Plated or not, which collarbone handles next injury best?

No experience with a collarbone break personally but I would consult a different doctor. 

I agree talk to a different doctor recovery time is a lot less with plates and the collarbone can we place back to a normal position!

They always heel out line end up with bump under skin but only took mine 3/4 weeks and was back on bike,the bump has reduced over past few years

Plated heals much faster in my own experience.

As someone who has broken both collarbones and had surgery I'm just one (doctor recom.), I would recommend plate it. Recovery is faster and much better, specially in muscle and joints around the area.

After a couple of years I took the plates out, no problem riding with them in years until one day they feel weird.

Healing and resulting shoulder function with operative or nonoperative treatment depends on fracture pattern. Hard to advise without XR. In MX athletes, I opt for duel plating if proceeding with surgery.

It's a trade for bump on shoulder with non operative treatment, for a scar, possible numbness to your nipple, marginally better shoulder biomechanics and faster return to function with plating.

The shortening of the bone could cause shoulder joint pain after it is healed, I would talk to a different doctor

I broke mine a couple months ago pretty good and had it plated. So glad I did.. I was in some serious pain due to broken ribs as well on that side, and once I got it plated everything felt better. Recovery has been pretty easy, and I should be back on the bike next week!

I also had a previous bad separation on that side and now its all fixed! Bonus!

I do have the numbness to my nipple after a recent plating.. i think its getting better? cant tell

Got mine plated 10-15 years ago. It’s always bothered me a bit like if a seat belt sits on it just right. Lately the whole side has been super soar, and I get tingling in my hand. Going to look at having it removed.

I broke mine back in 96 not played and it healed up great . Fast forward 2020 broke the same one with 4 ribs and lung puncture. The doctor recommended plating it for faster heal time but had to custom bend it because previous break . I now have some clicking in my shoulder which I didn't have before . Take that for what's it's worth 

I broke my right collarbone and let it heal without surgery. I had a mad lump on that shoulder but no other issues. 

Last year i broke the same collarbone but it was really displaced, I wanted it plated but three first 2 doctors I saw wouldn't plate it, the 3rd one i saw did. They had to bend the plate and grind down the bone to make it all fit but it was way better recovery time with less pain. My shoulder area is numb since the surgery though. 

I went over the bars last weekend and landed on the back of that shoulder. My first thought was that I'd messed up the plate or collarbone again cos it was hurting. Luckily it just bruised my shoulder and everything is in tact. Unfortunately I broke 3 ribs and lacerated my liver but the shoulder is good. I'll probably get the plate out once everything else heals up

I broke mine badly in ‘06, dr said no choice but to plate it. Was back on the bike in 2.5 months.  Could have ridden sooner but followed Dr’s orders.  As far as numbness goes, that didn’t clear up for 6 months or more but it did get back to 100% normal in time. 

Get it plated 

I got 2 plates on my left side and it’s an easy recovery, it’s not worth being out of alignment for a such a short recovery time. Plus the scar is cool so it’s a win win.

Here I am many years deep into healing all the old injuries, diagnosed or not, from various sports that I returned to as soon as I could handle the pain….collarbone included.

I accept and love my path, as I have learned a lot, but man, what a dummy 😂 

My son's riding buddy left his alone to heal (his Doc's suggestion) and he has a large bump for the rest of his life where it healed out of alignment. Even just wearing a backpack can be uncomfortable for him. My son broke his in April & had it plated. Within a week or so he was feeling great, and it's healed perfectly in alignment. Other than the scar, you'd never know.

After his crash, seeing my kid's collarbone moving around & pushing up under the skin was terrible. I don't understand how it's supposed to heal in alignment on its own, when it moved every time he slightly moved his arm away from his body. 

Of course, I'm no Doc so I know fuck all about bone healing. But I do know plating was absolutely the right decision for my son.

Get it plated. Don’t waste your time. If you do crash again you will probably break something else since the collar bone will be titanium reinforced. Or it will be a mangled mess of screws and metal. I have mine plated and I crashed and ended up breaking the shoulder blade. I have a feeling if it was not for the plate I would have broken the collarbone again.

Oh, i asked my surgeon what happens if i crash again with the plate, he said it would most likely break either side of the plate. In that case, they remove the old plate and put a bigger one in to fix the new break. 

If you have the plate taken out later i think they recommend taking it easy for around 6 weeks or so for the screw holes to heal over and the bone to regain strength

If you don’t need plate don’t. Your body doesn’t like metal in it..  I work on a surgical unit and the infection rate and complications we see with plates/rods in my opinion aren’t worth it.

Also I have broke 6 collarbones and have a no plates and have gnarly bumps. Never broke in the same place. No pain

Get a second opinion 

I got mine plated when it broke (3 pieces), downhill bike crash. I had it plated for 1 year, i raced dirtbike while it was plated and did not give me troubles, but the doctors told me not to ride dirtbikes, because if you crash with the plate, the damage will be way worse with the plate than without it. I actually crashed sometimes but never too hard, got it removed about 1 year and some months later. 
As for today, it’s like it never been broke. I’m in my 20’s tho.

Get it plated so it heals properly. Broke mine in 2008 when I was 16. Had a plate & 8 screws. Orthopedic surgeon suggested to have it removed after 6 months since I was so active with moto and riding bmx. So I did. No issues with it. Fast forward to 2014 I crashed and broke it again. Plated with 7 screws. Had a 4th surgery to remove all the hardware 

All breaks are different. I would get a second opinion, though. A doc saying it doesn’t make a difference either way isn’t too reassuring.

Broke my clavicle four times. Never plated. Some breaks before platin was an option. After a break your body will create a large lump of bone, then over years remodel it to the original shape. I had a few plates removed (ulnar, fibula) because the doctor advised that if I broke my arm again with the plate I might lose my arm. Never experienced shoulder pain due to shorter clavicle. 

Someone needs to figure out how to stabilize the shoulder without plating. I shattered my right clavicle in 2002 and didn't get it plated. I have the bump from it healing, and my right shoulder is in towards my neck and higher than it should be. I don't like the idea of surgery in that area because of possible nerve damage, but I do wish I could have been put in some sort of cast or something to keep my shoulder where it was supposed to be. I did wear the figure 8 brace thing and don't feel like it was enough. 

I have one of each. Left one no plate, doesn’t bother me at all. Right one plated, can feel the screws and the shoulder is numb. 

I think you should consult at least one more doctor and see what advice he/she gives you. Everyone's anecdotal stories may be similar, but your own medical condition is the one you should care about the most. Leave that to the professionals.

That said, here's my personal anecdote: I broke my collarbone when I was 15 (1986) and they just gave me a brace to wear for a while. I had (still have) a bump and the bone's length is probably slightly different. That shoulder has always been a problem for me, ever since. I dislocated it in 1998 and again five more times in the following 6 years. Once out, it gets easier and easier to pop out again. I had surgery in 2004 to correct the joint and so far, so good. It still hurts sometimes, though.
I don't know if it would have been any different had they plated my collarbone. (I don't remember them doing that in America in 1986. We all used to joke about flying to France for surgery so you could race again the following weekend.) However, I do wonder if my shoulder would have been stronger with a possibly more anatomically correct alignment. Would I have ever suffered the original dislocation? I'll never know, but I wonder.

I won't give you medical advice on your injury, because that's not my place, but I feel like this is the kind of input you wanted to hear and weigh.