Broken clavicle / collar bone

Ouch. Broke my left one when I was 9 playing hockey. Broke my right one sledding when I was 11. FYI...don't ride a sled down a hill like a surfboard. This was 30+ years ago.

They gave me a figure 8 brace both times and sent me on my way. I hated that thing and didn't wear it with the second break. Because of that my right one healed a little funky.

I'd 100% get a plate and some screws if it happened now and be done with it. In my mind I can still feel and hear the two halves of the bone scraping and banging together until it began to heal!!!! :sick:
 
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.

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Sounds promising. Thanks for sharing. Putting a shirt on is pretty much the hardest thing to do currently
 
Well, I need surgery. A piece of bone is broken off and pointing up. Risk of poking through the skin over time and apparently that would be an emergency situation.
Yeah, get that fixed. Internal fixation surgery is well refined today!

A bone fragment turned and popped up when I tried to set my broken arm/wrist in the hospital bed. Oh man did it feel better when I pulled the bone(s) into place, right up until I let go. Then owwwwwwwww. :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: That really was stupid and funny at the same time. But I needed a custom plate and screws anyway. Wish I had an xray to share.
 
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.
No argument from me. I had dental surgery two years ago. He wanted to prescribe vicoden. I said I will just take T-3 instead. I think I used three of the tablets before just using 400 mg of ibuprofen at bed time. I strongly agree that some people are at risk for addiction because of environment and genetics.
 
Now that you have a little down time, and if you want to worry about something that really isn't worth worrying about, take a brachial blood pressure on each arm. If any of that trauma near the fracture is compressing on the artery, it will cause your involved arm to be lower. 1 in thousand chances, but one is the loneliest number. Also then after the surgery if you wake up with a cold arm, you can say Doc, it was normal before.
 
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