Clavicle Error - Broken Collarbone

Hello,
I have been knocked down by a van yesterday. Broken collarbone. 100% his fault. police arrived. I have driver's detail.
I still have to check damages on the bike. Which steps should I follow from here? insurance?police?

thanks,

martino

Sorry to hear that - this could be a useful resource: https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/131099/

Follow up appointment, said I need to take 3 months off the bike..
AAARRRGGGHH

You have my sympathies. I'm 4 months in and still off the bike with slow / non-union. Hoping next appointment in a month gives me some good news because I'm getting progressively fatter and more stressed / depressed by the day. Insomnia is through the roof which ain't much fun.

On the plus side I have nearly 95% movement back. Yay!

Thanks, I've got a plate in mine so hopefully they were just being cautious, but don't really want to risk it. Maybe I'll get a Dutch bike to not put weight on my arms...
Heal up and good luck with the next appointment!

Yeah, plated here too, with an extra pin to stabilise the 'fragments'..

Until recently I could actually feel the gap underneath the plate. Seems to be filling out though.

Take it easy. You'll get there.

after 17 days: happy orthopedic, happy me, (no operation needed, touching wood). on tuesday if xray is ok I can remove the sling. calcium tablets are my new best friends. bored and I lost 2 kilos.

stay strong and plan new rides.

I joined the Clavicle Club during Thundercrit on Saturday. Spent 2 nights in Homerton Hospital thanks to other additional complications.

Haven't seen an x-ray but my discharge papers describe the break as "Multi-fragmentary fracture of the middle third of the shaft of the right clavicle. Mild displacement at the fracture site."
Can anyone translate that for me? Anyone suffered something similar?

I was told it's pretty clean break so they're not overly keen to plate it. Having done some reading, I'm definitely leaning towards pushing for surgery with my main motivation being recovery time (don't want to lose an entire summer of riding and racing just as the weather gets good!)

The Doctors weren't very communicative with me but my Fracture Clinic appointment is next Thursday so I guess I'll learn more then.

Sleeping is impossible due to discomfort. Having only one viable arm makes every task almost impossible. The pain is surprisingly mild though which is an unexpected up-side.
6 week sick-note from work helps too, though I imagine I'll go mad with boredom by then!

Bummer, sorry to hear that.

"Multi-fragmentary fracture of the middle third of the shaft of the right clavicle. Mild displacement at the fracture site."

Means that it's broken into several bits at the point where it snapped, somewhere in the middle. Displacement means that the ends don't currently join up.

With displacements, they often recommend surgery to avoid you having a permanently wonky/shortened collar bone. I've broken mine twice and didn't have it the first time even though it was displaced, and never caused me any issues. If yours is mild they might not suggest it.

I got fully discharged today for my second break, 2 months after surgery. Glad I got the surgery as you stop worrying about how it's going to heal (mine was 4cm displaced), but it does take it out of you. If they are confident it will heal fine without it, not sure I'd recommend it. The plate is pretty gnarly and any surgery has its downsides.

In terms of recovery time, even with the surgery, they said stay off the bike for 8-12 weeks so will be a while, I'm afraid. I'm now on the other side and missed cycling a lot, but you get by. Good luck and get some good Kindle books (need 2 hands for a book) and some slip on shoes. You get used to sleeping on your back!

And I'm what happens when everything doesn't go to plan. Still off the bike with slow union following left clavicle multi fragmentary fracture but with more displacement than you (by the sounds of it). Plated after a week including a free floating screw to stabilise the fragments.

Currently been off the bike for over six months and I have several more before discharge is likely. Recovery times are 'how long is a bit of string' - lots of variables so I wouldn't put too much store by others experiences. Not being able to ride is depressing but on the plus side I'm doing a lot more reading.

I slept by propping myself upright. That and the codeine they gave me did the job for the first few weeks. Doing stuff is a pain in the backside - luckily I have an understanding wife.

Heal up soon, Si!

Sorry to hear that mate. I was one of the marshalls helping you out. I broke my collarbone 3 weeks ago and it’s surprisingly easy to move. Although it’s doesnt sound as bad as yours. Mine was snapped near the middle and has 2cm of overlap. I had a pre-op but they then said I don’t need the surgery.
Get a turbo trainer so you come back faster!

Get a turbo trainer

@Si88 And stairtraining (walk up - elevator down) until you can sit on a stationary bike. I stairtrained 3 days after my broken collarbone, and on stationary bike 2 weeks after. Going to bed and getting up by myself was impossible first 3 weeks.

First bike ride after the crash. 90km, bit of gravel. Happiness.
Good luck to the ones still off the bike, stay strong

Broke mine yesterday on the morning commute. Rhs clean break at 45 degrees through centre of bone. Probably 2cm displacement from what i could see om xrays. Feels like theres a fair amount of movement between the two bone fragments - concerned this may result in non-union?

I work in an architects office and generally need to use both hands for CAD and was wondering how soon people were able to go back to using a keyboard normally post collarbone snap?

It was about 4 weeks for me. With I think a similar kind of clean break. Started physio after 6 weeks to start rebuilding all the lost stability and strength. Had sling off for periods from end of week 3.

Cheers, that sounds a bit more reasonable than I was expecting tbh.

Unless you are clumsy, keep the sling off now whilst you are at home, but gently support that arm and use it very gently, and whilst sat down put a cushion under the arm for support. It will heal better and more quickly this way, and you will retain most of your muscle mass. Avoid anti-inflamatory drugs like ibuprofen, as they rob the injury of the essential nutrients to heal. If possible, avoid smoking, and don't drink too heavily. Use a sling for protection in public, letting people know you have an injury.

I've done this 4 times.

Thanks, I’ll try your cushion trick as I’m finding the sling a bit awkward when sitting down round the house anyway. Might head back into the office Monday to make some left handed cups of tea.

Customary x ray photo... Doctor said no surgery, find it hard to believe this will heal better on it’s own than pinned in place but tbh it’s not as displaced as it looked in the initial x rays.

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Mine was displaced like that and left to heal; other than a weird bump, it's absolutely fine.

Naturally healed, they usually have a small step in the bone. That looks like it should heal okay.

A pinned/plated clavicle usually leaves a scar, numb patches of skin, and can often need later removal.

Yep, the one I didn't have surgery on looked pretty similar to that and healed ok (with aforementioned weird bump)

5 weeks later and broken parts of bone are still not fixed together (and still feel pretty loose). Doctor seemed to think that he wouldn’t expect to see healing in the X-ray at this stage... anyone have a similar experience?

Not uncommon or so I'm told. I was similar but I'm not a good comparison as I was fractured, plated and am still not fixed 9 months later. I think in reality whilst its comforting to seek other experiences no two people or breaks are the same and experiences vary wildly.

The docs should be able to tell if you are making some progress from the x-rays - if you are making progress then you've something to be positive about.