Broken Clavicle

Mountain biking accident resulting in a broken clavicle. Surgery: Plate and 6-screws.

Anyone have any similar tales to tell regarding recovery time and returning to a normal life?

Thanks,

AB

Much longer than you think...raising your arm and any kind of motion will really hurt (as you know by now)...My estimate is 4-6 weeks before any real use...mine was a car crash that also busted the sternum as well..THAT takes forever

I'm recovering from one as well. I admittedly tend to rush these sort of things but I was back climbing within 2 weeks, albeit very easy routes. Quickly most movements will feel pretty good but you'll still run into moves that you can't do yet. I'm at 5 weeks now and I can climb at probably around 90% but any kind of mantle move or hard push on that arm still is an issue. Bouldering is still touchy as more dynamic movements and falling can be painful. Good luck.

It took me over months to recover. I had a bone chip between the two bones which was not visible in the x-rays. The bones were too far apart to mend. Eventually I had surgery and was good to go almost immediately.

People who need to get well quickly go for the surgery immediately however it is major surgery with all the accompanying risks.

i've had 5 broken collar bones,

they heal really quick but are easy to re-break during the healing process. probably best to wait the full 4-6 weeks.

I'm 5 weeks into a clavicle fracture from a cycling accident. It really depends on the level of displacement. I had complete displacement of the midshaft (1 break) without necessity for surgery. I have therefore been advised to wait 3 months before resuming climbing. Surgery only shortens the healing time by at most a couple weeks, and the body does have a tendency to heal itself remarkably well.

So it depends on a number of variables (age, displacement, surgery, location). Average cases seem to be sling off at 6 weeks, conservative physical activity awhile later.

Damn. Benells. I thought my 3 was a lot. It depends on the location and severity of the break. I did mine on bike and dirtbikes. It doesn't take much and I waited the 8-12 weeks and went out and REBROKE it very easily. It was a depressing moment so I suggest you be aware like the above said it's easy to re break it. If it's a crack or anything less than a full break with no complications it can heal in several weeks. Best to give it 8-12 or what your doctor tells you.

With surgery I was climbing really easy stuff 3-4 weeks post operation. Full on climbing at 6-9 weeks. Without the surgery it would have been a lot longer recovery.

Writing for future people. I broke mine on 8/26 and had surgery 2 days later. It was too displaced to treat non surgical. I am almost 3 weeks post op now. Pain is gone and PT and Dr say I should be able to climb and MTbike by week 6. GO to PT early. I started at week one to prevent stiffness and get safe exercises with pulleys. I hoping to be back road biking at lease by week 4. First few weeks were the worse. I can not imagine not getting surgery and having those bones grind for a while.  

Look on the bright side: All things considered, a clavicle break is a good injury to have if you must have a serious injury. Bones heal well, and the clavicle breaks in a way that's fairly isolated from soft tissue that DOESN'T heal well. I'd rather break my clavicle, recover, and break it again than seriously sprain my ankle again. My ankle has had longer to recover and more PT, and still causes me troubles, while my clavicle is basically 100% recovered.

My experience matches others'; six weeks from surgery to climbing easy stuff. My impression was that recovery after that was actually not bone-related, but rebuilding the muscles around the shoulder which were atrophied and damaged by the surgery.

My doctor encouraged me to try to let it heal without surgery, but this ended up being a waste of time. Probably due to climbing, one of my muscles (I don't remember which one) was larger than on most people, and as a result it pushed between the two pieces of the clavicle and prevented them from joining. There's no way my clavicle could have joined without surgery.

DO PHYSICAL THERAPY. I recently started rehabbing some elbow and shoulder issues now which aren't severe, but are caused by using my biceps to compsensate for underdeveloped trapezius and rhomboid muscles. The underdevelopment of these muscles is at least partly caused by poor posture at my desk job, but really started after the clavicle break. They've never been really bad issues, but I've lived with them for a few years and they've definitely held back my climbing somewhat. Now that I'm actually working on developing the proper musculature and form, I'm seeing very rapid improvement and I'm annoyed I lived with these issues for so long.

While the bone is recovering, take calcium/magnesium/zinc/vitamin K and avoid alcohol. These things made a significant difference in my pain levels during recovery and I suspect the pain was indicative of the recovery process.

Broke my left collar bone three times. All good advice. Surgery depends on location and or severity of the break. PT is never a bad choice!  Therapists have too many tricks, knowledge experience not to capitalize on it. Speeds up the recovery and educates you on so many things. Heal fast Victoria.  8 weeks is pretty quick. 

Broke my last year. Same surgery, road bike. I hiked and rode the trainer right away. Was back to the bike 5 or 6 weeks later. Time goes fast. You’ll be back at it soon!