Broken Collarbones?

[Bill Bove]

Big George and PVP's week end misfortunes got me thinking. How many of us here have broken their collarbones? Me? Three, twice on the bike and once falling out of a tree. Allways the right side, I almost want to break the left one to get even.

[Kevan]

Big George and PVP's week end misfortunes got me thinking. How many of us here have broken their collarbones? Me? Three, twice on the bike and once falling out of a tree. Allways the right side, I almost want to break the left one to get even.

The fanatical clavicle. Umm..next time... keep the bike out of the tree.

Not me! Where's some wood? Sandy... let me knock on your head.

[Onno]

Because that's what the surgeon did to my collarbone after I separated my shoulder pretty badly in a bike crash (dog meets bike). So now I have no bump at all on my right shoulder, and the left (normal) one looks weird.

Onno

[kestrel]

There's only two kinds of bike riders, the ones who have already had their collarbone broken, and the one's that will.

Twice, once by dog, and once riding a speed bump alongside George Hincapie.

[gone]

Left side: collar bone, scapula, 4 ribs.

Right side: collar bone, 1 rib.

Both times: collapsed lung, lots of soft tissue damage. Jury is still out on whether or not I'll have surgery on the right side. Prior to doing the right side (on December 11), my left arm/shoulder was 1" lower than my right. Not completely healed yet so don't know whether or not I'll "balance".

Ouch. Ouch. Ouch.

[JohnS]

May, 1978 Motorcycle accident.

[RHD]

Broke mine on the first ride of my new bike. I wanted to ride her so badly that I was in a hurry grabbed my best wheels but couldn't find the right quick releases and grabbed some old alu. ones out of the parts bin. They slipped going up a steep little grade,the rear wheel went forward and I went over the bars. That shot of morphine in the ER made getting off my jersey a snap .
I refused to let the firemen cut it off. A surgery with a plate and four screws along with a nice scar is my entry ticket to the clavicle club! Moral to the story for me is Dura Ace skewers will hold in a Ti frame, cheap Alum. is a crash wating to happen.

[Sandy]

The fanatical clavicle. Umm..next time... keep the bike out of the tree.

Not me! Where's some wood? Sandy... let me knock on your head.


You woodn't, wood you??


:banana: Sawdust Sandy :banana:

[coylifut]

broke my collarbone when I was 17. Got hit by a car. Broke my scapula about a year ago. Off the bike for 3 weeks.

[rnhood]

So, for those of you who have broken collarbones, does the scar tissue leave a long term knot or, lump where the break occurred? Just curious.

[Dr. Doofus]

broken nose twice

broken cheekbone

broken jaw

(dofo tends to land on his face)

broken ribs

no clavicle (yet)

[palincss]

There I was, Just Riding Along, first ride on my new Bruce Gordon Rock 'n Road Tour and the next thing I know I'm on the ground on my back and something doesn't feel right .

I eventually get up and try to figure out what happened, can't see a thing. I'm standing right next to it and can't see -- the large paved over depression, pot hole, whatever, about the size of half a pumpkin. There's no break in the asphalt, and because we're in a tree tunnel, there's no shadow to give the hole any relief to make it visible. When I went in, it yanked my wheel over and I went over the bars and onto the grass shoulder, but hard enough to break my left collar bone all the way through.

It took something like 8 or 9 months for it to completely heal.

I can't imagine how somebody could ride competitively in a professional bicycle race with a broken collar bone. I was completely doped up on Percocets for a week after the wreck and it still hurt like hell.

[palincss]

So, for those of you who have broken collarbones, does the scar tissue leave a long term knot or, lump where the break occurred? Just curious.

Scar? Nothing on the skin you'd notice, but the bones joined together at an odd angle, and there's a bump you'd notice if you felt around for it.

But once it heals, other than the odd appearance, there doesn't appear to be any residual loss. Range of motion is perfectly normal, no scar, no pain, just some bad memories.

Now on the other side, that's a wholely different story.

I hit a root and went off the C&O Canal Towpath and down into the Canal itself in 2003, hitting the towpath on the way down. The impact drove the humerus up through the knob on top, shattering it into a dozen pieces.

It took 3 surgeries in all to piece it together to reform a knob, and over six months of physical therapy plus a sould-deep understanding of what "10" on the pain scale means, enough of a loss of range of motion that I need to use the unaffected arm to get dishes out of a cupboard and can't lift a bike up onto a roof rack.

Still, the outcome was much better than what you'd expect with a prosthetic, and although it took a year to get there I'm back on normal bikes with normal length stems; and as long as I do my routines every morning, I can ride all day without any discomfort. I can even drink out of water bottles.

A broken shoulder like that is an accident you really don't want to have. Trust me.

[bironi]

So, for those of you who have broken collarbones, does the scar tissue leave a long term knot or, lump where the break occurred? Just curious.

Not for me. Just a 1" step on my right shoulder. I am considering an adjustment to my break hoods to compensate for a slightly different reach.

[05Fierte TI]

I broke the shoulder socket (glenoid fracture) and the ball of the shoulder ended up sitting down on my rib cage. Everythig ended up being pushed down as I landed head first on my right shoulder. Surgury and many months of therapy to get 85% of my range of motion back. That one hurt, I would rather not try that again!!!!!!

[billrick]

Yes - bright Texas August afternoon, sunglasses, sharp transition from sun to shade at the bottom of a steep hill, giant-truck-swallowing pot hole that I did not see until the front wheel dipped into it at 35 mph. I woke up on the pavement surrounded by a ring of bearded Hell's Angels bikers peering down on me. "Duuude, you wiped out." They called an ambulance, waved in unison as it pulled away, and then guarded my bike until my Mom showed up 45 minutes later. I have a funny mental image of my guardian angels now.

Broken collar bone and concussion and serious road rash. I still have a big knot on my left shoulder.

[Tailwinds]

Bike vs. dogs @ 35 mph :crap:

Healed w/soft scar tissue instead of the hard, bony stuff, so I'm at risk for refracturing... already have, actually. :butt:

[nobrakes]

I sport the optional 3-piece right clavicle. Yes, a bike crash. It's healed-still a large lump of calcification noticable, but not painful. Happened 5 yrs. ago, was out riding 3 days later (I called it therapy).

[Kevan]

Now on the other side, that's a wholely different story.

I hit a root and went off the C&O Canal Towpath and down into the Canal itself in 2003, hitting the towpath on the way down. The impact drove the humerus up through the knob on top, shattering it into a dozen pieces.

It took 3 surgeries in all to piece it together to reform a knob, and over six months of physical therapy plus a sould-deep understanding of what "10" on the pain scale means, enough of a loss of range of motion that I need to use the unaffected arm to get dishes out of a cupboard and can't lift a bike up onto a roof rack.

Still, the outcome was much better than what you'd expect with a prosthetic, and although it took a year to get there I'm back on normal bikes with normal length stems; and as long as I do my routines every morning, I can ride all day without any discomfort. I can even drink out of water bottles.

A broken shoulder like that is an accident you really don't want to have. Trust me.

Damn!

[keno]

Rider in front of me on a group ride didn't signal a pothole. I quickly learned its whereabouts. Right collar bone, two ribs. Collar bone never healed, so I have a circuit breaker. Looks a little funky in comparison to the left, but what else is new?

keno

[Rich_W]

I've broken both sides...

[rpm]

Three times, always on the left. The last one, in 1999, was the most flamboyant. I was racing in the World Transplant Games in Budapest. The race was on a Friday on Chapel Island, a big island in the Danube, that was home to an industrial/working class neighborhood. The organization left a lot to be desired--the gendarmes sort of neglected to tell the neighbors that there was a bike race going on. I had just motored up to the lead group and was sitting in comfortably, when wheels started wobbling. I was next to a curb when a Spanish guy fell into me, and my collarbone was gone.

About eight people went down because some idiot had backed his car out of a driveway straight into the group. A couple of Spanish guys and an Italian got the worst of it, with multiple broken limbs. I was at least able to ride back to the start and went to a hospital with my Norwegian friend Jan, who went over the top of me and was badly cut up.

The hospital was surreal. There are good hospitals in Budapest, but this wasn't one of them. We were sitting around on straight-backed chairs for a long time waiting to be seen. I wanted some ice, and Jan wanted some water, but nope, neither was available, nor were there any pain pills. Finally an x-ray attendant came out, and he was a hunchback (no kidding!). He took me into an x-ray room that had an old Soviet machine that looked like something Madame Curie might have used. By that time, I expected Boris Karloff to come out and announce he was going to perform a few "tests" on me.

I left with my arm in a sling, and my x-rays in hand--they didn't bother with insurance and bills. The crash messed up an otherwise good time. Budapest is a beautiful and intriguing city, modern in many ways, but still showing the legacy of having been invaded and occupied so many times.

[PaulE]

plus scapula and three or four ribs from a paceline accident in June 2003 that was my fault. Had the collarbone put back together with a stainless steel plate and six screws. I wanted titanium but wasn't offered it. So I have an incision scar and you can feel the plate and screw heads under the skin. I could have another operation to have it out now, but it doesn't bother me and doesn't set off metal detectors at airports, so it's staying in.

When I had the operation, they put me out before I got a good look around the O.R. I wanted to see the surgical grade tools they use, which I imagine included some type of bench grinder, polisher, anvil, hammers, etc. to shape the plate to me, and a drill/screwgun to attach the plate. Sort of like taking a basic lug and carving it into its final form.

[ericspin]

Broke the left collarbone. After surgery the doc told me it would be awhile before I would be able to get back on the bike because of the pressure on the break. I showed him. I bought a Bachetta recumbent and was back at it within a few days of the surgery. I learned to ride it in a paceline and most surprisingly I found that it climbed pretty well. After the collarbone healed and I got back on the Serotta I robbed parts off of the bent to build up my IF PlanetX. Anybody interested in a recumbent frame?

[sc53]

Why oh why did I read this entire thread on the very day my doc cleared me to ride again "as soon as I feel I'm ready" after shattering my left humerus in December. I feel SICK! My arm is 90% back and this thread has me thinking I'd better wait till it's 200% and then wear some kind of body armor anyway.
You guys are crazy, breaking your collarbones three times!!

[Ozz]

broken nose twice

broken cheekbone

broken jaw

(dofo tends to land on his face)

broken ribs

no clavicle (yet)
Good one....

right arm - falling off playground equipment, 4th grade
left arm - falling down stairs, 5th grade
left arm - jumping over things (12 traffic cones) on my Schwinn Typhoon, 7th grade
Nose - soccer, high school
right leg (tibia) - soccer, high school
left leg (tibia and fibula) - soccer, college
right collarbone - soccer, college (same time as left leg)

[sw3759]

"There's only two kinds of bike riders, the ones who have already had their collarbone broken, and the one's that will"


word.....


i broke my right CB at 30mph after hitting a dog,could not dodge all 3 of em'.at least it got me off the murder trial jury.the judge got a good laugh out of that one.got the big hump and one shoulder higher then the other..broke my sweet Specialized sub6 lid.made me a believer in helmets for sure.

[pdonk]

I am a memebr of this club too.

My right shoulder is a good inch to onch and a half lower than my left shoulder.

Being young and stupid when I did it, I did not get physio for it ("it will heal itself") and now 15 years later have mobility issues (range of motion) and have to avoid sleeping on that side.

[Keith Lewis]

I caught a lump of blacktop with my right pedal going into a right hand corner at speed. When I hit the pavement on the left shoulder I was still on the aero bars. Broke three ribs on the left side and exploded the collar bone at the shoulder joint. The unattached part lifted about one to one and a half inches making a real big bump. Three orthopedic guys said nothing they could do to fix it. I have normal range of motion and loss of about 20% strength on the left side. It makes real strange grinding noises when I rotate it and when the weather is damp it gets sore. I had to ride eight miles back to the house after the crash and found that at over 15mph my body would shut off breathing due to rib pain. It was a long ride. Almost as much damage as I have done on my dirt bike.

[gone]

I caught a lump of blacktop with my right pedal going into a right hand corner at speed. When I hit the pavement on the left shoulder I was still on the aero bars. Broke three ribs on the left side and exploded the collar bone at the shoulder joint. The unattached part lifted about one to one and a half inches making a real big bump. Three orthopedic guys said nothing they could do to fix it. I have normal range of motion and loss of about 20% strength on the left side. It makes real strange grinding noises when I rotate it and when the weather is damp it gets sore. I had to ride eight miles back to the house after the crash and found that at over 15mph my body would shut off breathing due to rib pain. It was a long ride. Almost as much damage as I have done on my dirt bike.
Other than the accident details, this sounds like exactly what I did on my second collar bone mishap - a group II/III separation. I am having surgery on 6/23 with a lengthy recovery and not too brilliant chances of recovery. Also, something you and I both have to look forward to, quoted from an orthopedic journal:

"Several studies have been done looking at what happens to the
acromioclavicular (AC) joint after this injury. It appears that many
people, whether they had the joint repaired surgically or not, will
need an operation at some time in the future. The injured joint
degenerates faster than normal and over time becomes arthritic and
painful. This process may take years to develop, but sometimes this
happens within 1-2 years."

Whoopie.

[Spectrum Bob]

I have a plate and several screws on my right side – it happened not far from Len’s place – I was out for a ride with Flydhest and the Doctor – it was no ones fault but my own – I must say one thing that there are few people better to be with you on the side of the road waiting for an ambulance than the Doctor

[botchcasually]

PT sessions for 3rd Degree shoulder separation. Which is actually the easy part, the broken ribs that are no fun, but the collapsed lung and resulting subcutaneous emphysema were what made it all very interesting. I think I have to marry that telephone pole now.

[flydhest]

broke my collarbone . . . same week that some numbskull parked a tractor across the street from my office and claimed to have explosives, got stood up by the dishwasher delivery guys only to have them come later and deliver one that leaks, have my contractor tell me the architect screwed up the plans for the garage we were building, and then have my car stolen from in front of my house.

what a week. On the bright side, I had Sandy around who took me to the hospital and was an all-around good friend.