coming back from broken collarbone

jeff.cohen.923
Edited Date/Time 6/20/2014 5:11am
Seeing that its one of the most common mx injuries. I am curious how long it took till you were back on the bike and how was your stregnth and flexibility. I broke mine in three pieces at the end of may and had to have it plated and and screwed together. I am three weeks out of surgery and its pretty much better besides all the muscles have no stamina. One other thing I have most of my range of motion just it gets tight when i lift my arm over my head. Does that stiffness ever go away or is that the plate restricting it. I am fairly new to moto so this is my first major injury but i am dying to get back on the bike but nervous at the same time. For the people who have had serious injuries do you ever get passed it and forget about it on the bike or does it sit in the back of your mind the whole time.

I know that the dr says 3 months just curious how some of your situations went
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JeepnMike
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JeepnMike 6/19/2014 7:57am
6/19/2014 7:57am
When you are on the bike, you won't notice it (weakness and stiffness) nearly as much as you do when you are sitting in a chair or whatever thinking about it. IMO and from my experience, coming back from a collarbone is one of the less frustrating injuries to come back from, your stamina and mobility will come back quick. Legs and arms are a whole different story.

Good luck!
vet323
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vet323 6/19/2014 7:58am
6/19/2014 7:58am
I've broken my right one three times. Never had plates or screws, I was always on the bike within 6 weeks.

BTW-I know you are fairly new to MX, but for what it's worth- a broken collarbone isn't a "major" injury (well, it isn't if you are as untalented as I am, anyway).
Markee
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Markee 6/19/2014 8:00am
6/19/2014 8:00am
I've had 3 broken clavicle breaks on the same one. I don't think about it, its healed and stronger. Mine did not need surgery but one was almost a compound fracture. With most injuries from my experience, time is the best healer. Stretch and strengthen will be your best end result.

Time at rest was 5-6 weeks then lightly get back to what you enjoy doing.
jeff.cohen.923 6/19/2014 8:01am
6/19/2014 8:01am
vet323 wrote:
I've broken my right one three times. Never had plates or screws, I was always on the bike within 6 weeks. BTW-I know you are fairly...
I've broken my right one three times. Never had plates or screws, I was always on the bike within 6 weeks.

BTW-I know you are fairly new to MX, but for what it's worth- a broken collarbone isn't a "major" injury (well, it isn't if you are as untalented as I am, anyway).
LOL major as in i am missing work till my dr clears me, not major as in my body.

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usp4u
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usp4u 6/19/2014 8:36am
6/19/2014 8:36am
I had a nasty break about three years ago. Was on the bike just putting around the woods at 3-4 weeks. Riding 50% speed at the track at 6wks. It was late August and I never regained my stamina that year.

That Nov. I tried to race two classes at a GP- 1-One hour moto per class, I DNF'd the second moto. Been fine ever since. Only have to careful when 'pulling", like on a wrench, that feels like something is 'stretching'.



Sheriff245 6/19/2014 8:40am
6/19/2014 8:40am Edited Date/Time 6/19/2014 8:41am
I broke my right collarbone back in 05. Was back on the bike 4 weeks later, lost the front end in a corner, re-broke it.

I broke my left collarbone and elbow 2 weeks ago. No surgery. I am gonna go by what the dr tells me this time. Strangely enough, he told me to ditch the sling as soon as possible so I don't loose my range of motion. According to him, this won't affect the healing process. I still keep the sling for sleeping and driving though, helps lessen muscle fatigue. Sling or not, I also try to keep my shoulders straight and level at all times.
vet323
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vet323 6/19/2014 8:47am
6/19/2014 8:47am
vet323 wrote:
I've broken my right one three times. Never had plates or screws, I was always on the bike within 6 weeks. BTW-I know you are fairly...
I've broken my right one three times. Never had plates or screws, I was always on the bike within 6 weeks.

BTW-I know you are fairly new to MX, but for what it's worth- a broken collarbone isn't a "major" injury (well, it isn't if you are as untalented as I am, anyway).
jeff.cohen.923 wrote:
LOL major as in i am missing work till my dr clears me, not major as in my body.
Smile
jeff.cohen.923 6/19/2014 8:51am
6/19/2014 8:51am




unfortunetly my career choice requires me to turn wrenches frequently, I will be working with one hand for a while.
hillbilly
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hillbilly 6/19/2014 10:15am
6/19/2014 10:15am
I rigged a pulley in my basement and used the good arm to pull the bad one up to keep it from scaring down.

Used that pulley many a time thru the years.

Broke mine when a cr500 landed on me,shoulder,upper arm,blade,it was bad.

8 or 9 weeks later,1st race back,took a digger,rebroke the collarbone.
MXATC
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MXATC 6/19/2014 10:20am
6/19/2014 10:20am
Continue working on your range of motion. Are you going to therapy? If not maybe a little formal therapy for a few sessions to get you started would help for sure. Remember all it takes is 8 lbs of pressure to re break that collarbone. I would wait the full time your doctor has recommended to you and take your time so you can come back fully prepared. Just from my experience...
jeff.cohen.923 6/19/2014 10:58am
6/19/2014 10:58am Edited Date/Time 6/19/2014 10:59am
Hillbilly do you think you rebroke it because you came back early or because it was just a fluke. My next dr appt is tues, then we start therapy. My dr said 3 months till i can get back to sports. That puts me at sept which sucks but i think i am going to atleast hold of till then at the earliest maybe in aug I will go to the ohv park and putts around with the wife. Its weird i know i should be concerned with my body but for me the scariest part is missing work again for so long. I dont ever want to hurt myself but I really dont want to be a dumbass and lose my job over another injury so fast. I would like to keep it at one a year.
Johnston1
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Johnston1 6/19/2014 1:48pm
6/19/2014 1:48pm
I broke mine on January 19th and had to have it plated the surgeon told me as soon as it was plated I was good to start moving it. I gave it two days and I was doing pushups and light weights and started riding 5 days later and its felt great and haven't had any issues with range of motion or strength.
jeff.cohen.923 6/19/2014 1:59pm
6/19/2014 1:59pm
Johnston1 wrote:
I broke mine on January 19th and had to have it plated the surgeon told me as soon as it was plated I was good to...
I broke mine on January 19th and had to have it plated the surgeon told me as soon as it was plated I was good to start moving it. I gave it two days and I was doing pushups and light weights and started riding 5 days later and its felt great and haven't had any issues with range of motion or strength.
wow i could barely move until a week or so later and he wanted me in a sling for 4 weeks. Its crazy the difference in opinions. Thats why i asked for other peoples experiences. Werent you worried about popping stitches two days later
Tim507
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Tim507 6/19/2014 3:11pm
6/19/2014 3:11pm
Rule of thumb....if you can do some or many push ups go ride
enketchum
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enketchum 6/20/2014 12:54am
6/20/2014 12:54am
You can use PEDs to come back to strength, faster
pilotx253
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pilotx253 6/20/2014 4:50am
6/20/2014 4:50am
I badly broke my collarbone a few years back and had it plated. One break healed strong within 4 to 6 weeks and another one took well over 3 months. If your in your 20's it will heal much quicker. I spent a bunch of time on my street bike that summer to kill the time!!!
pilotx253
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pilotx253 6/20/2014 4:55am
6/20/2014 4:55am
Looking at the break my guess would be 6 weeks. They had mine peppered with 13 screws and managed to break a screw driver tip off as well. No problem spinning wrenches or doing all my normal activities. I roofed my house 4 months after my accident. It WILL feel a bit different because nothing is exactly the same after a surgery.
hillbilly
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hillbilly 6/20/2014 5:11am
6/20/2014 5:11am
jeff.cohen.923 wrote:
Hillbilly do you think you rebroke it because you came back early or because it was just a fluke. My next dr appt is tues, then...
Hillbilly do you think you rebroke it because you came back early or because it was just a fluke. My next dr appt is tues, then we start therapy. My dr said 3 months till i can get back to sports. That puts me at sept which sucks but i think i am going to atleast hold of till then at the earliest maybe in aug I will go to the ohv park and putts around with the wife. Its weird i know i should be concerned with my body but for me the scariest part is missing work again for so long. I dont ever want to hurt myself but I really dont want to be a dumbass and lose my job over another injury so fast. I would like to keep it at one a year.
It looked good in the xray,big knot of growth around it,it was in 2 pieces,overlapping,now days it would be plated but then it was pure suffering.

I landed direct on the crossbar ans snapped it. Funny thing,the big knot went away and it looked normal with my shirt off after the2nd break,before it looked like golf ball was under my skin.

That pulley let me pull the arm threw it range without using the arm mussels,it felt so good to stretch it over my head.

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broken parts 10/23/2016 4:25pm
10/23/2016 4:25pm
Pulley - pretty smart! Hope you broken collarbone sufferers from 2014 are all better now.
PRM31
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PRM31 10/23/2016 5:39pm
10/23/2016 5:39pm Edited Date/Time 10/23/2016 5:40pm
Depends on age. Broke my left one when I was 15, riding in 3-4 weeks. Broke right side at 44, albeit a little worse, took four months to heal.
dustinklassen 8/5/2017 10:14pm
8/5/2017 10:14pm
Anyone ever broke a second time after having a plate? I shattered mine April 13, 2017. Had a plate and screws installed the next day. Doctor said no riding this year but I didn't listen. I rode at 3 1/2 months in and felt it re break after casing a jump a bit to hard. Now I'm in the sling again. Just wondering if anyone else has had the experience of breaking a plate.
Andy_Greenney 8/6/2017 2:37am
8/6/2017 2:37am Edited Date/Time 8/6/2017 2:41am
dustinklassen wrote:
Anyone ever broke a second time after having a plate? I shattered mine April 13, 2017. Had a plate and screws installed the next day. Doctor...
Anyone ever broke a second time after having a plate? I shattered mine April 13, 2017. Had a plate and screws installed the next day. Doctor said no riding this year but I didn't listen. I rode at 3 1/2 months in and felt it re break after casing a jump a bit to hard. Now I'm in the sling again. Just wondering if anyone else has had the experience of breaking a plate.
Managed to break mine at the end of a plate about 5 years ago. I was kind of surprised it didn't re-break in the same place of through the screws, but I guess it was stronger through the plate.

I had it re-plated, and visited a well known fracture/physio clinic over here, had me back on the bike after missing two weekends, Didn't have any problems with the bone but the skin was still tender from the op.

*Just noticed the dating,..
aees
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aees 8/6/2017 4:03pm
8/6/2017 4:03pm
dustinklassen wrote:
Anyone ever broke a second time after having a plate? I shattered mine April 13, 2017. Had a plate and screws installed the next day. Doctor...
Anyone ever broke a second time after having a plate? I shattered mine April 13, 2017. Had a plate and screws installed the next day. Doctor said no riding this year but I didn't listen. I rode at 3 1/2 months in and felt it re break after casing a jump a bit to hard. Now I'm in the sling again. Just wondering if anyone else has had the experience of breaking a plate.
Andy_Greenney wrote:
Managed to break mine at the end of a plate about 5 years ago. I was kind of surprised it didn't re-break in the same place...
Managed to break mine at the end of a plate about 5 years ago. I was kind of surprised it didn't re-break in the same place of through the screws, but I guess it was stronger through the plate.

I had it re-plated, and visited a well known fracture/physio clinic over here, had me back on the bike after missing two weekends, Didn't have any problems with the bone but the skin was still tender from the op.

*Just noticed the dating,..
you rode after 2 weeks? im at 2 weeks now with plate. no chance to ride this early. maybe at 5-6 weeks but doctor said 12 weeks..
jeffro503
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jeffro503 8/6/2017 4:34pm
8/6/2017 4:34pm
Good luck Jeff. If the collar bone is the only thing that broke...usually 6 - 8 weeks before you can ride. Don't be surprised if muscles and so forth feel like they are " catching " on it....it goes away after time. Last time for me , I broke my left side into 5 pieces and my right side just once right down the middle. The thing is...during that wreck , the collar bones were the least of my worries. As a set of punctured lungs , shattered ribs , separated sternum and a bunch of bruised internals landed me in the hospital for over 3 weeks. First 5 days in ICU.....ahhh , good times.
jeffro503
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jeffro503 8/6/2017 4:36pm
8/6/2017 4:36pm
dustinklassen wrote:
Anyone ever broke a second time after having a plate? I shattered mine April 13, 2017. Had a plate and screws installed the next day. Doctor...
Anyone ever broke a second time after having a plate? I shattered mine April 13, 2017. Had a plate and screws installed the next day. Doctor said no riding this year but I didn't listen. I rode at 3 1/2 months in and felt it re break after casing a jump a bit to hard. Now I'm in the sling again. Just wondering if anyone else has had the experience of breaking a plate.
Andy_Greenney wrote:
Managed to break mine at the end of a plate about 5 years ago. I was kind of surprised it didn't re-break in the same place...
Managed to break mine at the end of a plate about 5 years ago. I was kind of surprised it didn't re-break in the same place of through the screws, but I guess it was stronger through the plate.

I had it re-plated, and visited a well known fracture/physio clinic over here, had me back on the bike after missing two weekends, Didn't have any problems with the bone but the skin was still tender from the op.

*Just noticed the dating,..
Ahh damn. Me too. Nevermind.
Swann
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Swann 8/6/2017 5:21pm
8/6/2017 5:21pm
I broke my right clavicle real good four weeks ago at Pala, had it plated and I feel 100% already. I felt 100% a week ago. Getting it plated was the best thing ever! Incision is a little sensitive to the touch, but I just try not to touch it. Seatbelts and bags over the shoulder kinda suck. I've been riding my mountain bike and feel totally fine. Ready to break my other one!



LumpDog841
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LumpDog841 8/6/2017 6:55pm
8/6/2017 6:55pm
Mine was about 6 weeks, but it was a clean single break with no surgery. I was also 17 at the time...so that helped.

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