB, how did you break yours?
I used to have a part time orthopaedic technition job in a very busy hospital fracture room when I was a chiropractic student over twenty years ago. I remember the usual treatment was a figure 8 bandage for six weeks. Severity depends on if the break is just a hairline crack of the clavicle or it has a displacement/misalignment at the fracture site. At one time they used to put a pin in if they were badly displaced but an ortho surgeon recently told me that procedure is not as common now.
No swimming or biking for awhile. You’ll be able to start running sooner but not for a month or so.
Sorry to hear about your bad luck. What kind of fracture is it? Are the ends of the bone displaced? Being a veteran of a couple broken collarbones over a 20 year span I think that getting back on the bike as soon as possible is a good thing. When I was 22 I took this to heart and was on the road 2 days later, but I was stupid, didn’t care that it hurt like hell, and very lucky I didn’t fall and that my fracture did not become a displaced fracture requiring a pin or a murderous set, or worse, displacing and puncturing a lung (the apical lobe is closer to the clavicle than people think, so is the subclavian artery) which happened to a rider I knew. The aero bars may be a little painful, but placing the bike on a trainer, maybe raising the stem to reduce the pressure your arm that isn’t injured and has to support you and spending some time on the bike will help you maintain your fitness. Just cinch the figure 8 brace nice and tight. Once the bone sets you may still need to put some pipe insulation on the handlebars to reduce road vibration, and the aerobars will hurt and be uncomfortable at best. Road vibration is transmitted right to the collarbone on the aerobars, you may have to take them off for a while. The figure 8 brace is pretty useful here too, I hope you have one. If you don’t, ask your doctor about it. Range of motion for the shoulder is extremely important. Move it through your available range to the limits defined by pain, and begin by doing so passively. You will feel like you can only move it a little bit now, but as time goes on you will be able to move further and further. You can use a little pulley system to use the uninjured arm to passively move the injured arm. Ice it after training, without fail.
So in answer to your question, if you can stand the trainer you can probably ride right now, barring another injury sustained in the same crash. You may find that intervals may take a little time to tolerate, and sudden movements are not recommended. Most doctors won’t object to your riding an “exercise” bike, but I bet they will get antsy if you go out on the road. After about 4-5 weeks the bone may have set enough to ride on the road, but get cleared by the doctor before doing this. The pipe insulation is a cool tip, saved my ass. After 6 weeks, most fractures have healed well enough that you can do whatever you feel like, but again, have a doctor clear you. The damage to the tissue around the bone may take a while to heal, and regaining range of motion of the shoulder and strength is a priority. Most pain after 6 weeks can be associated to this problem. Just a word of advice about the aerobars, tolerating the aerobars inside is something that seems to happen pretty soon, maybe withing the first couple of days. Riding the aerobars on the road is something else entirely. Road vibration and handling are very different with a broken collarbone. When you go on the road at first, maybe find a loop that is relatively safe, no real hills, and has good roads. I used to ride around an industrial park after hours. Ride without aerobars and maybe gradually work them in.
Hope this helps. I feel for you, it is the biggest pain in the ass. Just know that if you get back on the bike trainer right away, you can hold a lot of your fitness, and by the time you are back on the road, you will find you are at the fitness or even fitter than when you started.
Good Luck
in a rr. some boneheaded moron wasn’t content to settle for 8th place, so he tried to split the 2 ft gap between me and the rider beside me (we were alone at the front, plenty of room to pass) rather than going around us. hit my handlebar and I went down…knocked unconscious, concussion, bruised lung, broken collarbone. not the way I had planned my sunday.
PK2
Last July I broke my collar bone 28th of July. I competed in the PA State TT three weeks later and a stage race two weeks after that. How and why…well I am a freak I guess. I had no sugery and was 39 yrs young. Most physicians will tell you the classic liability prognosis of 4 to 6 weeks before returning to light exercise and 8 to 12 before resuming intense training. I was on the bike and trainer less that 48 hours after the crash that popped my clavical. Yes, it was a lateral displaced fracture about 3cm in from the outside of my shoulder joint. I began riding on the road 5 days after the fracture and did a 50 mile ride 7 days post crash.
That said, I am not a doctor and I am not advocating you to disregard your ortho’s advice. I road easy for two weeks. I am talking 14 to 15 mph per ride, just enough to keep the legs happy. You can not train hard and have your body repair a fracture and recover from training stress, too. If you fall again it could set you back to square one, so ride alone for at least three weeks to avoid the chance of someone else taking you down.
Your body will tell you if you can ride a trainer or on the road. The trainer is the safest way to start. The body has a great way of saying “no not yet A$$wipe”…it is called “PAIN”. I found it comfortable, but had to aid my injured side with my good side to change positions. I did not wear a figure 8 or sling much to my Ortho’s dismay.
When you get back on the road you must be careful to watch for hazards wwwwwaaaaayyyyy down the road. Bunny hopping is out for 4 weeks…trust me on this one…(see pain reference) Use your best judgment…be careful.
At 7 weeks my Ortho told me I could start riding my bike again. I grinned and said really??? Then I told him what I had done…well…he shook his head and had no response. Look for a “sports minded” Ortho…he/she will understand and may have a more progressive approach to this that a cautious physician who works with “the masses”.