Broken clavicle advice

An off while out riding on the road this morning resulted in a visit to A&E where despite initial diagnosis, it can’t be broken you’ve got too much arm movement, X-rays confirmed what I thought – broken left clavicle.

I’m due a call from the virtual fracture clinic on Friday and there is some concern due to a plate and screws in my left humerus after a break 17 years ago.

Cheer me up or depress me with your tales of busted collar bones.

I’m three years plus on from a clavicle break and still suffering from pain.
Hospital wouldn’t operate on me for three months due to covid.
Eventually got it plated but had already got frozen shoulder by that point.
Now also got some nerve damage from the op.

It is very slowly getting better but it’s been a long process.

Hope yours goes better than mine did.

IMG_20200707_082951594_HDR[1] by StuartBrettle[/url], on Flickr

Six weeks on and still not fixed by StuartBrettle[/url], on Flickr

plate and screws by StuartBrettle[/url], on Flickr

I broke mine a few years back (thanks Frog Combe). I had to walk back to the car, loading the bike in the back was a bit harder than usual but do-able. Went home, had a bath (I was minging) then took a good book down to a&e for an x-ray. Seen promptly – broken collar bone confirmed – got given a sling and attended the fracture clinic a couple of times. It healed up a treat, no problems with it since.

Not trying to minimise some people’s grim experiences but just thought I’d post a fracture story that wasn’t a horror show for once, sorry it was so boring but sometimes (most?) things go just fine!

I had mine broken for me by an out of control skier. The hospital just told me to keep it in the sling until it healed. After about 3 weeks I could have it out of the sling most of the time. The only issue was that it healed with bump where the break was, which make carrying a rucksac painful for a few years. I was told that’s what happens with a basic sling, a ‘figure 8’ sling reduces the chance of bump but takes longer to heal – no idea whether that’s correct. Doesn’t give me any problems now.

Cheers all. I’m hopeful for no problems as the nurse didn’t think I’d broken it given the range of arm movement I had. The only possible concern is the former break below it on my humerus, which resulted in a plate and screws.

I did mine in July. 4 weeks off the bike, another couple of weeks of road-only. A good physio.

I’ve got full movement back. The shoulder is a bit clunky and I’ve got a big. slightly spiky lump, but it’s 98% sorted.

Useful advice I got (not through the NHS) was spend as much time out of the sling as is comfortable. Try and manage your posture so that the shoulder is rotated out and back to pull the broken ends best in line with each other – so in the sling your forearm points forwards, not across your chest. I ended up sleeping on my back with my arm straight out to the side to stop me rolling the shoulder in.

I did a LOT of walking during the 4 weeks off the bike.

I’ll also leave this here. Might be snakeoil, might be not. I’ve used this or similar twice and both times had faster than usual recovery and zero problems afterwards. Your call.
https://www.midsuffolkphysiotherapy.co.uk/treatments/fracture-healing/

I broke my clavicle in two places together with six ribs and scapula …oh and a punctured lung at Dyfi bike park back in June. All healed up and was on the bike in a couple of months with no issues. Sling for a couple of weeks and a stiff shoulder for a while, but all movement returned and no ongoing issues if that cheers you up :-)

See a good sports physio ASAP. 

Broke mine on 6/7/21, was in a sling for 6 weeks, tentatively riding in 8.

Broke the same one in a different place on 12/7/22, was in a sling for 6 weeks, back riding in 10

(Dates are crucial as there was all kinds of confusion as to which end was broken the second time round…)

My best bit of advice is to not let your mother-in-law drive you to the fracture clinic.

The route to our clinic included a section with those square traffic calming pads (the ones where you can minimise lift by straddling the high bit).

Well, my MIL chose to hit every one on the high bit bang on centre with her left side. Cue me megawincing at each impact as I was jerked out of my seat. I swear the pain was worse than the actual break incident.

My break healed up OK but I’ve now got a golf ball sized growth around the fracture site. 

Did mine, no issues after.

Lad did his this time last year, too 4 weeks off and was racing again

I shattered mine in 2010 and had to wait two-ish weeks for surgery. They plated it, and the nerves on my left side have still not fully recovered. The fleshy area under my clavicle but above my breast is still mildly numb, like when your has fallen asleep but is now recovering.

It only hurts, though, when I convince one of my kids to rub my shoulders and they accidentally make contact with the screws.

This is the third thread about this subject recently (one was mine).  Did my clavicle up at Ae forest at the end of August.  Badly advised at first – told to keep the sling on for 8 weeks, no driving, riding or anything basically.  Kept fit by walking every day and recently, running.  Second specialist told me that the sling should have been binned after 3 weeks.  I ended up with a frozen shoulder (which is still a major problem).  No sign of the fracture healing – it may be possible to leave it “Flapping around” (NHS official description) permanently, but surgery still a possibility.  So, to summarise, 3 months on and just started driving (painfully) and road riding.  No prospect of MTB for the forseeable future.  I’m 68, so I didn’t expect miracles but I’m a wee bit pissed off, to say the least.

@failedengineer.
My advice would be to keep on at the hospital until they agree to put a plate in there. I tried to ride my MTB pre surgery and it wasn’t very pleasant to say the least.
I could feel the two separate ends of the bone moving about under the skin and as the bone had come through the skin once I really didn’t want it to happen again.

I broke mine 12 years ago two weeks before I turned 50 and my first broken bone

It was the skin loss that hurt more due to it being over the bars on tarmac and never felt it happening due to being knocked out for 5 mins, I was twice in to get plated but lack of a bed or surgeons time tells you I never got done

I’ve no pain whatsoever as it was just one clean break yet my son broke his in 4 places this summer over in France €4500 to rebuild but his £22 insurance did eventually stump up to reimburse him

My daughter (7) broke hers recently in a very mild tumble indoors.

The fall was so minor we didn’t take her to a&e until the next day, and were gobsmacked to see it was fully broken. A clean break but the ends were together, so they just put her in a sling.

A lot of tears for the first 3 weeks and miraculously better at week 4 when the sling came off. Now (week 6) she’s running around again like it never happened. Kids heal faster so I’m told…