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so i broke my collarbone

ALEXIS_DH

Tirelessly Awesome
Jan 30, 2003
6,147
796
Lima, Peru, Peru
well... i had to pay to the pachamama for all these awesome years of riding.
first time i break a bone.... just broke my collarbone clean today at a dh track (came too hot into a berm, and ended hitting the ground hard, head first. i think my helmet chin bar broke my collarbone.

anyways... suggestions? i have 20 days of medical leave for this.
i got a figure 8 cast... any options to speed up recovery? suggestions as to not end up with a lump or badly fused collarbone? anything i could ask my dr??


thanks!
 
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jasride

Turbo Monkey
Sep 23, 2006
1,069
5
PA
wear the lump proud! that thing mends together harder than a trucker knot.

edit: grammar whore
 
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BMCarter

Monkey
Oct 10, 2007
297
0
Santa Barbara
My last collarbone break, I was back riding XC within 2 weeks, and DH in 4 weeks. I did the Figure 8 brace at first, but found that a really nice sling with a strap that goes around the torso worked better.

My plan of attack when I'm broken.

No Alcohol
No Caffeine
No Soda
No painkillers
Strict diet (lots of protein, low fat, low carb, lots of fresh veggies, etc.)
Exercise as much as possible (trainer, exercise bike, etc.)

Took the following 2x daily
Glucosamine
Calcium + Vitamin D
Collagen
4-500mg Naproxen
Standard multi-vitamin

My theory was that the exercise got my blood pumping, taking more blood to the broken area to help with healing. The glucosamine helped the A/C Joint heal (you broke a bone, the joint isn't happy), Calcium+D is obvious. Collagen is a major component in bone marrow, so more can't hurt. Alcohol, Caffeine, the chemicals in soda and painkillers are known to inhibit bone growth.

Did all this help, don't know. But I can guarantee that it didn't hurt. My break was not all the way though, sort of splintered the distal end (imagine what a tree branch looks like if you try to snap it in half),

EDIT: Expect a lump. It will be bad at first, but over the next few years it will shrink a little.
 
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bean

Turbo Monkey
Feb 16, 2004
1,335
0
Boulder
suggestions as to not end up with a lump or badly fused collarbone? anything i could ask my dr??
Wait until it's fully healed before doing anything intense? My brother broke his snowboarding. He was back in the terrain park a week or two later and broke it again, but worse and had to have surgery.
 

HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
6,628
5,443
Don't rest it for six weeks and get straight back to normal activities, increase weights slowly or there's a good chance you will feel pain at the newly fused joint. Also you should be able to tell after a couple of weeks if you have any ligament damage.

I found about a week after they fuse I could do full rotations with a slight amount of pain but I think keeping it mobile after it fuses seems good. My first one is overlapping and I was on the bike in six weeks but after a year I found out it hadn't healed fully. The other side is just **** the bone at the shoulder end sits behind the other bit so my shoulder sits in the wrong spot, I also did some ligament damage and requested scans and after almost a year I got the scans and ditched my ****ing retard of a physio real quick.

If you don't like a professional opinion get a second, it's your body and you are stuck with it for life so you may as well fix it the best you can.
 

Mattcz

Chimp
Oct 17, 2009
36
3
Take the pills the Dr prescripes.
Swimming is good way to start your recovery.
Don't mix pills and swimming.
 

HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
6,628
5,443
Don't take the pills, if it hurts like hell when the bones move you try and minimise how often it happens, that helps you recover more quickly.

Prop yourself up with pillows so you can't roll over, if you roll over the bones move, it hurts and slows healing.

Button up shirts FTW!
 

daisycutter

Turbo Monkey
Apr 8, 2006
1,651
124
New York City
I broke mine three weeks ago; four days after buying a new frame. After 12 years of season passes; a little gift from Plattekill. The doc says its healing well and my range of motion has increased. but the shoulder pain seems to be getting worse.
 

HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
6,628
5,443
That was a big problem with mine the bone healed fine but I knew there was something wrong after the bone fused, I was getting pain at the joint as well as the fracture.

I have no training in any of this sort of stuff but a fairly cheap ultrasound(free in Aus) let me know what was going on and my new physio told me what I should do to sort it out.
 

Nick

My name is Nick
Sep 21, 2001
23,927
14,439
where the trails are
Mind your posture during the first few weeks while it 'sets'. Sit or stand straight, shoulders back, don't slouch.
I think that sling did more to remind me of my posture than to actually pull my shoulders into any position.
 
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Trailslug46

Monkey
May 14, 2006
123
0
Indiana
Get something on under that figure-8 brace. I tore away layers of skin everytime I took the brace off to take a shower. I also broke my coracoid process when I broke my clavicle. Didn't know the process was broken until I fell on the same shoulder a couple years later. X-ray tech was more interested in talking on her phone than getting a good picture of the break.
 

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,346
1,587
Warsaw :/
well... i had to pay to the pachamama for all these awesome years of riding.
first time i break a bone.... just broke my collarbone clean today at a dh track (came too hot into a berm, and ended hitting the ground hard, head first. i think my helmet chin bar broke my collarbone.

anyways... suggestions? i have 20 days of medical leave for this.
i got a figure 8 cast... any options to speed up recovery? suggestions as to not end up with a lump or badly fused collarbone? anything i could ask my dr??

thanks!
If you want a 100% guarantee there are no lumps go for surgery in a specialistic sports clinic. I just had my plate taken out at Monday the previous week. Also are you 100% sure nothing is moving in the cast? Are the bones after they were set completely in line or there is an overlap ? If there is an overlap you will have a lump.



wear the lump proud! that thing mends together harder than a trucker knot.
A lump makes your bone weaker, not stronger.
 

mandown

Poopdeck Repost
Jun 1, 2004
20,128
7,679
Transylvania 90210
YouTube search shoulder muscles and rehab exercises. The rotator cuff muscles are small and weak, but very important. After the time in the cast, they will be weak, and I'd be more concerned about that than the bone healing. Do light weight exercises to get things working again. Anything over 5lbs will incorporate the bigger muscles in the area like the pecs, delts, and lats. You want to get the little muscles like the spinatus brothers and the sub scapula gang.