[def]

I'm sure many have done this but i was wondering about the down time and recovery. I broke mine on wed and can't get it set until monday. They tell me I prob wont need surgery but will require a figure 8 brace. I was curious on what others have experienced along with this injury. rehab, loss of strength, overcomming fears etc. All i know is it hurts like hell, driving a manual is impossible and paying for it without insurance really sucks - started new insurance for work which left me out for the month of august.

I guess I'm out for a while so I'll be cheering insead of riding for the last race at windrock next month. I know I've ridden with lots of people on this board, but not introduced myself. I'm the windrock local with the black V10 who hardly talks. But I'll be yelling my head off at the race cheering for you fools.

thanks for any help or suggestions and thanks to spoke80 for being a stand up dude helping me through this.

-peace

 

[Jou]

6 weeks to heal after it's set. Last time i did mine i had an 8 brace and a sling because if my arm hung down it mould grind together. After the 6 weeks it will still be a month or 2 before you have full strength in it, that also depends on what you do tho stengthen it. As far as "overcoming fears", do it again. Very first thing my friend did after he got his stiches out (19 of them in his face), was to go to wear he wrecked and do it again. I did the same when i wrecked during a MX race last summer. You just have to get up and do it again.

 

[profro]

Doug, first off man that sucks. I feel your pain with the stick shift. But anyway I have looked a lot on the internet and there is some great stuff we can do to quicken the healing time.

1. Stay as active as possible, i.e. a trainer. Increased blood flow due to moderate exercise helps a TON.
2. Stay hydrated. Drink 6 8oz. glasses of water daily.
3. Take your vitimans and increase your calcium intake.
4. Certain foods can really help. Do a search online.

As for fears, Jou has a good point. Once you get the proper strength back, go back to that roller and do it again. But keep in mind that what we do does carry some risk and getting hurt is all part of it.

Joey - serious shoulder seperation
Ben - cracken sternom
Me - 2 broken transverse process (parts of the lower vertebrae), broken scaphoid, and fractured humerus.

Heal up and keep the spirits high. Don't even think of selling the bike. We'd miss ya too much.

 

[def]

Doug, the only way i'd sell the bike would be to join the yeti clan. I WILL be back!

I knew I was getting close to it being my time because I haven't had any really serious crashes. I did bruise some ribs off the bulk-head my 2nd or 3rd time on a dh bike, but nothing serious. I'm just kind of pissed I crashed on one of the easier jumps on the whole course. I was staying low and fast, but the back end must have caught and flung me over the bars. The kid behind me said I landed WAY down the transition. At least I wan't wearing my skate helmet because I would have been in some serious trouble.

I know what we do is dangerous. The first ever run on a dh bike I witnessed shaun blow out his shoulder and I rode up to you (profro) only moments after you smashed that rock with your back. I've just never broken a bone before, so I'm just starting to feel the effects on being non-mobile for awhile. Maybe I can steal the trainer from the old man for a while and ride the xc bike with a slick on that to keep me active.

But dh is a sceen I wouldn't want to leave. Out of all the things I've done sports wise, this is the only one where you can have this much fun, progress and learn off of each other and actually have friends care about you and support you. Cycling is what got me out of the funk I was in my soph year of college, what helped pay for the last two years of school and what has introduced me to a great group of people. And the medicine has kicked in because I'm rambling.

I'm just going to use this as motivation for getting faster and stronger for next season and I'll be back on the bike soon.

 

[Rabie]

I'm sure many have done this but i was wondering about the down time and recovery. I broke mine on wed and can't get it set until monday. They tell me I prob wont need surgery but will require a figure 8 brace. I was curious on what others have experienced along with this injury. rehab, loss of strength, overcomming fears etc. All i know is it hurts like hell, driving a manual is impossible and paying for it without insurance really sucks - started new insurance for work which left me out for the month of august.

I guess I'm out for a while so I'll be cheering insead of riding for the last race at windrock next month. I know I've ridden with lots of people on this board, but not introduced myself. I'm the windrock local with the black V10 who hardly talks. But I'll be yelling my head off at the race cheering for you fools.

thanks for any help or suggestions and thanks to spoke80 for being a stand up dude helping me through this.

-peace

I'm curious as to what you're having to pay for if you don't have to have surgery. Aside from x-rays, all you're going to need is the splint, and if the doctor is going to have to set it, that basically means pulling your shoulders back and hoping it lines back up. Aside from that, it's just going to heal on its own. I did mine at the beginning of February. The first week, it felt like it got worse, and then it stayed about the same for the week after that. Very discouraging. For about the next two weeks it got better, but very slowly. I still had to do pretty much everything one handed. Then at about the 5th week, it started to get *much* better. Noticable improvements every day. By the end of the 6th week, I was riding again like it never happened. Still a little pain, but it was the kind of pain that you can feel and push through, whereas before that, if I tried to do anything my arm would just reject it and not work. Scary thing is a couple months later I took a crash on the same shoulder, and though x-rays were clean, it felt like I broke it again, and had to start again from square one. I don't have insurance either, so I didn't pursue that with the the doctor to see why it felt the way it did if the bone was still intact, but yeah, similar healing timeline this time as well. The moral, I suppose, is that it will get better, but even when you feel like you're out of the woods, try to stay cautious for a while.

 

[SKYWAYBUZZ]

Early on Icy Hot helps the muscles that are over worked from the lost support the collar bone provides. And yes you may crash on it again too soon and prolong the pain. Drink milk, take calcium with Vit.D. Keep active,exercise (stationary bike one handed if possible),high heart rate pumps healing nutrients. I broke mine too many times in the past, I know it hurt bad, just try to take it super easy.Hope you get well soon!

 

[denjen]

1-Get a second opinion on the x-brace. When I broke mine the doctor told me that the x-brace really doesnt do much execpt cause alot of extra pain and discomfort. The thought is that the brace will pull your shoulders back to help line the bones up for healing. My doctor said that when you break a collar bone that the ends slip past each other, and without sugery it is impossible to line them back up. I wore a sling for several weeks, still painful but not nearly as bad as the x-brace would have been.

2- I was back on a DH bike seven weeks after the break. I was hopped up on pain killers, but at least I was on my bike.

 

[androshandrew]

I would use the figure eight brace, I went to some place that my dad went to for work on his knees when he blew them out windsurfing. They do all the stuff for the 49'ers and other Bay Area teams. It is supposed to make the bones move back and heal better, better than a sling at least. Plus, it helped my posture.
Once I could ride again, I was so happy that I just wanted to ride. I didn't care what it was just that I could. Turned out it was Sea Otter, got 17th in DH. Once you can lift weights I would do that and strengthen up the arm because it has gone through quite a bit of atrophy.

 

[edo-chan]

I had a "distal clavicle fracture" which at first they thought was going to need a screw to hold it together, but in the end it was decided to "see how it went." I was discouraged to use a brace other than a sling, and only then when I was going to be standing for long periods. Sleeping sucked for a long time, but I was riding again within six weeks.

I had no insurance either and I spent around 4k with all the ER and consulting visits. My posture was messed up due to muscle tension (body holding the bone in place) but then I broke the other one and evened it up.

 

[Silver]

When I did mine 8 years ago, the doc told me the brace was just personal preference. If it helps you, great, if not, you don't need it.

Short of shattering it into a bunch of small pieces, the collarbone is a good one to break, because it'll heal pretty much no matter what you are doing with it. The first week sucks, the second is better, and by the third you'll be doing everything that doesn't involve a big impact. Just be happy you didn't break your scaphoid...that's a nasty one.

 

[spincrazy]

When I did mine 8 years ago, the doc told me the brace was just personal preference. If it helps you, great, if not, you don't need it.

Short of shattering it into a bunch of small pieces, the collarbone is a good one to break, because it'll heal pretty much no matter what you are doing with it. The first week sucks, the second is better, and by the third you'll be doing everything that doesn't involve a big impact. Just be happy you didn't break your scaphoid...that's a nasty one.

ditto. no brace or sling at all for me. The sling was even more comfortable to wear than not. I only wore it when going out in public places just as an indicator that I was injured so no one tackled me or some such. You'll be nearly back to normal most likely in 4 weeks. I displaced the broken piece of bone and my shoulder when I did mine and it really wasn't that big a deal except for the first week. If you were healthy before the crash you'll be fine soon enough.

 

[Pip3r]

i cant remember how long i was out for mine. Mostley because it seems after a few weeks you can do most anything but ride a bike. Its just that movement of pulling up the bars that hurts so bad. You might feel fine doing anything else but itll take a bit longer than you think to get back riding.
I also didnt do anything for mine. I wore a sling on and off for awhile (few hours at a time), but it would get real sore if i left it in, or out. So it was just good to switch off i guess.
Good luck with it

 

[def]

it gets set tomorrow, 8:30 am. I just hope I can drive with the brace. a lot of people I've talked to say they just wore a sling - so i guess I'll hear what this doctor says. I just hope they drug me or give me some wiskey because setting this is gonna hurt...prob more than actually breaking it. i'll let you know how it goes when i'm near a computer again. thanks for the input and advice

-peace

 

[Jimmy_Pop]

so your break has been separated all this time? i was just thinking about your situation and now i read you really have not even begun your healing.

Hang in there!

joel

 

[mtnbikej]

I broke mine 2 years ago. Wore the brace for about a week and a half. Used a sling for about 2 days. After about 3 weeks, got back on the bike and just rode very lightly. Tested it out every few days for the next 2-3 weeks. Was about 8 weeks when I felt it was finally healed to the point where I could ride without pain. There would still be times when I would get the occasional sharp pain, but only briefly.

I crashes on the same shoulder six months later to the day and thought I re-broke it. A few days later it was better.....apparently it was just scar tissue that was working itself out.

On a side note....the collarbone is one of the best bones to break....besides the pain. Other than stabilize your shoulders, it really serves no other function. This is why 99% of the time doctors do very little to correct them when they break.

OH yeah, you will end up with a nice lump on your collarbone when it does heal.

mtnbikej

 

[profro]

d.e.f,

I got back on the bike, off-road, for the first time after my break 4 weeks ago. I rode about 30 min. on Friday and about 1 hr each on Saturday and Sunday. I feel great and my arm feels even better. I am taking the riding slow and I'm not pushing anything. With riding the trainer so much, I am actually in a little better shape than I was before the break, but I can tell I am scared of crashing. I'm okay with that......for now. I plan on keeping it nice and slow for awhile.

I think Ben told me that you crashed on the foller before the first table, is that right? If so then that is not the easiest jump out there, but one of the most challenging. Yes its easy to do, but to do it right and keep your speed its the hardest out there.

Heal up and take it easy.

 

[def]

the doc i saw today ran my arm in a bunch of directions, looked at my x-rays and said keep it in the sling and see me in 2 weeks. Well spent $85, but better than surgery. He told me the figure 8 brace would just hurt like hell and not help anything. So, I'm at work doing computer stuff until my arm is stong enough to go back to environmental stuff. Although, dirty creeks are more fun than prepairing powerpoint presentations.

A buddy has a trainer he'll let me use and the doc said i "could" be back on a bike in 4 weeks. I doubt a dh bike, but two wheels are two wheels in my eyes right now. I guess I shouldn't cross off the maxxis finals than. But it all depends on how it feels in a couple weeks.

Oh, profro - i know that jump isn't easy, but I've never had problems and i've always hit is smooth and launched into the first table, that I was thinking of the next jump before landing the first. Some might say my dh bike on a mtx course was the problem, but I was just riding a little over my head and not completly focused.

thanks to everyone for the info and support and I'll let ya'll (i've been in the south for a while) know when I'm on the dh course again.

 

[Jimmy_Pop]

d.e.f.,

thats great news. i broke mine on July 17th. mine was a clean break. i kept it in a sling and as still as possible so that the bone would fuse asap. after about 10 days, the bone had fused so that it didn't grind and move around. Although delicate, it was well on the way to recovery. it is coming up on 4 weeks and i feel great and have all movement back. I am still very careful and taking it easy. This is my second bone to break. My first bone that I broke was about $70,000 and 5 surgeries and 2 years to recover. I saw all that to say that this collarb0ne was a piece of cake!

get well. my doc also said that the figure 8 brace did little except hurt and get in the way of life.

get well bro. sounds like you are well on your way!!!

joel

 

[rigidhack]

Good timing for this thread. I snapped mine on a fast descent a day or two before you did. I'm wearing the figure 8, but I find it helps me a lot. I've gone without it for a day and it hurts me way less to wear it. My concern is tat the break came witin 1mm of breaking the skin. I can feel the sharp edge of the bone and I have a briuse that goes from behind by left shoulder to just below my left pec. When it grinds (and it does), sometimes I can feel soft tisue being pinched between the two large pieces (and one small piece). Given how badly this is lining up, I would really like them to go in and realigh in. I've heard that they can wrap the bone ends in a kind of mesh (chicken wire?) to hold them together. Personally, I just want to be able to get back on the bike and get back to surfing ASAP without being a total arthritic gimp in a couple of years.

 

[def]

I hope chicks dig scars.


Its been two weeks and the swelling has really gone down, as did the rainbow of colors I had. I can raise my arm 90 degrees pain and restriction free, but above that is a little forced. Moving my arm foreward and putting more than 10 lbs of pressure on my arm is painful and avoided. I've been doing the xc bike on a trainer in the house and man that sucks - but I've never liked any kind of indoor exercise machine. Work has been cool, as they just want me to heal because I work for an environmental organization and I do a lot of field work. So getting stuck to a computer has sucked, but I'm slowly getting back into my routine. A few doctors are customers at the shop and they've all looked at it and say I'm doing real well. Then the 50 something, still road racing, drags the cat1's around every weekend comes in and goes "I did that once, was back on the bike in a week. Of course, mine displaced and punctured my lung, but it healed and I raced again." Reassuring in a strange way.

Just wanted to say thanks for the fools who gave their stories and advice. It was kind of strange both Doug's in Knoxville f'ed up their shoulders at the same time. Except profro finished his run and ended up winning the race. I was just goofing off on the mtx course.

Figured I throw in a shot of the shoulder for giggles.

 

[tazzmenn]

First time I was in a figure 8 brace. Then I broke the same one again right at the calcium deposit from the first break. Very rare but no brace the second time.

Being taxed to death doesn't seem so bad when you say 4k for er and xrays. Was that your co pay or total cost. Mine cost nothing but 5 weeks of my life disrupted. I didnt even pay for the brace the first time.

 

[Konaowner]

Wait till you snap your collar bone, then look down to see the outter half protruding from your skin. Now that is nasty, i dont know how i stayed consious after seeing that. But anyway, mine was broken playing rugby lol. The worst thing aout collar bones is people dont realise your injured because of no cast. I wore my sling longer than needed to put off stupid people.