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

I wouldn't do it, but Super Dave swears by some over the counter pill that is supposed to heal you damn close to overnight. I forget the name of it, but shoot him an email and he'll tell ya.

 

In my case when I broke my collar bone, I wanted to get it fixed so I could finish the season. My wife had the hookup with Arizona Sports Medicine Center (http://www.asmc.md/) and I got in two days after the break to see Dr. Amit Sahasrabudhe (http://www.asmc.md/dr-amit-joins-asmc). Dr. Amit discussed the options and understood I wanted to get back into the game in 4 weeks.

I would start Dr. Shopping so you can get back into the game.

 

OK, here is the info my Orthopod gave me when I broke my collar bone... NOTE: He could be wrong... so like I said before... check with your own Doctor.. but at least you know what questions to ask... and DO ask them all...

First - "The medical books say, that two broken bones in the same body will find each other and heal."

Second - A non-plated bone will almost always heal stronger than a plated one. You will never break that bone again in the same place when allowed to heal on it's own..

Third - Yes plating will make it heal faster - just not necessarily better.

Fourth - the Docs are always worried that given any bone separation that it won't heal, see number one....... However, if the break is near anything critical, like nerves or that one artery... get it plated..!

Fifth - There are cases where plating is mandatory... depends on the break...

Sixth - Get it plated if there is a large gap, and you do not want it to show when you have your shirt off.... (Yes I have the typical bump).

Lastly - The only penalty for waiting to see if the bones will heal (with a large gap between them) is time.. It did take me a long time to fully heal... over 2 months.. but when I had that last X-Ray the Doc hit my shoulder as hard as he could... then when it did not break again.. he deemed me healed..

Oh yes in the end, it is your decision... don't take my word or anyone elses... after all it is your body...

Good Luck..!!

Ron

 

Yeah, major major artery, bigger than femoral. If you cut it bad you will bleed out in minutes, possibly less than a minute.

 

For what it's worth, the break was said to be not bad. The bones overlap and are essentially touching now, so healing together "should" occur naturally.

That being said, I think I'm just going to go with the natural healing process. I hear a lot of people suggesting getting it plated, but I just don't see the need/benefit for me and this situation.

There's definitely no money or sponsorship issues on the line. As of now, I'll most likely be at Vegas without my bike just for support for some friends and to have a good time. My next race weekend after that is April 17th, so I'm hoping I can make that. Again, if I'm not up to it, there's yet another race weekend in April with WERA @ Buttonwillow and the CSC championship. I should be at that event regardless of what I make it to prior.

 

Because the bones are not together anymore, if you should fall, they will offer no resistance and will go in any direction the load pushes them. That means the bones could sever your main artery there, and it's a big one, you'd bleed out in less than 90 seconds, so I would not race under any circumstances for at least 6-8 weeks. A $7 trophy just isn't worth the risk. Just my medical $.02 worth of advice. I can hook you up with some serious sports medicine docs here at Duke if you need some help.

 

mx and motorcycle racing involve high energy breaking of bones and after my research found a plated bone done by the right guy is better than leaving it alone in the long run. Many will have weakness later on in their life due to the natural healing...of course not in every situation but it has been found that a plate has better long term benefits....


I would let nature take its course and see how it feels I know after 2 months mine was still not connected but I could do dips and push ups and even use weights.... but if I was caring a 5lb weight in my hand and walking my fingers would go tingly and I never felt comfortable knowing it was not full connected...

If you were racing for the big money they would have plated it... the next day after my surgery I was able to lift my arm above my head and started my rehab....and that is because dr Mark has confidence in his abilities so after his surgery you can start rehab right away...he performs the same kind of stuff on knees ACL's etc...

Always get more than 1 opinion.. and if I ever need knee or shoulder surgery again you can bet yr arse I am flying to Houston...

www.sandersclinic.net

 

Okay, I'm not (yet) this experienced....But I have 2 cents, may I play?
I've always let my breaks heal naturally (2 left, 1 right), but everyone & every break is different. Check with your doc(s).
I will point out that a racing pal had his CB plated after a crash & the next season crashed on the same side & the plate bent in the resulting fracture.....It was ugly. The resulting surgery included having to remove the screws & plate (of course), but there were complications & a very long recovery.
I have no doubt that you could be back riding sooner with some surgery....But after tracking my pals issues, I resolved to always let my CB heal naturally. I know it will break again, but at least I won't have scews & plates in there making it worse.

Final note, I've had no issues with my shoulders other than the typical bump from the bones healing on top of each other. Good mobility, strength & range-of-motion.
Be patient, rest up & enjoy racing later.

 

My ortho gave me the option to make my own decision, let it heal by itself or plate it. I decided to plate it after being told "lets see what it looks like in about 3 to 4 weeks, if it does not look like it's healing, we'll go in and plate it" (even more down time). In addition, we just had our 1st born and the wife was not too happy with me and my condition (I really could not do anything), so I had it plated.

 

Nice plate and thats what I am talking about....that is how you want your bone to look healed...in its correct anatomical position.

 

before and after

Again I waited 3 months to let it heal naturally...

 

Much misinformation in this thread in regards to treatment of clavicle fractures.

In short, operative treatment is dictated by many factors such as degree of displacement (usually shortening greater than 20 mm), skin tenting from the fracture fragments, open or compound fracture, etc. Racing 2 weeks later is not an indication for surgical intervention. Plating a nondisplaced clavicle would cause you to flunk your board exam if you had to present it as a case study.

Plating or pinning of a clavicle fracture is not without risk of complication, such as infection, nerve damage, vessel damage, nonunion or future need of hardware removal. A healed plated clavicle is no stronger than a healed nonplated clavicle. Bone is a living tissue that responds to stress, and the plate, especially the newer generation locking plates, lessen the stress on the bone under it after healing. Refracturing a plated clavicle is a surgeon's nightmare.

Plating will not make a nondisplaced fracture heal quicker. The surgical exposure has a detrimental effect on the blood supply to the bone. One must weigh the benefits of improved aligment with open reduction on healing, with the risks associated with the fixation of the fracture.

Dr Sanders does a nice job with clavicle fractures, but his methods are basic tenets taught in every good ortho residency program. The treatment of clavicle fractures is not rocket science.

Find a doc you trust. Ask him about all of the options and their expected outcomes. If you are not happy, get another opinion.

 

It takes about 6 weeks for anything to heal. At least.

With plating, you're fixing the broken ends together which allows the break to heal (it still does have to heal, but you don't have two raw ends moving and rubbing against each other causing more pain).

If it's displaced and you go natural, any movement at the break will extend the healing time (and potentially increase the risk of a non-union). If you don't get surgery and race after only 2 weeks, you'll risk moving the bones too much and could disrupt the healing process that has already started.

 

@ORIF: does your screen name happen to be an acronym for Open Reduction Internal Fixation? Anyhow, excellent points you brought up. :up:

 

Don't be a dumbshit, let that puppy heal. If you fall on it again while it's still broken, you may not race again for 2 year, or never.

 

ORIF: does your screen name happen to be an acronym for Open Reduction Internal Fixation?

Yes, I am a board certified orthopaedic surgeon by day and a rolling chicane track day rider on weekends

 

Dr Sanders does a nice job with clavicle fractures, but his methods are basic tenets taught in every good ortho residency program. The treatment of clavicle fractures is not rocket science.

Find a doc you trust. Ask him about all of the options and their expected outcomes. If you are not happy, get another opinion.[/QUOTE]


I agree with you...Dr Sanders must have a special gift or something because I saw 4 docs here in Atl...and all had a different answer...to me that sounds a bit perplexing as a patient its ultimately my choice what I want to do...so I chose Dr Sanders 1. because you can talk to several of his patients and read their story, 2. Dr Sanders answers his cell phone for his patients, 3. He has done more successful clavicle repairs and redo's than most ortho's 4. Like you ...he is a rider....

Here is what my 4 docs suggested:

Doctor 1: Wait and see..6 weeks later wait some more and get a bone growth stimulator (which insurance does not cover)... NEXT

Doctor 2: I would fix it with a PIN mentioned it to Dr Sanders UUMM pins have been known to break apart and he mentioned something about pins have been known to migrate to the heart and kill a guy...NEXT

Doctor 3: I would use SS plate and some man-made bone material..asked why not Ti locking plate AAH really no difference..blah blah NEXT

Doctor 4: I could use a ti plate most likely a SS and when asked about bone graft he said if neded would take from hip This would have been the guy I would have chosen...but I liked Dr Sanders experience and the ability to talk to ex patients

Dr. Mark told me at week 5 he would have plated it with a bone graft from my Tibia and I would have healed up in 6 weeks...I was back riding in 7 weeks after I had the surgery....with no complications...

To each their own but after seeing some of the botched jobs from the Health forum on Thumpertalk I think it makes it hard to trust anybody holding the scalpel... Again I did wait 3-4 months for mine to heal on its own...did not happen...

 

Sanders is good (I had him look at my ACL MRI over at TT) but I wasn't about to go out of state to have a plate put in my collarbone. I used Resurgens Orthopedics and ended up in Kennestone Hospital for surgery. We'll see how recovery goes, so far so good.

 

the last guy on saw was with Resurgens, I liked Resurgens...1st guy was with Peachtree ortho...not going back there...again I know it just one doctor out of a group of them...


BTW....My insurance covered my flight , hotel, and surgery so I know it may not be worth it for some.... but for me it worked out awesome...

 

I would say No way... No race for you for now!!