Broke my collar bone yesterday. Realistically could I race in 2weeks?

From personal experience I had my collarbone.plated and was back on the track in.4weeks after surgery. I was not even at 50% and lost the ability to control the bike with my left arm. I did a whole race using my right arm only.
In the end, if you are not getting paid or its not the last race of the season and you need the points for a championship or a top 10 plate, skip it. Let it heal, get your strength and mobility back.

 

Broke mine twice in 30 days.... My advice, give it time to heal properly, your shoulder will be weak and you risk a lot of damage falling on it again. Mine was a minor break the first time, second time bone came through the skin and it hurt 5000x worse. Give it time to heal up!

 

:up:

That was wicked watching you ride.

 

Unless your multi million dollar sponsors are threatening to put their support if you miss the race, sit it out.....

 

And while Visa and Mastercard are indeed multi-million dollar companies they aren't really your sponsors.

-jim

 

Liar. Visa has sponsored all the best racers of the last 40 + years

 

Broken Collarbone left to heal naturally and you want to race in 2 weeks!? Ain't gonna happen. No way, no how.

I broke my collarbone a couple years back, had it plated and raced 2.5 weeks later. That itself was an accomplishment. Remove the surgery and the plate from that situation and there's NO WAY it would have happened.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but it's the truth.

 

That sucks

 

Get a second opinion (another doctor) no way should you expect to heal that fast.
Class A, B & C fractures need to be treated differently.
Don't risk your very promising, future racing career for one round @ Vegas.

 

Broke mine in 07. Had it plated and screwed 3 days later. Two weeks to the day after surgery, I did 50 push ups.
Healing naturally? No chance.

 

I did a quick search of past threads regarding having a broken clavicle plated, but since the topic has come up again, is there a consensus on the topic. I too broke my clavicle last week. It's my third time, but the first on the right side. With the previous breaks I didn’t have any luck finding a surgeon who would plate it and I always kind of regretted it because now I feel I'm having shoulder issues because things are off anatomically from what they were. My current surgeon echoed what the previous ones have stated and said that because of the major arteries running below that area, that they won’t plate it unless necessary and because of the clean break and the fact that the bones are still touching, they want to let it heal on its own.

Should I keep Dr. shopping? I’m not averse to having surgery; God knows I’ve had enough of them.

As for the OP question, not in two weeks. It’s not necessarily a pain threshold thing, it’s a strength and stability issue. Trust me I’ve tried, but it’s too big of a risk at 2 weeks out without plating it or I'd be out there in Vegas as well.

 

If it's close enough to heal on it's own, my doc told me statistically long term there isn't much difference between having it plated or not. It's more the short term that makes a difference when plated.

I had mine plated on Friday, this was mainly due to the fact the bone was far too displaced and there was a strong possibility of non union. This was echoed by multiple doctors before mine, so I tend to believe it.

 

I rode around town with a broken collar bone. But race? No thanks

 

I think all clavicle fractures are different. I had mine plated and it was way worse then the break. Hurt every single day for 12mths... until they took the plate out. There's a big nerve block right there too.

Mine sucked. 2 years later and I JUST recently have been able to lay on my left side.

Good luck and heal up!

 

subclavian artery

 

i waited 3 months to let mine heal naturally dr mark sanders told me after 5 weeks he would mhave plated it and back riding in 6 weeks.

I am writing in caps for reason.... Get a copy or call dr mark sanders office in houston....i mean it!!! This guy has fixed several botched clavicle surgeries he has a 99% success rate...

Dr mark answers his cell phone patients....go to thumpertalk.com and read all the successful surgeries he has done ....i researched tons of info for 3 months ....trust me when i tell you he is one of the best!!!

www.sandersclinic.net

do it you will not be sorry.....

Scotty j.

 

Great thing about clavicles is dr mark can usually go back in there and fix them....

Anybody that has a botched job or has issues call his office send a copy of your xray.....he will give you a no bs answer...

 

here is my thread.....read it and learn what others say...

http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=624664&highlight=


http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=611690&highlight=

http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=827670&highlight=


and mention Scotty J. from ATL sent you....


SERIOUSLY GUYS I HIGHLY ADVISE YOU TO GET DR MARK"S OPINION...

 

I would say it had more to do with the guy with the scalpel in his hand. Do the research and read all the thumpertalk.com clavicle botched stories...

 

It depends on the break (complete or incomplete) or if it's a fracture. There 'may' be a reason why it might not need plating. Incomplete break may be a le to reduce and set naturally on its own-but REQUIRES rest. A complete break may require plating in order to set and provide the reduction necessary to heal. Get a 2nd opinion-if your insurance will allow. Otherwise, sit it out. Also think about what's the WORST that can happen should u crash on the compromised clavicle. Subclavian artery could be severed and lead to hemorrhage. Another rare case, depending on your anatomy, is the apex of the lung=possible pneumothorax,AKA collapsed lung from the bone puncturing the membraneous layer covering the lung and creating a positive pressure gradient to collapse the lung. Chest tubes (tube thoracostomy) would have to be put in to rid of the excess pressure. Would racing a weekend on a weak shoulder/clavicle be worth it? Again, get a 2nd opinion and make a judgement.