Clavicle Error - Broken Collarbone

So, how did it go?

Did they give you any exercises to do to stop your elbow from seizing up while it's not in use? It's amazing how quickly this happens.

Good to hear, and good luck with the recovery!

hope to see you on a bike soon

I've joined the exclusive club, came off thanks to loose front wheel quick release. Will get a copy of x-ray for show and tell.

Oops, unlucky, heal up fast.

The club's not really that exclusive but let us know how they treat you and how the healing goes.

No surgery, just 3 weeks in sling, 3 weeks out of it. No follow up suggested.

http://tcameronprice.com/xray.jpg

get well soon dude. wiggins was back in training fairly briskly so youll be fine

Guys, it's been a week and a bit now, so i've borrowed a turbotrainer. But the forks are fucked:

http://tcameronprice.com/forks.jpg

So i've propped the front up by the bars on the back of an old armchair, is this a safe way to support the front of the bike?

http://tcameronprice.com/sofa.jpg

I've got other bikes but none with skewers, and no spare forks (not that i want to do any mechanics with a sling.

Sorry about the large photos, why phones think megapixels of such poor quality is better than less with decent quality is beyond me.

Have you been unable to exercise this whole time as you look fat in that picture.

Maybe now the risk of falling is lessened Tiswas can get around without the chair?

Hi Everyone

Ok so last night i had a pretty horrible crash, a bad cyclist whipped out in front of me without signalling or looking and took out my front wheel, i was travelling at a high speed (I like sprinting across Waterloo bridge when there's barely any traffic)

Got a pretty banged up head, badly banged kneed and the worst is a badly broken clavicle, the xray is pretty horrific, twisted and broken clavicle (away from the neck and closer to where the left arm joins the shoulder, and the break isn't straight and clean, there's a sharp spike pushing up at the skin on the shoulder. The doctor said it would heal but that it would take a while. appointments to check progress, possible operation etc etc, it's a waiting game name since my arm's in a sling.

It all means i can't ride for a while, which just fucking breaks my heart :(

So I just wanted to ask what your experiences are with this kind of injury, what the healing process is like, but most importantly, if you guys had complications when it comes to how well it heals, and how your shoulder functions now (is it back to full strength/ full use etc.)

Also how did you cope with physically not being able to ride a bike for a prolonged period?

Any thoughts or advice on the injury or coping with not riding would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

Get some advice from a specialist about getting it plated- it seems from speaking to people who have broken their clavicle that the "standard" doctors like to leave the bone to heal on it's own, whereas the specialists go for surgery.

^ Thanks Dammit, actually last night I was seen by a specialist (that's how bad the xray looked they called the Orthopaedic guy ) he wants to keep it on a simple sling for a few and see how it goes, i have an appointment for Thursday to reassess the situation, he did make it clear an operation is a possibility.

Shit news.

Mine was broken in a bad smash some years back. I had it in a sling but it refused to heal, mal union or some such. I had a plate put in which had lots of screws and all the rest of it. It took five months before they were happy enough with it for me to ride my bike. I went slightly nuts, but I did exactly what they said.

The long shot is that I have 100% use and movement etc. A couple of years later I had the plate out and I now have no pain or senstitivity at all.

Some guys on the forum have almost kept riding, they're made of harder stuff than me and being honest, a few months vs possible catastrophic damage, no contest.

Do what the doctors advise.

Heel up soon,

Ben

Mine broke like that. Shattered aboce the shoulder. 3 operations spread over a year plus something called liquid bone (glue for bones). Kts good to go now but I was off the bike for a few months.
It sucks but its just part of cycling.

http://www.lfgss.com/thread45458.html

I went over my handle bars and shattered my collarbone a few months ago. My x-ray was also pretty gruesome and I was sent away in a sling and told to wait it out. The upshot of a really nasty break is it'll heal fairly quickly due to lot of surface area and blood to knit it all back together.

My advice is to really keep up with the physio exercises that the fracture clinic will give you when you go in to have it checked, they are pretty simple and although they'll be murder at first you'll soon begin to see a bit of progress. Also, although my girlfriend was adament that I wasn't going to do anything at all, I forced myself to start doing a few things around the house as soon as I felt able and pushed myself a bit more every few days.

I was back at work and on my bike after five or six weeks, but had to really watch what I was lifting for a couple more months afterward.

Horrid news. Heal fast.

From Will's link above , it does seem that having "super" in one's forum name is not good for clavicles.

i broke mine about 8 years ago - clean break which was treated with a sling but it didn't join up so now I have a lump where the end of the bone pokes up. It springs up and down which is a good party drink to make people go ewwwww

I decided not to get it pinned and although I'm aware of it sometimes it doesn't cause any real problems. I find the muscles behind the shoulderblade on that side get tired so I need to to rotate / click the joint to ease them, but that's as much to do with working at a screen all day for 15 years as it is the injury. When I could be bothered to go to the gym I found Body Pump classes helped - I assume it's the high rep + low weights

I broke mine and it healed in 5 weeks.
In a sling for a week or two and then I stopped bothering, as the sling caused more discomfort than the injury.

If I can offer one piece of advice, if you are taking a lot of co codamol, also take Senna. Trust me.

Smoke shit loads of herb.

Drink milkshakes, eat cheese and ice cream, eat or juice spinach and rocket

Comfrey is meant to be good for bones.

http://bmxtalk.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=41578&p=293196&hilit=collar+bone#p293196