broken clavicle...surgery or not?

[willy81]

thanks guys, one year ago I wanted this piece of metal so much inside my shoulder and now I want to get rid of it asap but still need to wait a few more months, bsbs, how are you doing? ashi, I am back to cycling since a few months already, not in full commitment though, i practice some contact sports as well, including soccer, I don't pay attention to my shoulder anymore and this shows that I feel safe because it is strong.

 

[bsbs1876]

*****, I'm coming along at a decent pace I would say. Thanks for asking. I am still much weaker on the operated side but I use it and push through the pain on a daily basis. I am back on my dirt bikes and ATVs and even get out for the odd bike ride now and then. I am not a serious cyclist but I go for leisure rides with my girlfriend. The plate does bother me but I try not to think or worry about it too much since I know it is temporary. Some days I don't even notice anything at all and my shoulder feels fantastic but then other days it will kind of nag me. I have noticed that the worst of it is when I am dormant. When I am in my office in front of the computer it will bug me for some reason, but when I am being active like cutting the lawn, working out, running etc. it doesn't really give me that much grief other than the weakness which will come back with time. I think a lot of it is psychological. When I am sitting around on the couch or computer I have too much time to think.

 

[bsbs1876]

Over the past week I feel like I have made major improvements. The soreness is so much better and I am working out with 35 lb dumbbells (bench,curls,bent over rows, shoulder press, you name it...). It is eerie how out of nowhere so much progress was made.

The best part is that for those 3.5 years I was working out with a malunion I never saw that shoulder ever really develop. Now that I am progressing in the gym I look at myself in the mirror and I look soooo wide! It is weird to see. One little 2cm lengthening of my shoulder seems to make my body look so much bigger overall. My traps,delts,pecs all seem more capable of developing with the workouts and eating now.

 

[rookie1286]

I know what you're saying bsbs. My right pec is now the same size as the other. I had broken the same collarbone about 12 yrs prior and so my right pec was always smaller. was kind of annoying lol It must have healed weird back then, with my shoulder sticking out a bit.

 

[willy81]

hey Brad, hmmmm, rally well developed traps, pecs, delts???? wow your girlfriend must be crazy about you,,,, haha you better use less weight and try more repetitions, now your muscles are a little atrophied and you need to give them a stimulus to wake up, many repetitions do that. I go as many as 50 repetitions with a relatively slow to moderate speed. and get some Whey protein to feed them well.

 

[bsbs1876]

hahahaha *****
still so far to go... and maybe could use a few less Heineken per week, but it feels good to have the blood flowing again

I started out using light weight, about 15-20 pounds. My physio has advised me to go up 5-10 lbs per 3-4 weeks
I am able to progress easily when doing bench presses, rows, and arm exercises, but the shoulder exercises like military press and deltoid raises are tough on my operated side so I stick to the 15 lbs high reps

 

[67Rally]

It has been a year since my crash on the Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic (an inexperienced rider took me down) where I destroyed my shoulder and my bike. One year later, I embarked on the ride again and finished it in 10:38:37 without as much as a twinge of pain in my shoulder. Note that I still have my clavicle plate and nine screws still in place and I am absolutely trouble-free ride! I am very thankful to my surgeons and physical therapists for their efforts to get me quickly back in the saddle and continuing with my bicycle work.

For those of you just beginning your trek to healing and recovery from this (anything but) routine injury, there is full recovery ahead! Keep your spirits up and follow your doctors' orders. Do whatever you can do to get the range of motion and strength back.

Stay the course!

 

[bsbs1876]

Originally Posted by 67Rally .

It has been a year since my crash on the Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic (an inexperienced rider took me down) where I destroyed my shoulder and my bike. One year later, I embarked on the ride again and finished it in 10:38:37 without as much as a twinge of pain in my shoulder. Note that I still have my clavicle plate and nine screws still in place and I am absolutely trouble-free ride! I am very thankful to my surgeons and physical therapists for their efforts to get me quickly back in the saddle and continuing with my bicycle work.

For those of you just beginning your trek to healing and recovery from this (anything but) routine injury, there is full recovery ahead! Keep your spirits up and follow your doctors' orders. Do whatever you can do to get the range of motion and strength back.

Stay the course!

Thanks for checking in with us, Rally.
Any plans on removing your plate in the future?

 

[67Rally]

Originally Posted by bsbs1876 .


Thanks for checking in with us, Rally.
Any plans on removing your plate in the future?

No plans for plate removal. I hardly notice it is there. No pain. No discomfort. The plate stays as was intended by the recommendations from my surgeons. The plate I received was of a new design (I received the first) to accommodate a permanent placement.

 

[bsbs1876]

Originally Posted by 67Rally .

No plans for plate removal. I hardly notice it is there. No pain. No discomfort. The plate stays as was intended by the recommendations from my surgeons. The plate I received was of a new design (I received the first) to accommodate a permanent placement.

Good stuff. It must feel good to know you are finished with the whole ordeal.
I feel like the plate becomes a bit more comfortable each day (4.5 months post op) but I will still have it removed mostly because I know the collar bone will never be normal again with the implant.
I think my curvy clavicles might play a part in why it is uncomfortable. They are very S shaped. My plate is also stainless steel which means it will probably set off the detectors at the airport when I travel to Greece next month. My doctor told me to just show them the incision and it should be fine.
Removal does involve another 6 weeks of downtime but I am only 26 years old and figure with all of the life ahead of me it would be nice to do it without metal inside of my body.
Sorry for ranting with my justification on here though! We all know each body and situation is different and requires different action to be taken.

 

[bsbs1876]

This weekend I went up north to the cottage.
Was rock climbing, cliff jumping (off a 60 foot cliff into the lake), swimming & ATVing on the trails all day.
I even took a bail rock climbing and fell right on my operated side's arm. I immediately felt the plate when I got up because I was panicked. All feels fine though...
The collar bone really does not hinder me at all anymore. It just feels stiff in the morning and I need to stretch it out or take a hot shower.
Things looking up!

 

[67Rally]

Originally Posted by bsbs1876 .


Good stuff. It must feel good to know you are finished with the whole ordeal.
I feel like the plate becomes a bit more comfortable each day (4.5 months post op) but I will still have it removed mostly because I know the collar bone will never be normal again with the implant.
I think my curvy clavicles might play a part in why it is uncomfortable. They are very S shaped. My plate is also stainless steel which means it will probably set off the detectors at the airport when I travel to Greece next month. My doctor told me to just show them the incision and it should be fine.
Removal does involve another 6 weeks of downtime but I am only 26 years old and figure with all of the life ahead of me it would be nice to do it without metal inside of my body.
Sorry for ranting with my justification on here though! We all know each body and situation is different and requires different action to be taken.

Do you have a hook plate? Just curious as I do not. I am getting to the point where I barely notice that it is there.

If you do have a hook, I can understand why the discomfort is there necessitating removal.

 

[bsbs1876]

Originally Posted by 67Rally .

Do you have a hook plate? Just curious as I do not. I am getting to the point where I barely notice that it is there.

If you do have a hook, I can understand why the discomfort is there necessitating removal.

My fracture was in the middle third so I have a long, straight plate with 10 screws. I know that most of the time these plates can stay in, and my surgeon told me that most of his patients do choose to leave them alone because more surgery is never fun, but he said he does sometimes recommend the removal if the patient is young/thin/female. I fit 2/3 of those so we have agreed on taking it out. I do wish that I could leave it because I hate the idea of another operation, but it's no surprise to me because I was told before going under the knife the first time that it's more than likely going to have to be removed one day. The discomfort I experience is mostly due to the subcutaneous area that the plate lies under. My ROM and strength are pretty great, but anything touching that area is very sensitive and odd. Also, I'm not a super vain person but the sight of the plate and screws through my skin isn't very pleasant to me.

 

[67Rally]

Originally Posted by bsbs1876 .


My fracture was in the middle third so I have a long, straight plate with 10 screws. I know that most of the time these plates can stay in, and my surgeon told me that most of his patients do choose to leave them alone because more surgery is never fun, but he said he does sometimes recommend the removal if the patient is young/thin/female. I fit 2/3 of those so we have agreed on taking it out. I do wish that I could leave it because I hate the idea of another operation, but it's no surprise to me because I was told before going under the knife the first time that it's more than likely going to have to be removed one day. The discomfort I experience is mostly due to the subcutaneous area that the plate lies under. My ROM and strength are pretty great, but anything touching that area is very sensitive and odd. Also, I'm not a super vain person but the sight of the plate and screws through my skin isn't very pleasant to me.

I understand your motivations to remove the plate. I can't say that I'd be eager to undergo another lengthy (yet shorter) recovery/rehab stint. I wonder what your doctor's criteria for "young" is? I am thin and my clavicle/plate/screws are considerably visible through my skin. The ONLY thing that causes discomfort for me is placing a shoulder strap or back-pack strap directly on the plate. If I get it placed deliberately, I have no challenges.

 

[willy81]

are you crazy Brad? you jumped from a 60 feet cliff into the lake?

 

[bsbs1876]

Quote:
Originally Posted by 67Rally[COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)] [/COLOR]

[COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)]I understand your motivations to remove the plate. I can't say that I'd be eager to undergo another lengthy (yet shorter) recovery/rehab stint. I wonder what your doctor's criteria for "young" is? I am thin and my clavicle/plate/screws are considerably visible through my skin. The ONLY thing that causes discomfort for me is placing a shoulder strap or back-pack strap directly on the plate. If I get it placed deliberately, I have no challenges.[/COLOR]

He told me if I were over 50 he would never take it out... So I guess he thinks under 50 is young. All of those straps drive me nuts and I can't seem to find a comfortable spot for them. The edge of the plate that is out towards the shoulder is covered by more muscle so that end doesn't really bug me, but the opposite end closest to my sternum has a very thin layer of skin covering it and it really does annoying me regularly.

Quote:
Originally Posted by willy81 .

are you crazy Brad?
you jumped from a 60 feet cliff into the lake?

How do you think I broke my collar bone in the first place *****?? (along with my leg, nose, 2 fingers, dislocated other shoulder and other injuries)
This was the only one needing surgery though.
I will forever be a stupid kid! I was just so incredibly happy to be back on the quad and making my own trails again this weekend. I am finally feeling normal.

 

[willy81]

all these happened to you because you jumped from that cliff? I have also dislocated my other(right) shoulder and got an arthroscopic surgery for a full scale rotator cuff repair, when I felt OK I returned to my sport (windsurfing) with much more passion until last summer where i "did" my left collar bone. anyway from that cliff I would never jump, these months I have taken it easy with the sports, I play soccer, run, ride my bike, little sailing after the plate removal I will get more aggressive, but thoughtful too

 

[willy81]

btw how did your dislocated shoulder recover? is it OK now? strong as before? any pain with weather changes?

 

[bsbs1876]

Originally Posted by willy81 .

all these happened to you because you jumped from that cliff?

I have also dislocated my other(right) shoulder and got an arthroscopic surgery for a full scale rotator cuff repair,
when I felt OK I returned to my sport (windsurfing) with much more passion until last summer where i "did" my left collar bone.

anyway from that cliff I would never jump,
these months I have taken it easy with the sports, I play soccer, run, ride my bike, little sailing
after the plate removal I will get more aggressive, but thoughtful too

Oh no not all from cliff jumping... just examples of how reckless and stupid I can be. Mostly from hockey and other sports when I was in my teens.
Never an injury from cliff jumping yet.... Except a chipped tooth and some red skin from the odd belly flop *knock on wood*

I was lucky with my dislocation on the right side. I had it popped back in place almost immediately by a friend and it healed perfectly. It hasn't caused any issues long term. The malunited collar bone was much more of a hassle in my experience.

I think much of what held me back originally and many other people were psychological things. There was once a time I thought I would never do a push up again. My mind was telling me like how can I do that with this plate there??? But I just overcame it and now I warm up with 60 push ups (3 sets of 20) every time I go to the gym... Less than 5 months post op. I think sometimes you just gotta push it and use pain as an indicator.

 

[bsbs1876]

Hello friends, I said I would update on my status with getting back to golf as well.
My first round back yesterday I shot an 82. I am typically a low 80s/high 70s player and it appears as though it is just like riding a bike.
Golf is very dependent on my left shoulder of course (being a right handed shooter) and I seem to have no missed a beat.
It felt a bit tight and sore in the back at times but all in all I was quite pleased with how capable I was.
I had the lowest score of our foursome and all my buddies were jokingly telling me they were going to purposely break their clavicle so they could get metal on it.