Broken Collarbone - how long did it set you back?

[northbend]

Broke mine on monday. Dr says 6-8 weeks recovery time. What have been your experiences? I am signed up for and really looking forward to a ride in mid August (Cascade's RSVP ride and party) and i am wondering if I will be ready for 180 miles over 2 days. I had logged over 2 thousand miles this spring...

[jvp]

6 weeks for me, when I was in my late 20s. Went back to rock climbing w/ no problems or pain.

[gone]

Sorry to hear about your injury. I've done both of mine so I guess I'm qualified to give advice :crap: You should be able to make August easy. Ride a trainer sitting upright as soon as you can to keep your legs turning over and within a week or so you should be able to put a little weight on your arms. 2-3 weeks and you'll be back on the roads but take it easy and use routes where you don't have to brake a lot (no hills, light traffic, etc).

Good luck!

[sbornia]

About six weeks for me, but I was only 21...dancing accident...

[palincss]

Broke mine on monday. Dr says 6-8 weeks recovery time. What have been your experiences? I am signed up for and really looking forward to a ride in mid August (Cascade's RSVP ride and party) and i am wondering if I will be ready for 180 miles over 2 days. I had logged over 2 thousand miles this spring...

It's very variable. If you were 10, it'd probably be healed in a month. I was 53 when I broke mine, and it took over 6 months before the bones started healing. The doctor insisted it was all my fault for not staying off the bike.

I think you'd be pushing it, and pushing it hard.

[rustychisel]

considerable discomfort for 2 weeks, back on the bike after 7 weeks for easy riding, and to be honest, I didn't much feel like chancing my luck before then. Good luck.

[gone]

As others have observed, we all heal differently, not all accidents are the same in terms of the damage they do and age is certainly a factor. Having said that, I still think a ride in 6 weeks is doable but you're in for some considerable discomfort.

For what it's worth, in addition to the collar bone, I broke 2 ribs and had a collapsed lung. I spent 2 days in the hospital with a chest tube to re-inflate the lung.. My accident was on 12/11 and my first ride was 10 miles on a trainer on 12/30. I did 15 on 12/31. My first ride on the roads was 1/12 and I rode 495 miles in January total, 875 in February and 1445 in March.

The collar bone healed fine.

Edited to add: I was 52 when this happened.

[stackie]

Tyler rode the TdF with a broken collarbone. Of course, he had to have his molars capped afterwards from grinding them down. It's all in your pain threshold.

Jon

[markie]

There are two key factors...

How old are you?

How displaced is the fracture?

If you are old and the broken ends are far apart then you might want to relax and wait for things to heal.

When I broke mine when I was 33 I had almost 1cm of displacement (pretty bad).

I started riding the trainer after 10 days and got on the road bike after I could see (x-ray) bone mass forming between the displaced ends (6 weeks). I did not ride hard/mountain bike for 8 weeks.

[regularguy412]

Broke mine at age 34. It was in three pieces; each end longer and a small fragment about 1/2 inch long in the middle. Was off the bike totally for about two weeks. Hadda sleep in the recliner. Beginning third week after the break, I was back on the trainer, sitting up straight, not holding the bars. Total recovery time before getting back outside for me was eight weeks. Then I took it easy, too -- no racing for a few more weeks. I just couldn't bring myself to take the chance of re-injuring that spot. I didn't have a plate and screws,, just a figure-8 sling.

Spinning on the trainer as soon as you can will help recovery. Just don't push it.

Mike in AR:beer:

[markie]

I didn't have a plate and screws,, just a figure-8 sling.

Spinning on the trainer as soon as you can will help recovery. Just don't push it.

Mike in AR:beer:


Highly recommended unless then ends of your fracture are badly displaced.

[Orin]

Broke mine on monday. Dr says 6-8 weeks recovery time. What have been your experiences? I am signed up for and really looking forward to a ride in mid August (Cascade's RSVP ride and party) and i am wondering if I will be ready for 180 miles over 2 days. I had logged over 2 thousand miles this spring...

Depends on how badly you broke it...

I broke mine in 2001 2/27 as I recall. Here is my ride record from then on:

3/10 16 miles trail, recumbent trike
3/15 6 miles indoor trainer
3/17 24 miles road (McClinchy Mile), recumbent trike
3/25 28 miles trail, (42x17 fixed gear(!) I regretted that one)
4/1 19 miles Ben Howard Rd/Old Owen Rd, regular bike
4/8 15 miles trail, recumbent bike
4/14 8 miles trail, recumbent bike
4/15 64 miles road, regular bike
4/22 53 miles road, regular bike
4/26 44 miles road, regular bike
4/29 51 miles road, regular bike

Trail was Burke-Gilman from Bothell to U-Village or Interurban in S Everett. So, after 6 weeks, I could do 50-60 mile rides. I do recall that hitting bumps could be painful. I did break mine fairly badly - I could count 3 main pieces on the x-ray and a couple of small fragments.

So... I'd reassess how how you are feeling at the end of the month. I'd guess there is a fair chance of doing the ride, but you'll want to try to maintain your fitness somehow whether by using an indoor trainer or finding something you can't fall off.

Orin.

[Big Daddy]

broke mine in Durango.

had a concussion, and 15 stitches in the back of my head.

1 week off bike next week on the road with discomfort...racing by week 4. it was a complete break. no pain since. that was 15 years ago.

[Ozz]

Do you have any pins or screws?

I broke mine when I was about 20...pinned it, but the pin backed out and it got infected....bad news....lots-o Keflex got me back on track.

Six to eight weeks sounds about right.....

[Jack Brunk]

12 weeks and it's just know able to handle Mtn biking along with light track riding. I was back on the road in 4 weeks but it wasn't pleasant to say the least.

[Tailwinds]

As others have stated, it depends on the severity of the break and your age. I was 30 when I broke mine -- it was displaced about 1 cm and did not heal w/hard bone formation. Only softer tissue (like cartilage) connects the two pieces now, but I have no pain. I made the mistake of moving around too much early on when the pain lessened. Otherwise, docs think I would have had better healing. Docs said 16 weeks initially because of my age (big difference between 20 & 30 apparently). You might be ok to do that ride -- hopefully your collarbone isn't very displaced. I refractured my collarbone in the same place (without displacing it) 5 months after the initial break, and I was VERY sore for a couple of days, but then I was fine and riding again.

[PaulE]

Broke mine 6/24/03 when I was 46. Also broke 3 ribs and my shoulder blade. I had a plate and 6 screws put in to repair my collarbone in early July that year. Through August I was in a sling that kept my arm immobile. Although I had my doctor's permission to ride the trainer indoors, I just didn't feel like it in the heat of the summer and didn't more than once or twice. Labor day weekend that year I went outside on the bike for the first time, and I did a century that ended up at 112 miles the first week in October. I you don't make this event, there will be others later. Get well soon.

[little.man]

Like everyone else keeps repeating ... it depends on how bad the break was. Have broke my left one twice, last time was in early April on a Saturday. Was broke more toward the end and could not tell initially that it was broke - rode the next day by myself for about 50 miles. Finally went to the Dr mid-week and found out Friday it was broke. Never stopped riding, but only rode for a max of 2 hours, ~30 miles for 4 weeks. Back to regular training ride by week 5. Little to no pain by week 6. I am 48 and weightlift regularly, so have a bit more muscle to hold the break in place. Have a greath bike path to ride, so little to no riding in traffic. Course, was real nervous around any other cyclists, peds, etc.

Also had a chiropracter laser it. There is a special laser that they use on bones. He had articles of prof cycling teams using it. Was the quickest I ever healed that I remember from that type of break. He rides, so did it for free. Figured it couldn't hurt. Seemed to feel better after the treatment. Maybe just in my mind.

Time before, I broke it was closer to the neck and much worse. 8 weeks, no riding. But, it was broke clean in two and totally different.

Mark

[Orin]

FWIW, this is how badly I broke mine...

http://www.drizzle.com/~orin/xray1.jpg

Orin.

[northbend]

thanks everyone. for now i'll take a wait and see approach to the august ride and make the final decision in 3 weeks after my next dr appt. the RSVP ride is sold out and i am sure there will be no prioblem finding someone to take my place if it turns out that way. i am 50, the bones were displaced from what i could see in the photos, about the width of the bone itself. today was my first day back to work and by the end of the day i was very sore. next week a friend is loaning me a trainer so i'll use that and mix in some hikes in the surrounding mtns to do some gentle workouts

this experience has left me very grateful. it could have been far worse than it turned out to be and i'll soon be back in the saddle again

[Jeff Weir]

At 54 years old, broke my collarbone and was back on the bike in 3 weeks...mellow 20 mile rides. A couple of weeks later all was good. Take it easy for now, let it heal.

[PK9]

Broke mine March 1 this year. I'm 47 and the break was distal third with displacement. Had surgery after 1 week -- new procedure, cable and button instead of plate and pins.

Back on trainer after 2 weeks. Back on road after 7 weeks -- but it was pretty sore for about 12 weeks.

Just starting to feel a good level of fitness and comfort again after 4 months. What a drag.

As has been said, see how you're healing, talk to your doctor. And, I'd add, be conservative -- it's frustrating, but there'll be many more bike rides later, and doing serious damage will ultimately not serve you well.

Good luck, heal quickly!

[little.man]

If you want an almost daily report of what it feels like, go to Randy Legeai's blog:

http://nola_racing.blogspot.com/

Go to his May archives and start at May 3. Randy broke his 2 weeks after I broke mine. Randy is 55. He healed pretty quickly for his age, I believe.

The blog provides an excellent overview of riding and racing in the New Orleans area.

Mark