Broken collarbone – healing slowly

Thanks, it wasn’t brought to

Thanks, it wasn’t brought to my attention to be honest!

However, despite me talking myself round to it (didn’t like the prospect of future complications/misalignment of shoulder etc.) the consultant finally took a decision themselves and decided it wasn’t worth it for me and that healing naturally would be fine.

It almost feels like this has forced me to pull my socks up and get on with it, as I’m already feeling more improvement, can hold handlebars (on the turbo trainer) if I engage the right muscles in the shoulder to protect the collarbone. Obviously this isn’t a long term solution so I’ll continue with one handed turbo-training for another 3 or 4 weeks. Actually the turbo training is going so well I honestly think I’ll come out of the whole thing a bit fitter…

Anyway, hope you’re feeling improvements!

bah17 wrote:

harragan wrote:

As said above, it really depends on the damage and, in my experience, where on the bone.  I broke my collar bone right at the shoulder.  Less usual, but not unheard of, by any means.  After regular x-rays over almost a year, there is no evidence that the bones have joined but I am pain-free and have pretty good movement.  I still have a boney lump, which is never likely to go down.  

It took many weeks for the pain to subside and many more to be pain-free.  I had the option for surgery but the consultant was reluctant to do it as everything was (slowly) improving.

This is probably no great help but was my experience.

It is actually very encouraging to know you’re carrying on pretty much as normal (and presumably still riding?) with a non-union after that long.  At what point did the medics say you could resume riding, assuming they did?

I continue to ride and the consultant pretty much left it up to me to decide when to get back in the saddle.  It was probably about three months and when I could support myself without too much discomfort.  

Supporting myself was never really the issue.  six months after the accident, I was on holiday and went to swim for the first time.  That was uncomfortable and not a pleasant experience.  That was all about three years ago and swimming doesn’t hurt anymore.

bah17 wrote:

willsdad wrote:

The healing times can vary from person to person. Whether you are a cyclist or not may have less bearing on the healing than you think. As a relatively low load bearing bone the clavicle may take a while longer to heal as bone deposition is dependent on this (Wolfs Law, I think). The plate is used to approximate the bones and micro movement stimulates the healing. 

Depending on your build, metabolism, bone density and age healing times can be variable. The venerable Mr Boardman is known have osteoporosis as a result of trying to keep his weight low for cycling, he probably wont heal as quick as expected based on this.

If the bone doesnt heal you may get a fibrous union, as opposed to a bony one. This is often seen in jockeys as it offers an advantage for repeated falls. The fibrous “hinge” allows an extra degree of flexibility and resistence to repeated impacts. This would not show on an x-ray as it is not as dense as bone. Ask your surgeon.

There is also a bone stimulator they can obtain, but I cant recall the name. Looks like a TENS machine used for pain relief but stimulates bone healing and comes with a money back guarentee if I recall.

Thats really interesting thank you Willsdad – I will definitely use this info when next seen by the dcotor.

I’m now wondering whether gentle jogging might actually be beneficial to healing in terms of Wolffs Law and stimulating the bones. The doctor (registrar not consultant) I saw last week initially said gentle jogging might be Ok but not competitive running. When I tried to clarify what the difference was he went all vague/defensive and frustratingly reverted to better avoid outdoor exercise altogether.

Any impact activity can stimulate the bones even jumping up and down like skipping without a rope. Jogging and running are one and the same in my mind just a little less speed. But that is neither here nor there for your intended purpose. the impact will stimulate the bones as will resistance training.

Maybe warm up with a jog and then work on key muscle groups for cycling. The load from weigh training will help with bone density too.

john59 wrote:

 Have had broken femur, smashed and dislocated elbow and collar bone which was most recent break. Luckily it was not displaced and in three weeks i could ride Mountain Bike on road but not pull on bars – in 5 weeks I was surfing with my kids (in a lot of pain). To qualify for a plate your break must have been pretty bad so it will take time – you’re over 50 (so was I) which will slow things down as well. My advice based on my experience of fractures is to do what you’re advised to do and not much point comparing your experience with anyone elses as all trauma is different and healing times are as well. The only comments on this site you might want to take notice of are ones from a qualified orthapedic surgeon – who will probably tell you the things I have based on my fracture experience.

I too would always look for a qualified opinion as you suggest. Interestingly, once the plate is in the surgeons tend to lose interest. My background is 20 years of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, so hopefully, I can address the concerns of fellow cyclists in a way that is indicative of what can be done, not what should be done.

Internal fixation used to be used for the most severe injuries, especially those who require displaced bones to be held together. Now the case is that it reduces healing times and we can avoid deconditioning and engage more readily in rehabilitation. And also the wrong way where you need a new set of dentures ala Tyler Hamilton.

This is all depressingly

This is all depressingly relevant, I’m almost four weeks into my healing after breaking my clavicle near the shoulder when I hit a speedbump I hadn’t seen (in my defence it was unmarked, unsigned and in the shade of a tree).

Mine has never been very uncomfortable and I’ve retained a lot of function in the affected arm, but my most recent X-Ray barely looked any different from the 1 week X-RAy, and the consultant mentioned there wasn’t as much callous formation as he would have liked to see.

The first consultant I saw was quite blase about offering surgery, and my physio (deals with a lot of rugby players) seemed to think it would be worthwhile. I’m now of the same mind as I didn’t like the look of how the bones were overlapping, and I would rather everything healed with good alignment. Waiting to hear back from them today.

On the plus side I’m two sessions in on my cheap turbo trainer, one session with just my headphones for company, and one with a GCN video. They’ve both been brutal workouts and I can’t help but thinking I could come out of my broken collarbone fitter than when I went in!

The healing times can vary

The healing times can vary from person to person. Whether you are a cyclist or not may have less bearing on the healing than you think. As a relatively low load bearing bone the clavicle may take a while longer to heal as bone deposition is dependent on this (Wolfs Law, I think). The plate is used to approximate the bones and micro movement stimulates the healing. 

Depending on your build, metabolism, bone density and age healing times can be variable. The venerable Mr Boardman is known have osteoporosis as a result of trying to keep his weight low for cycling, he probably wont heal as quick as expected based on this.

If the bone doesnt heal you may get a fibrous union, as opposed to a bony one. This is often seen in jockeys as it offers an advantage for repeated falls. The fibrous “hinge” allows an extra degree of flexibility and resistence to repeated impacts. This would not show on an x-ray as it is not as dense as bone. Ask your surgeon.

There is also a bone stimulator they can obtain, but I cant recall the name. Looks like a TENS machine used for pain relief but stimulates bone healing and comes with a money back guarentee if I recall.