Crazy legs that surprises me about team GB. Surgery has risks, why would you operate on a simple fracture. If you put a plate in and then fall again you are at risk of causing more problems as the metal work is significantly stronger than bone and could make a right mess.

I’ve broken my left twice and my right once. The left one was left to repair naturally and seemed to do so ok. About a year later, I had a very minor dismount and it broke in the same places again. I had it plated and was road riding within a week.

I’d opt (insist) on plating as the result is much more certain though there are risks (I had a post op DVT) and beware of the procedure. They harvest bone from your hip/rib if you let em. I opted for ‘donated bone’ to avoid the additional excavations…

Beware Cocodamol (constipation) and Tramadol (terrible cold turkey). I’ve recently come off max doses of Tramadol for a back injury and the cold turkey was horrible.

If you’re insured, get a referral and get it plated. If not insured, create merry hell until the NHS do it.

Good luck.

<edit> This is who I saw after contacting British Cycling: Cathy Speed I was under the knife within 48hrs of her consultation.

I Broke mine last march into 3 pieces cracked 2 ribs in my chest and 3 on my side. The a&e department were pretty poor for me quick x-ray to confirm break and then they sent me away with no pain killers or decent sling.
On the way out I begged the receptionist to book me an appointment with the fracture clinic which she could only get 6 days later.
After 2 days I had lost the use of my fingers in my right hand and had shooting pains in my arm.
By the time I met the specialist I could hardly move my arm. I had some more X-rays carried out on the Thursday morning and he confirmed the break needed plating asap due to nerve damage caused by the location of the bone fragments. The next morning I was in for surgery 7 screws and a nice plate to hold everything back together.
He confirmed I should of had the operation on the day of the accident.

Seems NHS treatment depends on where you are. Wife had a broken and displaced collarbone from an incident on a drop.
Was pinned and plated 4 days later.
Physio and treatment and she was back riding after 6 weeks

BA Nana – BRI or Airedale?

Airedale, did it in the dales, so stopped off on the way home. My NHS experience was very good, xray straightaway, in fractures clinic the next day, operated on 4 days later, in at 7am and out at 4pm same day.

broke mine on the 23rd april near the sternoclavicular joint, also dislocating it. wasn’t a bad break, still in line so no plating. The left the dislocation. I did ribs on the left side as well and thats what has been the most painful. I had probably had 90% movement in my arm afterwards (no weight bearing though) and I’ve got 100% now and more weight bearing but not back to full strength mainly because of not using the arm much. most of the pain is most likely down to soft tissue damage.

I got a decent sling and 30/500 co-codamol to take. gave up on the pain killers after a couple of weeks. most painfull part was sleeping as I could only be on my back. Was pretty stiff and painful in the morning but i’m much better now. still waiting to see physio.

I broke mine into 3 pieces in April, had surgery in may and am 3 rides back into mtb, a month back on the road. It looks like that will heal nicely as it isn’t that displaced. The first couple of weeks are the worst as bo matter what you tell yourself you haven’t accepted your fate; your off the bike for a few weeks. It does get better, I waited two weeks for the op and did a couple of sessions on the turbo. After the op I did nothing for a fortnight but either way it will start to get better and better.

Have a break, focus on something else and make your main objective a full recovery. It does get easier in time as you will resign yourself to getting better before getting fit.

It’s easier said than done but try not to to ask online / read every thread on collarbone recovery under the sun; only you know how you feel, if you felt you could ride you’d already be out on your bike, not asking online. I spent countless hours reading advice and thinking about when I could ride, no good will come of it.

Hope your recovery is quick and uncomplicated. Genuine rest will make this more likely.

Did mine two weeks ago. Fast fall over the top just managed to get my arm in as I have two plates in that from footy accident 18 yrs ago but just hit the deck so hard with shoulder and neck that collar bone smashed into a few bits. A&E we ok at worcester that night but fracture clinic on the Monday were very reassuring that it was well enough aligned to heal without op. Pushed quite hard with the consultant on this as have private insurance so would rather plate sooner rather than two months down the line.

It’s now stopped clicking around and the ribs have calmed down enough to get some sleep. So now I’m just wallowing in the self pity of missing out on my first Alps biking next Saturday. Decided to go and enjoy the mountains as best I can with a few walks and lift rides and join the boys for banter at the end of the days. Only 4 nights mind you.

Came off the codamol after four nights as it’s not great for the insides and not a great combination with badly bruised ribs without going into graphic detail! Ibuprofen still helping take the edge off.

Looking at the figure of 8 thing it doesn’t seem to sold the arm at all just pull the shoulder back is that right?

Team GB, he said all their cyclists get broken collar bones pinned/plated as standard. Guess it makes sense for a pro athlete.

Some pro teams have also pumped their riders full of drugs and done blood transfusions, doesn’t mean what they do for results is the best thing for you!

Agree with Bright.
Try not to google injury, only two clicks away from leprosy.
Try to accept the injury and focus on the whole recovery rather than premature return to cycling.

Thanks for all the words of encouragement, it’s good to hear other people’s experiences even if all it proves is what a wide range if variables there are!

I spoke to a friend who’s a GP who recently specialised in sports injuries. He said universal plating for athletes is dictated by sponsors’ needs rather than medical need. In my case, there’s around a 5% chance the bones won’t knit… That 5% is too much risk for a pro!

Interestingly, he said that they’ve moved away from plating on jockeys – the fall off so often that future breaks are inevitable. If they’re plated, the clavicle doesn’t break and it separates their AC joint which takes longer to repair!

I’ve managed to avoid opioid painkillers and I’m trying to reduce the ibu/paras as I’m getting the old “painkiller gut”!

It’s a week since the accident now, and my ribs and whiplash are settling down, and I’m back at the fracture clinic on Tuesday. I’ll report back!

Thanks again, and a speedy recovery to anyone else in the same boat!

G

Glad things sound more positive. I have been busy making hay today. It is surprising just how difficult jobs you take for granted are with a partially healed collarbone. Just hitching up the mower, or connecting the drive shaft become a battle that usually ends in a sharp intake of breath and a grimace. I tell myself it is doing good and helping it to heal stronger than ever 🙂

I have not had a shower since May 24th

If you haven’t broken the same collar bone 3 times you’re not trying.

No ops here, cocodamol is your friend – fall asleep, don’t move for 10 hours, don’t shit for 10 days.

I rememder pooping, the good old days. Now working on man made diamonds

I go and have my dressing removed on Thursday and the plate x-rayed, defo getting pics for this thread.

Hi,

Bad news on the collar bone. Heres my story. I did mine on a motor bike a few years ago. Fell off at slow speed and snapped it (amongst other things). All fine until I tried working from home early. I displaced the collarbone not too dissimilar to yours. I went to A&E and was told they wouldn’t pin it. I asked on the NHS to get it fixed but in our area (Huddersfield) they say that because it doesn’t change your life and you can live without a collarbone they will treat it conservatively. Now a lot of cases will heal ok in this instance. I went back several times and got no where. Move on 6 months later and ive still had a broken collarbone! They wont pin it and they cant offer much else. I ended up going private at eland hospital and getting it pinned a year later! Best thing I did tbh and I was back on the bike 6 weeks later. Heres some things I learned.

The best healing happens in the first 4 weeks. Keep things still for this period with as little movement as possible in the area. Make sure other joints are moving.

Get an x ray if they think its healing to confirm. There are 2 types of healing one where it knits a fiberous tissue between the bones and one where the bone repairs its self. This is preferred but they doth work.

If its not going well after 4 weeks id seriously asking if it can be pinned / plated.

The scary thing is all the nerves for your arm go under or around your collarbone. If these are damaged you can end up with a paralysed arm. This is one of the risks of surgery. When I had mine done all the nerves had grown into the scar tissue around the collar bone because it had been left so long. A 45 min opp took just under 3 hours because of it!

They do offer to take bone from other locations on your body if there is a gap or to use synthetic bone. Apparently there is a better chance with your own bone. What the figures are I don’t know.

I do echo the movement (physio) thing. Because I spent 9 months in a sling I ended up with a frozen shoulder and elbow. This was a bit of an issue.

Still now ive not got 100% feeling back in my shoulder and it hurts from time to time. Its also horrible with a backpack as the plate sticks up and you can feel the screws through the skin.

I read a lot of papers on this while I was off. The heal rate of people with plates / pins if a lot better faster than without. The ultrasonic thing can work but results don’t seem to be conclusive yet (they do it a lot in the states). Ine thing I would recommend is to up your calcium and protein intake while your body is repairing.

Lastly heres a pic of mine. Look at the **** screw in the middle. I asked if this was because he needed extra purchase or something when fitting it. The doc said “No I just picked up the wrong screw” **** great!
https://goo.gl/photos/j9tXDiYBFi8fY9dR6

I hope that helps you make a decision. And good luck with the healing.

Christ Andy, those screws!! 😯

I had another visit to the consultant on Tuesday, X-rayed it again and said everything was as it was. So he’s still going down the conservative treatment route.

He recommended getting out of the sling a few times and flexing my elbow and raising my shoulder forwards and outwards. Outwards isn’t too painful and I can get to about “20-to” but lifting it forward flexes the 2 parts of my clavicle and hurts like hell!

Can’t seem to find much info about early physio, can anyone offer any advice on what they did? (it’ll be 2 weeks on Sunday since the accident)

Thanks!

there are lots of exercises on youtube. i believe the pendulum one is the important one but i wouldnt advice anything as im not a doc.

Only thing i would say is if it hasnt healed in 4 weeks get it fixed. I had over a year of my life ruined because they didnt want to treat it. Not bitter about it, **** fuming! the reason i got afetr i finally went private was “im more of a leg man, im glad your seeing a specialist” and that was from the doctor!

Done done twice now. This is the most recent. The original got ripped out in the crash and shattered around the original screw holes (which you can still see a few of).

Off to speak to the doc next week about the plate coming out!

thats nasty

I’m sorry to hear about your ongoing woes. Not nice. And again I’m sorry – this isn’t going to help but I think I’ve been very lucky in that I’ve been able to heal naturally very quickly.

I snapped mine after a taxi pulled out on me as I was overtaking at 15mph in October last year. I took 2 days off, and was back at work the following Monday. I was out of the sling by then. I managed to stay off the tablets which helps apparently. They made no difference when the real pain of bone/muscle hits anyway. The very worst part was the torn muscles all around the area. Getting into and out of bed was really very difficult for 2 weeks. After a week though I was fairly confident that things were going well. I was back on a bike after 19 days. Commuting after 4 weeks. Took it relatively easy on the mtb until about 7 weeks after the accident.

I used those stretchy bands for a bit but realised that the strength was coming back off it’s own accord, and that I had no mobility issues. I also realised that it’s rather difficult to find the discipline to do the full suite of recommended exercises for the duration and frequencies they specify.

It took about 3 months for the pain to go away completely and I’ve not suffered any major lasting issues. The joint crunches a bit but I suspect it’s just ligaments slipping over each other as it rotates.

Just had my first 2 week consultation since surgery (18 days since falling off). Everything seems to be hunky dory
[IMG]http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu197/Hoppy66_photos/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-06/IMG_20150625_104838_zps6i1xrt6c.jpg[/IMG]

I’ve only separated my shoulder so not much help…

BUT I can help with road rash and scabs. Keep them moist and they will heal much better. Alternatives are iodine and vaseline applications or medical grade honey (google Activon).

Just had cheek to chin road rash (pretty) and now just a smooth red mark which is gradually fading. Other wounds where I was less diligent with the treatments are not healed as well.

BA Nana looks good, he must have been a bloody good surgeon that did that 🙂

I’d definitely go and see the guy in ipswich, yes its a long way, I did the same journey thinking I was a bit daft, there where two guys in front of me, one had come from Manchester, the other guy from Holland!
Go now and get it fixed, if you have surgery and they put metal in you can’t have the magnets etc.
I think there’s a place on the A59 towards Whalley (the sanctuary) that does some of the treatment, I’d still go to Ipswich first though.

I did mine last may. (Steel city dh).
Was more displaced than the op. Further apart with 2 “North-South fragments” in between the broken ends, similar to twiglet farmers on the first page. These apparently are significant and can delay Union.
Could have had surgery if I had asked for it, we discussed the indications (shortening, more than one clavicle’s width displacement/separation), but took the advice of the orthopaedic reg that it would heal without. (Teaching hospital, good upper limb service that does a lot of fixing local district general hospital cock-ups)
I didn’t want to have to take time off work having had 12 weeks off when I broke the humeral head on the same side a few years ago. I managed without time off but only just.
It was a very frustrating and slow process and it wasn’t until 11 months after the injury that there was any decent signs of boney healing and I could be discharged from follow up.
Hilariously at 6 or 12 weeks post fracture the consultant suggested he discharge me. I asked when I could go mountain biking again (remember they’ve seen my twice in that fracture clinic with mtb induced fractures, they should have known…). At that point he changed his mind and decided I needed to be followed up until the fracture was properly United.
Speaking to a riding buddy who was knows more orthopaedics than me, many clavicles heal by fibrous non union, ie soft tissue/scarring holds it all together but it won’t really show up on an X-ray.
If I did the same thing again tomorrow on the other side I would push for plating, despite the risks of surgery.

FunkyDunc – Member
BA Nana looks good, he must have been a bloody good surgeon that did that

Yep, I would like to wax lyrical about him, but the consultant wasn’t keen on me taking photos of the xrays and asked for their names not to be included, so I guess there are issues of confidentiality.
It’s all been a fairly painless experience tbh. I had no real issues immediately after the break, just awkward, inconvenient and very uncomfortable around my neck with a basic first aid sling.
After surgery it was grim for a few days and nights, but not painful, just like having my shoulder gripped in a very over tight vice, very uncomfortable and constant torment. I dropped the painkillers after three days and felt pretty normal very quickly after those first few days of massive discomfort. It was a bit strange, because 12 to 72 hours was like night and day. One day I was in absolute torment and agonising over having my first post surgery bath without too much discomfort, the next day eve I was considering booking a flight to spend a few days in Spain with the family.