Does this echo anybody else’s experience of a plated collar bone?

Three months after the crash I discovered it was a non-union and got it plated. Since then the major pain has been from the AC joint where the collar bone joins the shoulder and the inboard end where it meets the sternum. I guess both went “lazy” when the CB was flapping around under no stress and my shoulder had shrunk by an inch or two. It must have taken some effort by the surgeon to get the ends lined up for the plating because I had four finger-sized bruises inside my arm where somebody tugged it outwards. Now those ends are under stress and sore and there’s lots of soft tissue damage in the area from the actual break. Regular Paracetamol helps and the pain is gradually diminishing and after 5 weeks I’ve no reason to suspect the bone ends didn’t wake up and start re-joining especially as the surgeon used a synthetic graft material, but it’s sometimes difficult to work out exactly where the pain is coming from.

Any words of wisdom out there?

Both mine hurt/ached for up to two years after though never enough for me to need pain killers; not sure if this helps but the lingering pain is quite normal. The worst pain though is if something or someones strike down on the plates. That pain is enough to still be debilitating even now ten years down the line. Having kids (who like to ‘loll’ their heads right onto this point taught me this).

Have yours united fully?

I had keyhole surgery on both my shoulders and it was six months before the dull ache vanished

Have yours united fully?

Yes but on both occasions I had an elective open reduction within a week of the break so I avoided all the complications you’ve sadly experience coed. I was fortunate to have private medical care through work hence able to go the elective rote. Both plates are still in Mel some ten and 12 years later and I don’t imagine they will ever be removed.

I had one 10 years ago and IIRC, it took ages (years) to get everything back to normal. The nerves take forever to regrow and it’s all a bit numb until then. I also had a DVT a couple of days after the op which was quite exciting but was back on the (road) bike within a week. A couple of weeks later I went off on a 4 month tour c/w Warfarin with instructions to get blood tests every couple of weeks to check dosage. In Romania, Bulgaria etc… Yeah right…

Some pain after a few weeks doesn’t sound unreasonable considering how much pulling around you’ve been through but if course, I’m not a doctor.

It’s crazy, you hear about cyclists being back on the bike within days of a plate op. How do they do it?

The one I broke 10 years ago still hurts sometimes.

I had mine plated in September and still can’t sleep on it and still get pain when exercising it or it gets a bang from the kids or dog. Not enough pain for painkillers though. Like you say it’s hard to pinpoint the pain. You not going to physio?

Have plates, screws, staples in my shoulder 18 years ago … took several years to go from aching to dull ache and now just slightly nagging. But it works so positive result!

Blimey these replies are depressing me!

I got thoroughly fed up with mine (albeit it was a shattered shoulder and the discussion whilst I was unconscious was arm amputation so maybe a different context) but you do get used to the discomfort, and the nature of the joint is such that it is a trickier natural healing process. It will get comfier, and I certainly got better at managing pain mentally. I found it useful to really understand the mechanics of the joint and therefore, why the pain lingered.

you hear about cyclists being back on the bike within days of a plate op. How do they do it?

Ill advisedly, and probably with the assistance of potent analgesia, that’s how. Bones and ligaments take 6-8 weeks to heal, even without a surgeon cutting you open, drilling holes in you and assaulting all of the surrounding tissue. I’m surprised that you’re surprised that it still hurts a bit; however I suspect you have a lot more function than if you hadn’t had the op. You’ll get there.

I had mine done nearly 2 years ago, still aches around the shoulder joint but the plate/scar area is fine.

To add to the complication I’ve also got a frozen shoulder but I’m pretty sure I’ll get most of that movement back with time and good physio. I’ve met an excellent physio who is a climber and mountain biker so I’m feeling more confident.

the wife found a short yoga session every morning helped a lot with hers.

she also used one of these

Broke mine (again) 6 wks ago, not plated. It’s still sore but I’m just getting on with stuff now. If something hurts I just stop doing it. Each week I can do a bit more than the last and eventually it’ll be pain free.
Hope that helps 👍👍

7 weeks after plating a 13year mal-union and I’m out of my sling today! Arm withered and bingo wings despite basic physio throughout. Been told I need to be off the bike for another month or so and no weight bearing for a while yet. Hurts when I get to the limits of my range of movement or when I forget and lean on it! Been sleeping on my back for nearly 2 months and the pain wakes me up whenever I move too much. Great to be out of sling though and I’m gingerly resting my hand on the bars on my turbo while taking the weight through good arm. Seeing physio tomorrow so I’ll report back then… good luck, it takes a while but so I’ve been told, once you start to get the bones visibly knitting in X-ray things improve quickly

@Klunk – The good old pulley of pain. Broken my shoulder twice now and those things are both good / bad.

A THIRTEEN year mal-union? How the flippin’ heck was it allowed to go on for so long and how did you manage?

More relevant to me, how did your surgeon manage to get the old bone to wake up and re-start the joining process? This is my biggest worry at the moment.

Keep us posted on what the physio says.

It was fine for years Burt started to give me quite a bit of pain around 5 years ago. Kept putting it off for stupid reasons. Surgeon at the time wasn’t confident. Then got too much last year and I asked to get it done as it was affecting my riding.
Surgeon said that he went in with a chisel and aggravated the ends of the bones and then clamped and plated with 8 screws. Keeping everything crossed that it fuses. Bit stuffed if it doesn’t…