Clavicle Surgery Recovery

[corky]

Broke mine nov 2018, am about 10 weeks ago..... hit a kerb went over and as soon as I stood up I knew I’d broken my clavicle, rode home, then drove to local a&e , x ray showed clean break, went to the fracture clinic and they said no to surgery, the only time they would do so would be if there were multiple injuries.

They did prescribe physio, but that was they knew I was an athelete( using the term loosely😀). Who turned out to be a godsend in advice and exercises.

2 days after break I was on my turbo and actually riding outside on bike within 2 weeks.

Am now as good as ever but I have a bit of a lump sticking out, which may or may not recede........basically healing was as quick as could be expected

Good look with your recovery.....

[dgauthier]

The only advice is do the appropriate physical therapy as you heal. You don't necessarily need to visit a physical therapist, you can find this information on-line.

(I did my collarbone physical therapy based on what I found on-line. My surgeon was so pleased with my progress he said to visit a physical therapist "would be a waste of time and money".)

It's interesting to hear how many people in this thread are moving their arms in their sleep. One physical therapy excercise is to bend over, let your arm hang down, and while keeping your arm straight, draw circles about a foot in diameter with a pointed index finger. My wife said I did this movement (pointing towards the ceiling) in my sleep.

[dgauthier]

Originally Posted by Onion

Holy smokes. I can't believe that healed on its own. the human body is crazy.

There's apparently an old joke among orthopedic surgeons that collarbone ends that are in the same room will eventually fuse.

[Calnago]

^It would kind of seem that way. I think in the old days nothing was done with a broken collarbone (surgically at least) and it just healed the way it healed, for better or worse. Then they started to fix “everything”, with plates, screws, whatever. Nowadays, it’s a little more grey as to whether surgery is always the best option or not. I learned a lot about it through my own experience. I think as a professional athlete, they would almost always opt for surgery to get the athlete back to competing form ASAP. But it’s not so cut and dry for the rest of us. I guess like with so many things in life... it depends.

[tanghy]

Originally Posted by dgauthier

The only advice is do the appropriate physical therapy as you heal. You don't necessarily need to visit a physical therapist, you can find this information on-line.

(I did my collarbone physical therapy based on what I found on-line. My surgeon was so pleased with my progress he said to visit a physical therapist "would be a waste of time and money".)

It's interesting to hear how many people in this thread are moving their arms in their sleep. One physical therapy excercise is to bend over, let your arm hang down, and while keeping your arm straight, draw circles about a foot in diameter with a pointed index finger. My wife said I did this movement (pointing towards the ceiling) in my sleep.

Can you share more tips about your physiotherapy?
Recovering from a non surgery broken collarbone now and still have some range of motion issues and a lot of clicking noises when moving the shoulder.

[Ken Robb]

Originally Posted by tanghy

Can you share more tips about your physiotherapy?
Recovering from a non surgery broken collarbone now and still have some range of motion issues and a lot of clicking noises when moving the shoulder.

Check with a doc re: clicking because that might indicate more damage than you thought.

[tanghy]

Originally Posted by Ken Robb

Check with a doc re: clicking because that might indicate more damage than you thought.

the clicking came with the physiotherapy, ie more physiotherapy, more release, more range, and then more noise. It kinda freaks me out but apparently this is normal.

the bones have started mending from Xrays taken, so it won't be the bones moving causing the sound.

[Ken Robb]

I shattered my clavicle and scapula (plus a few ribs, etc.) in a crash so the surgeons used screws and plates to piece things back together. It all works quite well after lots of PT. I asked if my shoulder would be more fragile afterward and the surgeon said he didn't think so BUT if I broke it again he didn't know if the pieces would be big enough to reassemble.

[tanghy]

Originally Posted by Ken Robb

I shattered my clavicle and scapula (plus a few ribs, etc.) in a crash so the surgeons used screws and plates to piece things back together. It all works quite well after lots of PT. I asked if my shoulder would be more fragile afterward and the surgeon said he didn't think so BUT if I broke it again he didn't know if the pieces would be big enough to reassemble.

do you have a full range of motion after all the PT?

[Ken Robb]

Originally Posted by tanghy

do you have a full range of motion after all the PT?

I think so but there are some movements that cause pain near my scapula when I have to reach/stretch like reaching into a washing machine to remove stuff. Well, that's what I tell my wife anyway. All kidding aside, that does hurt a bit.

When I started back to working out with moderately heavy weights I felt some discomfort in my shoulder joint and my surgeon recommended not continuing that activity. Well, I did. I'm not as strong as I was or maybe would be but I don't want any chronic pain due to over doing weights in my weakened condition.


c

[dgauthier]

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