broken clavicle...surgery or not?

[67Rally]

Yesterday marked 6 weeks following surgery and I continue to have strength gains and diminishing pain. I have a great deal of muscle soreness (in both shoulders and upper arms) but that is to be expected. Pre-injury, I did a routine upper body regimen of strengthening exercises that allowed me to be comfortable on the bike for long rides, staving off fatigue. I lost a significant amount of that stamina as the muscle mass and flexibility due to non-use/atrophy.

While the bone and ligaments are still healing (I have another 6 weeks to go), I am riding on the trainer, extending my saddle time, distance and workout intensity as I carefully work to reclaim what was lost.

The TENS device has far too many mixed reviews for my taste but there are some users who claim a wealth of success with it. I tend to stay conventional, so I'll avoid it.

I am 46 years old and my healing is progressing nicely.

 

[ezcompany]

To hear hear everyone is doing great! I'm about 5 weeks post op and getting stronger everyday. I'm off the sling and I still can't lift my arm over my head, muscles are tight and weak. I say it's about 75% range of motion. I'm still doing my regular routine of pendulum exercises, gripping a ball, stretching my arm infront of me on a table, rotator cuff excises etc.. I'm also back in the gym on the stationary bike and tread mill light walking.

Are you guys able to raise your arms over your head without any problem?

 

[willy81]

in my 5th week I could move my arm everywhere, I just avoided it until my muscles got stronger and softer.
Now I bench press, 7kg, I have not tried more, I do it just to stimulate my Pectorals, Deltoids etc, they respond quite OK!.

now I am almost 10 weeks post op and my muscles are in much better condition, nevertheless I still can feel the numbness in the impact point, I believe it will take several months to disappear.
Now my thoughts are in the second operation to have the plate removed.
Yesterday I visited my surgeon but he did not give me a definite time for this, probably 6-7 months after the first operation, we will see!

 

[lets see em]

so i went for xrays today witch is 6 weeks since the surgery there is still a gap in the bone but the doctor gave me the ok to take my arm out of the sling and start ROM did anyone that had surgery still have a gap at the 6 week mark???

 

[willy81]

I had gap 9 weeks pot op, it takes 3 months or more to fill the gaps
But I bench press 8Kg.

Your bones have created a union but this process is not over yet.

 

[67Rally]

I am six weeks post-op and had my follow-up appointment and x-ray yesterday. Good union and ligament repairs are progressing nicely. Got the clearance to move ahead with physical therapy and TO RIDE outside!!

I started my PT yesterday afternoon and got quite the thorough evaluation and initial workout. The therapist was impressed by my strength and stability which prompted him to ask what I'd been doing up to this point. I described to him that I had been on my bike (on the trainer) since 4-days post op. Over the course of the following weeks, I began to incorporate my right hand/arm into the workouts, moving from no-hands to two-hands on the handlebar. He stated that my efforts had really propelled my healing. My range of motion, however, was about normal for this injury and repair as I hadn't worked on anything more than the weightless pendulum rotations. He felt that I would need the full four weeks (of the 4-6 prescribed by my doctor) to get back to normal.

The outdoor ride was a two-fold bonus for me. Aside from being free from the trainer and enjoying the outdoors and some added testing of the shoulder stability, I got to ride my new bicycle on the road for the first time. Oh...man, was I in heaven!

After about 10 miles, my shoulder began to fatigue and the soreness increased. I knew that I had to head for home and NOT press through the pain. Baby steps is the order of the month. I will be back out on the road tonight to stretch the mileage a bit more and to add a few more hills.

I didn't lose any cardio conditioning nor did my legs suffer any atrophy. My climbs yesterday were better than what I felt on the last few rides back in July. I can attribute some of that from my new bicycle's improved (over my 1985 Allez) geometry and weight reductions...but I have also been hammering on my legs in the last month.

It is good to be back!

I hope you all get back in the saddle soon!

 

[ezcompany]

Nice to hear everyone doing well!

I'm 5 weeks post op and I'm typing this with both hands! haha I can pretty much move my arm all around but the muscles are still weak. I still need to do more exercises. I'm back in the gym, mainly on the bike, stair master, tread mill and a little bit of leg lifting (really light). Also including lots and lots of stretching.

 

[lets see em]

errg im going crazy here its been 7 weeks since surgery and 4 and a half months since my injury i just wanna get back into the gym and start lifting weights my arm feels better and better now i can notice i can move my arm more and more each day this injury totally sucks any of you guys back lifting weights yet?

 

[67Rally]

Approaching 7 weeks post-op: No weight lifting for me. But then again, I have ligament repairs to go along with the plate and screws on the clavicle. I can't rotate beyond the coronal plane. Limited to 2 pounds (for pendulum exercises).

 

[ezcompany]

I've just been doing stationary bike, walking on treadmill and a little bit of leg workout. I get on the leg machine, put the pin into 10lbs and workout each leg at a time. You can also get a bench put it behind you with one leg/foot on it and lower yourself down ten times. We can't really do any weight lifting yet, focused on getting your range of motion and rebuilding your soft tissues. Make sure you massage your arm repeatedly through out the day, you can be just standing or sitting down when you do it with your good arm.

You're not the only one who's going crazy, I myself see people at the gym lifting weights freely without any problems and I get a bit down on myself. haha But you gotta keep your composure and think of this experience as a lesson. Once we are up and running we'll be better than before, as a person and individual with great compassion and appreciation on good health.

 

[lets see em]

i so agree with the "appreciation on good health" good health is my number one thing now you doont relize how important it is tell you get a serious injury

 

[ezcompany]

Wassup fellas, I'm 6 weeks post op and feeling a lot better. I almost have all my movement in my left arm but the muscles are still kind of weak.

What are you guys doing for your scar?

 

[willy81]

good to hear that all of us doing better,
I am almost 12 weeks post op, the CB must have created a whole union by now.
The muscles are almost back to their normal, the Trapezoid is OK, the deltoids are OK, the pectorals still need some work, I feel them both stiff and a little weak.
I work on them every day.
The numbness at the impact area is almost gone, the strange feeling of the scar is gone completely.

 

[ezcompany]

Hi *****,

I was wondering what kind of workouts are you doing and if you started running yet?

 

[willy81]

my work out is a typical bodybuilding workout with much less weight than usual until I recover completely.
I am back to running but quite careful,

For me the impact was quite severe and the pecs near the Head of the humerus still have this annoying numbness.
It will go away with time, you can rush it, I know it from a similar situation in the past.

 

[moderman]

I went into the gym and just set myself back at least a week. Totally strained my shoulder muscles using the rowing machine.. felt fine when I was working out..

Learn from me! dont rush your rehab. slow and steady!

 

[67Rally]

Originally Posted by moderman .

I went into the gym and just set myself back at least a week. Totally strained my shoulder muscles using the rowing machine.. felt fine when I was working out..

Learn from me! dont rush your rehab. slow and steady!

That sucks. Incorporate heat and ice and simple movements (as you can) and you'll bounce back from this. I doubt you did anything more than overuse some muscles/tendons/ligaments with the rowing action.

My doctor said to me that short of crashing my bike again, I can't really hurt myself...but I can inflict a lot of pain since it has been months since I last used the joint normally.

Slow, steady, and consistent.

 

[willy81]

Use light weight up to 4 kg and do 4-5 sets of 25 repetition each.
But to this point you definitely need to ask your Doctor first.
Yes, use ice and don't worry

 

[67Rally]

Nine Weeks Post-Op (today)
Yesterday, I changed up my riding a bit and took a longer route (32 mi) with a load of hill climbs to really test out how my shoulder would handle the out of the saddle push/pull. I climbed better than I had all season leading up to the crash. My shoulder had ZERO issues and responded quite normally. The ride also included one of my least favorite environmental factors...wind...loads of it. Because of that, I spent nearly half of the ride down on the drops or on the aero bar. Just two weeks ago, the aero bar was out of the question...yesterday, it caused me absolutely no pain or discomfort.

After doing all of the exercises as directed by my PT last night before bed, I woke this morning feeling almost normal. It was eerie how good I felt. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

 

[lets see em]

so i go for my 10 weeks post op x rays tomorrow iam nervous :S just wondering how stong any of you guys felt after 10 weeks my collar bone fells ike if i tried to do a push up it would snap i havent tried it just feels like this is this how any of you guys felt 10 weeks post op?