Recovery from Collarbone Surgery

Anyone who has broken a collarbone and had surgery to repair it, how long did you wait before easing back into climbing? I broke my collarbone and had a plate and screws put in to repair it at the end of August and I am going to be in the Moab area the last week in October. Obviously, I'm hoping to do a little climbing. I'm not looking to be climbing hard at all, but it'd be sweet if I could get on some moderates while I'm there. I have my last follow up appointment with the doc the first week of October so I am going to talk to him about it, but if anyone has firsthand experience I'd love to hear about it.

Hey man, I broke my clavicle the first week of March a few years ago. I was toproping again by the first week of May and leading with some confidence by mid-June. Whatever you do, don’t fall and re-traumatize it by bashing your shoulder on something but other than that let pain be your guide.

It took me 8-10 months before I could sleep on that side and it still gets achy a year and a half out but my strength is fully back. 

Jimmy Downhillinthesnow wrote: Hey man, I broke my clavicle the first week of March a few years ago. I was toproping again by the first week of May and leading with some confidence by mid-June. Whatever you do, don’t fall and re-traumatize it by bashing your shoulder on something but other than that let pain be your guide.

It took me 8-10 months before I could sleep on that side and it still gets achy a year and a half out but my strength is fully back. 

Sweet, thanks man! Yeah, I've heard horror stories of people permanently damaging nerves by re-breaking it with the plate in there. So if I'm not feeling totally up for it, I'll probably stick to backpacking.

Jake Tveite 1 wrote:

Sweet, thanks man! Yeah, I've heard horror stories of people permanently damaging nerves by re-breaking it with the plate in there. So if I'm not feeling totally up for it, I'll probably stick to backpacking.

I have bad news for you. Carrying a backpack sucks with the plate in. It’s really the only thing that bothers me now. 

Jimmy Downhillinthesnow wrote:

I have bad news for you. Carrying a backpack sucks with the plate in. It’s really the only thing that bothers me now. 

Haha shit. Now that you say that, I do remember my friend mentioning the same thing when I first broke it. Oh well, sounds like my girlfriends pack just got heavier! 

I was climbing again about 2.5 months after my surgery. One thing my doc stressed was that he didn't want me lifting my arms above my shoulders for I think it was like 6 weeks after surgery for fear of ripping the screws out. And then obviously slowly working back into things after that for another few weeks. The backpack thing is case by case, I have zero problems with any amount of weight on my shoulders & its a pretty good sized plate I have in.

I've broken both of mine twice, plates on both sides, nothing bothers me now, 120lb haul bag is fine to carry for me now.  I was climbing in the 12s and the occasional 13 before my first break, I made it back to the 12s each time and now back to some 13s.  My advice is to ease back into climbing when your Dr says you can Resume physical activity and top rope until you build strength back.  Take glucosamine, ice it, and if you want to tr before full recovery do it with a beer in your bad hand to avoid using it.  Stick with physical therapy to get range of motion back and remember hard work pays off.as an added bonus you will now know when a storm is coming.  

Just had surgery on mine in early September so following this thread

Thanks for all the replies! Much appreciated. 

Just as a follow-up just in case anybody else finds this thread, I'll post my recovery timeline. My collarbone fracture was displaced and I did get surgery; however I never had much pain either before or after the surgery, I'm not sure if that's an indication of how severe the break was.

I started range of motion exercises immediately following surgery. To keep from losing all climbing grip strength, I used a hold block similar to a Tension block to do isometric holds off a horizontal pulley machine (not really doctor's advice) starting about a week after surgery, and did this about once or twice a week. 6 weeks after surgery I was able to toprope vertical sport climbs up to about a number grade below my top end, and the only reason I didn't lead was just to not risk having any consequential fall.

So far the main impact has been the loss of shoulder strength but I feel pretty confident that within a couple weeks I should be able to build that back up which would allow me to do more overhanging climbing. Overall I've been pretty happy with the pace of progress. I could foresee a return to almost full climbing form at around the three month mark.

I broke mine into eight pieces last July and had a stainless plate installed. I was back to carrying a 45lb pack within ten months and climbed in Joshua Tree after six months. I climbed indoor after four and a half months. In my experience it wasn't that bad, certainly not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. I actually took off my brace after four weeks. Just be smart and don't push it too hard!! 

I broke my collarbone into 4 pieces crashing a motorbike, but instead of getting the plate and screws, I got the single lengthwise screw put in. The complication rate is much lower, but only a handful of doctors in the USA perform it. I was back to normal in about a month, had the screw taken out 6 months later and that time I took it easy for a couple months because the bone apparently is very soft when they take out the support. 

Broke mine in 4 places while skiing. Got plate and 9 screws on Feb 1st, was climbing grade 3 ice by mid March. Looking back, I should've waited few more weeks. That was in 2018. Couple of screws cause pain whenever there was a direct contact, plus I alway felt tension on my neck. So I got it removed 2 months ago, so much better without plate/screws, totally worth 45 minute nap.