Broken collar bone....
 

[Closed] Broken collar bone. Landed on my head.

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Yes all my threads seem to be about injuries.

Did the classic "one last jump" and the double I was attempting turned into a stylish half front flip. 8)

Clean break, one piece of bone pointing up and one down.

Bike is fine, helmet in two pieces.

They're going to operate on Friday and put a plate in. Has anyone been through this on here? Is it using local anaesthetic?

Got very little information out of the Swedish doctors but was on morphine so quite incoherent.


 
Posted : 15/06/2010 10:46 pm
 jedi
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a mate of mine had a screw inserted along it rather than plated.
anotehr mate just got told to leave it and live with the lump 🙂


 
Posted : 15/06/2010 10:47 pm
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Pin through the centre is supposed to be better than a plate since it's less invasive, easier to remove etc.

Surgery is normally only recommended if it won't heal on its own (less than 5% of cases apparently) or the skin is pierced or similar problems.

No surgery for mine despite a reasonable large displacent. Just ended up with pointy lumps where the ends of the break are, but I should be able to get it filed down.....


 
Posted : 15/06/2010 10:56 pm
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Treatments for broken collar bones seem to differ in different parts of the world - I would be happy to have one plated and it would appear the OP is in Sweden - perhaps plating is more common there -

It will be general anaesthetic and a fairly short easy op. Reab will be easier with the plate


 
Posted : 15/06/2010 11:07 pm
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I'd go for surgery - lumps suck, and sometimes don't unite. and if they don't, you can end up with the end of the bones dying, necessitating bone graft off your hip, which is unpleasant.

I had a hook plate on mine, which was painful, and had to be left in for 9 months due to the lack of growth in the bone (normally in for 6-12 weeks) because they refused to operate for five months after I broke it.

right as rain now though 🙂

Nip it in the bud - it'll be under general anaesthetic (it's pretty invasive so it would be a cruel doc to do it under local!) and you'll be riding in 3 months....

As far as I know, the pin method isn't that popular in the UK, preferring to go for the plate on top with a load of screws...

Hope that helps. mail in profile if you want more info (I spent a lot of time researching it when I was considering legal proceedings against the NHS due to their f£(k ups!), though I am no doctor....


 
Posted : 15/06/2010 11:13 pm
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Just had my surgery two weeks ago to insert plate, as I had broken the bone in three pieces with the middle 'floating' piece sticking up into the shoulder.

As far as I understand, surgery is the only real option when the sections aren't going to fit themselves back together naturally (i.e. it hasn't just fractured on the horizontal).

In any case, while the days immediately post-surgery were excruciating, I am gradually moving the arm more, and find that the pain has become more of burning sensation as the feeling returns to the muscle below the scar.

Seeing as I just went through it, I'm a bit obsessed by the whole process, so could give details at length. 😯

Oh, and as said above, it is certainly under general anaesthetic. As for riding in three months, though... that might be a bit optimistic. At least that's what my SO tells me.


 
Posted : 15/06/2010 11:16 pm
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thanks guys! there seem to be quite a range of experiences (operations, healing times) with this problem so i'll just hope for the best. not keen on the idea of general anaesthetic but not much choice there.

it's not going to be fun being off the bike and my job involves a fair bit of lifting so the next few weeks should be pretty dull. oh well, more time to spend on STW.

Jedi, I think I need to book a day with you when I get back on the bike, too many crashes recently - very bad jumping technique.


 
Posted : 16/06/2010 7:54 am
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Think of the fun when you go through airport scanners...


 
Posted : 16/06/2010 8:12 am
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I'm so good looking they grope me anyway.


 
Posted : 16/06/2010 8:29 am
 Del
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well my experience of scandinavian airports is that the security are mostly hot chicks. win! 😀
hope your bone goes together ok. mate got plated here earlier in the year, and they turfed him out in the afternoon.
my advice would be to say 'yes' to all the drugs you can get, and get as much physio, and contact with the medics, as you can.


 
Posted : 16/06/2010 8:41 am
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Think of the fun when you go through airport scanners...

Now you see I was all excited about that when I got mine plated as well but it would appear to be a bit of an urban myth; I hardly ever set the alarms off and when I do it's usually because of loose change in my pockets.

The surgeon who did mine said that the bone will almost always heal fine on its own. The main reason for plating is to maintain the bone's original length, i.e. it doesn't heal with a big overlap. This means you are less likely to get bad posture and back problems in later life.


 
Posted : 16/06/2010 8:55 am
 jedi
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supinerider, hiow do you know its bad?


 
Posted : 16/06/2010 8:02 pm
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i think the broken collar bone is suggesting that my jumping isn't the best 😉

but seriously, i can't seem to pitch the bike in to meet landings consistently - it seems to be a bit of a lottery. front wheel landing, then both, then back wheel, then on my head.

i try to keep footwork, position on bike and where i'm looking in mind, but it's all just a bit hit and miss.


 
Posted : 16/06/2010 8:20 pm