Broken clavicle / collar bone

[Cherrybomb]

Yep, been in a sling since the hospital visit. It's unbearable to get around without it.

Yup on the pain when moving,I broke mine playing football back in 1970 in H.S. at a night game.I went home and to school the next day.I held my shoulder up by putting my hand in my belt loop to keep the ends of the bones from banging together.My Biology teacher saw me walking like that,and unbuttoned my shirt and explained all about it.I went to the Dr.that afternoon and got that harness thing to pull the bones together and properly aligned.That is the real secret to healing.My Dr.said he would have to watch it and rebrake it if necessary.Mine is off about ,a 1/16th,that was acceptable, thank God!There is lots of nerves,that go to your shoulder and arms.That bone really has a job for alignment. I'm right handed,it was my right collarbone, I came out good,no problems since,I pray you will too!!! Oh by the way,I scored a touchdown with a broken collarbone on the next play.Im 72 years old now,and not so tough.L.O.L I see you have a large gap,that has to come together and be nicely aligned, that's what you're after,and then you will be good to go!! Keep us posted,I'm not a Dr. but I did stay at a Holiday Inn once!!!!!

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

Broke mine pretty badly in a low speed bicycle crash on Monday. So far, pretty miserable. Anyone have any experience? Hoping for good news at the next appointment.

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Sorry to hear that. Good luck to you.

 

[Pablo]

Take it easy and get well ASAP

 

[ecotourist]

Broke mine playing beach volleyball. It hurt a lot. Saw a doctor at the Sports Medicine Clinic on day 3 with a large bruise on my upper chest. "Where are your x-rays?" he asked. "You're the first person I've seen about it" I told him.

In my case the ends of the bone were well opposed. They put me in a sling but it felt better without so I didn't wear it after the first day. I had no further treatment and had a perfect result.

They may be waiting to see how it looks on a repeat x-ray. Bones will heal in what is called bayonet opposition (ie overlapping) but there may be a residual deformity.

When I broke my collarbone I was a 3 or 4 hour drive from home. I couldn't lift my left arm except by holding onto the steering wheel and rotating the steering wheel with my right arm. That worked some sort of way because I drove home.

I was working for the Federal Government at the time and because I was "injured while in travel status", my beach volleyball injury became a work-related injury. Seemed sort of funny at the time. I didn't miss any time from work and had no residual disability so it didn't make any difference but I suppose it could have.

 

[02SE]

Just been on Motrin. I don't do opioids. I rather deal with pain than the risk

Be careful with the NSAIDS too. I can't use them at all, GI bleed concerns.

That looks miserable. Good luck.

 

[loneryder]

Broke mine playing beach volleyball. It hurt a lot. Saw a doctor at the Sports Medicine Clinic on day 3 with a large bruise on my upper chest. "Where are your x-rays?" he asked. "You're the first person I've seen about it" I told him.

In my case the ends of the bone were well opposed. They put me in a sling but it felt better without so I didn't wear it after the first day. I had no further treatment and had a perfect result.

They may be waiting to see how it looks on a repeat x-ray. Bones will heal in what is called bayonet opposition (ie overlapping) but there may be a residual deformity.

Bones can do some bridging but that space looks too large to me.

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

When I broke my collarbone I was a 3 or 4 hour drive from home. I couldn't lift my left arm except by holding onto the steering wheel and rotating the steering wheel with my right arm. That worked some sort of way because I drove home.

I was working for the Federal Government at the time and because I was "injured while in travel status", my beach volleyball injury became a work-related injury. Seemed sort of funny at the time. I didn't miss any time from work and had no residual disability so it didn't make any difference but I suppose it could have.

I had to ride my bike back. Probably 2-3 miles. It was rough but the pain wasn't so bad until later. Not a chance I could ride my bike after a few hours or even now. Its my right side and Im right handed so that's been an adventure too.

 

[mdtn952]

Just been on Motrin. I don't do opioids. I rather deal with pain than the risk

Reconsider short term opioids...at this early stage....especially if you are unable to sleep due to pain....take lowest effective dose...not every body becomes addicted...but, you know you. good luck! nasty fx

 

[frankbee3]

Broke mine pretty badly in a low speed bicycle crash on Monday. So far, pretty miserable. Anyone have any experience? Hoping for good news at the next appointment.

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I had a clavicle fracture when I was a teenager a LONG time ago. My fracture was pretty clean and simple and just required six to eight weeks in a sling to recover. The pain was minimal and I healed with no surgery required. I was lucky and young.
If it happened now, it would probably be a much bigger deal for me. I have noticed that even with dental work like root canals, things affect me more than it used to. I don't bounce back as quickly.

I hope your recovery is quick and complete with minimal pain. Sounds like you and I had similar accidents..

 

[Cherrybomb]

Anyone who had their injury coming off their bike,wearing any protection,any other injuries,and what surface did you land on?We can learn and all understand, save some pain for the next guy!!!

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

Anyone who had their injury coming off their bike,wearing any protection,any other injuries,and what surface did you land on?We can learn and all understand, save some pain for the next guy!!!

Concrete, no protection, thought it wasn't dangerous just going for a lesiure ride. Hit my head too, so between that, the adrenaline and panic when I found out I was messed up, I can't remember exactly what happened. Just minor scrapes on my arm and hand. I've gotten worse scrapes just running and sliding. Lesson learned?

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

I had a clavicle fracture when I was a teenager a LONG time ago. My fracture was pretty clean and simple and just required six to eight weeks in a sling to recover. The pain was minimal and I healed with no surgery required. I was lucky and young.
If it happened now, it would probably be a much bigger deal for me. I have noticed that even with dental work like root canals, things affect me more than it used to. I don't bounce back as quickly.

I hope your recovery is quick and complete with minimal pain. Sounds like you and I had similar accidents..

Yep, Middle 40s, you dont recover like you used to.

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

Reconsider short term opioids...at this early stage....especially if you are unable to sleep due to pain....take lowest effective dose...not every body becomes addicted...but, you know you. good luck! nasty fx

I can sleep well enough and can deal with it. I know myself well enough to not take anything that I dont absolutely need. Thanks, I could use some luck...

 

[ecotourist]

A useful strategy may be to take small doses of both acetaminophen and Motrin. They act independently, and while both have potential side effects (hepatotoxicity and GI irritation respectively), are safer with small doses.

Ice works pretty well too. That's why local anesthesia is called "freezing".

I wouldn't take opioids for more than a few days under any circumstances (except in the final run up to mortality where it really doesn't matter any more) because of the risk of addiction.

 

[2005jettatdi]

Opiates have their place and purpose. As long as they are controlling the pain you are probably not getting addicted. I was addicted to vicoden back in 2000 after nasal surgery. With nasal surgery you are dealing with discomfort rather than pain. A couple of hours of real discomfort as my body adjusted to not having any and that was it. I knew what was going on and was thinking, maybe if I take half a table. I didn't do even that. I never had any urge to take more. The problem for some people is they get some out of it other than pain control. I don't, so no urge to take any.

Good luck with it all.

 

[sluggo]

I broke my collarbone at age 53 on New Years Day, 2016 while skiing in VT. Had to be given a sled ride down to the base of the mountain by ski patrol. The 5 hour car ride back to NJ wasn't fun but wasn't horrible.

The pain was significant, but I never did need to take any of the Percocet that they gave me. It only really hurt when I moved the shoulder joint. Immobilization is key.

Went to the orthopedic in NJ and he wanted to operate to install a metal plate and screws. I asked if it would heal on its own without surgery and he said yes. He said that the only advantage to the operation was to give it stability and reduce pain while healing. I decided against the unneeded surgery. No sense going under general anesthesia if not necessary. I had a major bruise that covered most of the left side of my chest. Attached is my Xray. The collarbone had broken into multiple pieces and there was significant distance between the pieces.

The first week or two was rough. I found that sleeping on a bunch of pillows or couch cushions arranged at an incline was the best for sleeping. Laying flat on the bed was uncomfortable for me. The worst part was putting on a shirt. The wife had to help me with getting the shirt over the arm on the same side as a the broken collarbone.

After a few weeks the break stabilized and the pain subsided. I was basically able to return to normal function, but avoided lifting heavy objects with my left side. Within six weeks I was back on the slopes, but skiing mostly green and blue trails. I had promised my wife to take it easy. By the end of the season, I was back on the expert trails.

My real test was a few months later when the family was water skiing. I am a bigger guy and I was worried about the pull of the boat on my shoulder and collarbone. It was no problem. The body has a remarkable ability to heal itself.

You'll be fine, but the first few weeks won't be fun. Hang in there. Hope my experience helps you. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[Cujet]

Be careful with the NSAIDS too. I can't use them at all, GI bleed concerns.

That looks miserable. Good luck.

I am sorry to hear about your broken clavicle, but that looks like maybe you can get it into position for natural healing. Maybe you'll feel it 'stick' like mine did, having broken collarbones a few times.

Some studies show NSAIDS can slow bone healing, especially in folks over 11 years old and when taken at night, for more than 3 days.

As a dirt bike rider and long time avid bicyclist, I've had my share of broken wrists, hands, collarbones and feet/toes. Doc gave me Indocin (indomethacin) to delay bone healing, for my shattered wrist/arm to prevent the bones from freezing or locking up after the surgery. And had me on PT right away. I guess it worked. That was a wild ride in every way.

Tried to set the bone myself as doc never showed up, never got x-rays at the hospital. I had 21 fractures, that self-effort did not go well... Then woke up mid surgery as it took 2 addl hours. Searing pain trying to sit up, and lots of yelling by the staff, oops. Then the recovery, or non recovery, and bone growth stimulator burns. Healed up well in the end.

 

[wavinwayne]

...between that, the adrenaline and panic when I found out I was messed up, I can't remember exactly what happened...

In 2010 I had a bike wreck where a telephone line had partially fallen off its pole into the roadway at an angle. I hit the wire at neck level going approximately 20 mph. It ripped me off my bike by the throat. The adrenaline rush was so strong I didn't realize my toe was broken and on one of my shoes I had ripped the clipless pedal base completely off the bottom of my shoe. That would be nearly impossible if one were trying to do it. I hurt for a while after that.

 

[ecotourist]

Opiates have their place and purpose. As long as they are controlling the pain you are probably not getting addicted.

That's what we were told in medical school. Having seen all the people addicted to opioids I have to express my severe reservations about that statement. Many opioid addictions start with a prescription for acute pain.

I think the reality is that some people are at risk of addiction (some as yet undefined combination of genetics and environment) and if you're at risk, you are at risk. I have a number of relatives (brother, uncle, a few cousins) who were alcoholics (they're all dead now) so I won't go near opioids.

Opioids are indeed useful for intraoperative pain, and for a few days after a major injury or major surgery. I attended a medical education program where two experts suggested 5 days or as many as 7 days as a reasonable period for opioids after a major injury or major surgery.

 

[Trav]

When I got my operations they gave me an electric nerve blocker that was amazing, no pain whatsoever when I woke up and it lasted long enough that healing was far enough along that the pain would have gone naturally. PM me if you want to know more about how they did it, it tool all of a few min.