Broken Coller Bone Recovery tips

[BigonaBianchi]

Has anybody broken their collar bone ? I'm after any tips on a speedy and effective recovery and some idea of how long it will take to ride again?
It is a full on nasty break the x ray showed the bones about an inch apart and crossing over, the docs said to keep it in a sling and take pain killers but they would not b edrawn on a recovery time or if cycling ever again was an option even???

Thanks.

 

[montage]

A broken collar bone is common amongst the pro peloton, so you will ride again for sure! The turnaround from break to being back in races is pretty short.... some of the riders are known to hop onto the turbo trainer within a day or two of the break!! Lance broke his collar bone pretty close to the 2009 tour de france I seem to remember, and came 3rd (infact I remember he jumped on the turbo the day after his operation - against doctors orders). Frank Schleck broke his collar bone during the 2010 tour de france and rode the Vuelta which isn't too long after.

If you have a turbo trainer, you could try gentle spinning on that, I'd imagine the main issue would be going back out on the bike and falling on it.


I've got no medical training and have not experienced any breaks, just commenting on what I have observed, so heed any medical advice given.

 

[BigonaBianchi]

thanks thats re assuring

 

[psmiffy]

Bear in mind that most pro cyclists will have the collar bone pinned/plated - not the practise in the UK for ordinary soles unless it is a very bad one - I probably overdid it a bit after breaking mine with the consequence that it did not heal properly and is a little unstable - does not stop me doing anything these days although I do have to be careful in choosing bib shorts as if i get the wrong design the strap tends to fall off that side

 

[Mark_Robson]

I broke my collar bone last April and like yours the bone ends were overlapping and looked pretty horrendous. I was in a restraint for three weeks and started Physio after four. I was back on the bike after six weeks but in hind sight this was too early as I started to experience loss of feeling in the effected arm, so I had to stop the cycling for another four weeks. From breaking the bone to being discharged from Physio took three months but I made really good progress because I pushed myself hard to get full movement back in my shoulder.

It's now a year down the line and my shoulder is more or less as good as new. The only issues that I have are, not being able to lie on the effected side in bed as it becomes painful and not being able to tolerate anything pressing against the break, as the overlapping bone end is still very tender. The doc says that the bone end will eventually dissolve away but it will take time.
Oh and one last thing, none of my T shirts hang properly now because my shoulders are different shapes and lengths, so the necks always look like they are pulled over to the broken side.

 

[TheDoctor]

I did mine when I was 18.
I was back on the bike after about a month, and had no real after-effects since, other than the bone having healed with a slight angle in it.

 

[Dayvo]

I broke my collar bone (on the first day of a three-month tour) and spent two nights in hospital, mainly because they didn't know if they needed to operate, as the broken bits were very adjacent to some veins/arteries there.

As it happened, no surgery was required and I was in a sling for 4-5 days. It would have helped if I had been in a brace then the bone would have healed neatly: as it is, my shoulder is about 1-2 inches closer to my neck than the other side and I have quite an impressive peak there now.

I re-started my tour after four weeks' r&r and completed the journey without too much discomfort at all.