The Collar Bone Thread.

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Globalti

Legendary Member
So you're sitting at home with a broken collar bone, depressed, in pain, anxious to learn as much as possible about it. Here are some links to recent posts. Feel free to add your own.

Glasgow Cyclist's accident of 27 Feb 2019: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/just-back-from-a-e.246242/

DJR's thread of 1 May 2017: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/broken-collarbone-real-world-recovery.217725/

My own thread about non-union: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/anybody-had-a-broken-collar-bone-that-wouldnt-knit.241484/
 

Levo-Lon

Guru
What amazes me is a moto gp rider does one and after a week or less there racing again.

So what is happening to average Joe?
Is it purely money?
I've not done a clavicle but had a good few fractured bones.
My brother did his and was in agony for a fortnight.. And had a big horrible lump where it rehealed
 
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Globalti

Globalti

Legendary Member
The first consultant I saw said exactly the same thing; motorcyclists and especially racers come in demanding to be plated and are back on their bikes in a ridiculously short time. I was relieved to get my non-union plated but I certainly didn't feel like riding a bike for at least three months afterwards!
 

Sharky

Guru
Location
Kent
As a double collar bone breaker (both sides on separate occasions), recovery can't be rushed, but in 2 or 3 months back on the bike. But it doesn't come close to fracturing a pelvis in terms of pain and recovery.
 

Mo1959

Legendary Member
The first consultant I saw said exactly the same thing; motorcyclists and especially racers come in demanding to be plated and are back on their bikes in a ridiculously short time. I was relieved to get my non-union plated but I certainly didn't feel like riding a bike for at least three months afterwards!
Surgeon wouldn’t let me anyway. No point risking it. I wore my sling for his recommended time and did my exercises and it eventually started to improve after several weeks. Never give it much thought now apart from being slightly apprehensive about ever landing on it again.
 

Chappy

Guru
Location
Dorchester
I had a clean break (no bulging) so they didn't operate. However it has been over 4 months now and it still hasn't healed fully. Had a further x-ray they confirm its healing just slowly, however they did consider a CT scan in 4 months if this still ongoing.
 
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Globalti

Globalti

Legendary Member
I had a clean break (no bulging) so they didn't operate. However it has been over 4 months now and it still hasn't healed fully. Had a further x-ray they confirm its healing just slowly, however they did consider a CT scan in 4 months if this still ongoing.

If it never heals fully and just forms a gristly pseudo-joint they will consider it sorted because the prevailing attitude is that surgery must be avoided if possible. My first consultant kept talking about an amateur racer he knows who has this and manages to ride and compete just fine.

Not for me though, having a non-union was uncomfortable and distressing.
 
I had a clean break (no bulging) so they didn't operate. However it has been over 4 months now and it still hasn't healed fully. Had a further x-ray they confirm its healing just slowly, however they did consider a CT scan in 4 months if this still ongoing.
Time to lean on someone. With the other arm, natch...
:biggrin:
Seriously though, that's not the way it should be left.
 

Chappy

Guru
Location
Dorchester
Time to lean on someone. With the other arm, natch...
:biggrin:
Seriously though, that's not the way it should be left.

Luckily I have been seeing a really good Physio. She told me to go back see the doc again after a further x-ray. There is no pain anymore and I am riding fine, its just now and again I get for lack of a better word a crunchy feeling on the bone if I roll over in the night. Apparently its where the bone is taking its time to knit together properly.
 
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Globalti

Globalti

Legendary Member
If it's crunching, the bone isn't knitting. The ends have given up trying and you have non-union. This was mine after three months, you can see that the bone ends had rounded off:

20181102_165455.jpg


Non-union is not necessarily bad, plenty of people live with it. The other structures of your shoulder are holding the shoulder blade and hence the humerus more or less in its proper place.
 

Chappy

Guru
Location
Dorchester
If it's crunching, the bone isn't knitting. The ends have given up trying and you have non-union. This was mine after three months, you can see that the bone ends had rounded off:

View attachment 457543

Non-union is not necessarily bad, plenty of people live with it. The other structures of your shoulder are holding the shoulder blade and hence the humerus more or less in its proper place.

What did your doctor say the solution was with this.
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
What did your doctor say the solution was with this.

Metalwork !!

To be frank, where possible, you are best not having additional surgery, unless needed, that's why they prefer not to operate. I don't regret not having metalwork in my back - risks were too high.
 
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Globalti

Globalti

Legendary Member
What did your doctor say the solution was with this.

The surgeon has to persuade the bone to re-start the healing process, which, as far as I understand, means getting it to bleed again and form a clot, which slowly transforms into a callus and thence to new bone. This means roughing up the bone ends, chopping up some of the inside of the bone and packing that and synthetic bone chips into and around the repair. My experience of three months of non-union says that if I ever break a collar bone again I will insist on plating while everything is fresh and while I'm recovering from the original crash.

So far I've had 3 months of recovery with non-union, 4 months of recovery with a plate and from 8 April I'm facing another 3 months of recovery from the capsule release for the frozen shoulder. This might have been reduced to just 3 months if it had been plated immediately.
 
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