Recovery and Training after broken Collar bone

[greatwhite]

Hi All,

 

About 4 weeks ago, I crashed in an XC race and broke my right collar bone. I had surgery that afternoon and a titanium plate and a whole load of screws were put in.

 

The Doc has been pretty specific about no heavy lifting and the like for 6 weeks, but wasn't averse to me getting a little bit of exercise after 3 weeks.

 

I've ridden the mtb a few times with my kid for 30min on the road in this last week and this morning I rode the road bike for 30min. There has been a little/mild discomfort after some of the rides, but nothing of note.

 

I was wondering, given collar bone injuries are not uncommon in cycling if anyone can give some pointers on their experience post injury with regard to do's and don'ts for training for the next few weeks/months

 

(thus far my only real thought is no offroad for a while to eliminate the hits you take in the envornment)

 

Thanks

[MK Killer]

Hi All,

 

About 4 weeks ago, I crashed in an XC race and broke my right collar bone. I had surgery that afternoon and a titanium plate and a whole load of screws were put in.

 

The Doc has been pretty specific about no heavy lifting and the like for 6 weeks, but wasn't averse to me getting a little bit of exercise after 3 weeks.

 

I've ridden the mtb a few times with my kid for 30min on the road in this last week and this morning I rode the road bike for 30min. There has been a little/mild discomfort after some of the rides, but nothing of note.

 

I was wondering, given collar bone injuries are not uncommon in cycling if anyone can give some pointers on their experience post injury with regard to do's and don'ts for training for the next few weeks/months

 

(thus far my only real thought is no offroad for a while to eliminate the hits you take in the envornment)

 

Thanks

Hi GreatWhite,

 

I too had the same surgery as you. 18 months on there is still very minor discomfort, but looking to get the plate removed soon.

 

From my perspective, I was on the spinning bike after about 2 or 3 weeks. You correct that you should avoid anything where "jolting" of the shoulder can occur. Road cycling should be fine - as long as you dont fall

 

Overall let your body guide you, if you not in too much pain then its ok - if something causes pain then rather wait a bit.

[greatwhite]

Hi GreatWhite,

 

I too had the same surgery as you. 18 months on there is still very minor discomfort, but looking to get the plate removed soon.

 

From my perspective, I was on the spinning bike after about 2 or 3 weeks. You correct that you should avoid anything where "jolting" of the shoulder can occur. Road cycling should be fine - as long as you dont fall

 

Overall let your body guide you, if you not in too much pain then its ok - if something causes pain then rather wait a bit.

 

Thanks for the input - any specific tips you might be able to offer?

[Mike Bike]

Hi, ive had the same experience. Was back on my bike properly after 5 weeks. I had no discomfort at all after my op. Still got my plate in after 21 minths. I used an idt before i was back on the bike proper. You need an xray to confirm the joint has healed properly before doing anything too bumpy

[Patchelicious]

I was in surgery last week Monday for a plate.

 

I am back on the IDT as of today, arm in sling.

 

This will be the case till end of next week when small road rides on the MTB will compliment majority of the training on IDT (8 hours this week, and 10 next week only), this will be confirmed by follow xray next week. Thereafter back 100% to training program.

 

I plan on racing the Bestmed Satellite Classic on 18th of October. Exactly 5 weeks after the crash. 94.7 and DC in November. No W2W though

 

Luckily my surgeon rides too and has been pretty "lenient" on recovery times but has been pretty adamant to stay off the MTB trails, not sure if its because of recovery or because he knows Im a noob and will probably fall again. Told me can start IDT a week after op, left 2 days extra as wound was still a bit swollen.

 

I have decided to try use this forced recovery time away from MTB and silly social rides to really focus on training on the IDT so hopefully what would have been a setback will be actually make me a stronger rider.

[Dicky DQ]

I am at exactly 6 weeks after my fall this afternoon. I was on the IDT after a week and mtb on the road after week 2. Did a 125 km dirt roadie race in week 4 and k2c last week end.

 

The main issue is dealing with the tight muscles that come from your body trying to compensate.

 

You will see that one your arm is on the bars you are fine. It was just painfull each time I tried to get on or off the bike or change my grip. Also standing was out of the question.

 

Just go for it and avoid all the bumps, YOU WILL FEEL EVERY BUMP!

[Tubehunter]

16 months since I did my right collarbone. I decided not to do the surgery. Had too much tissue damage to have it done straight away and by the time that had healed the bone had already begun repairing. Went for 3 rounds of xrays with the follow up sessions to determine the actual speed of regrowth and repair. Wore a sling for 2 weeks. Began light arm range of motion activities after that while spending time on the IDT and 5 weeks in was doing rotation cuff exercises. Started back on the road with the MTB and shorter rides. After 8 weeks went for a ride on the mountain. Rode conservatively for a while after but have been picking it up all the time since then.

[patches]

Two years ago I broke my collarbone downhilling. Couldn't have surgery right away as I was in France at the time and was about to come home.

 

Figure-of-8 back brace for 1 week, then had it plated.

 

1 week after op I was out of the sling and driving around.

 

2 weeks after the plate I got my staples out and I started riding the Spruit.

 

4 weeks after surgery (5 weeks after incident) it was good enough to dirt jump with, provided I didn't crash.

 

Funny enough jumping didn't hurt it much. It was unsuspected hits (like potholes in the trail) where one wasn't ready for it. The shock travels straight up one's arm into the plate.

 

Here's an x-ray from yesterday (relating to a different crash and injury, haha). The radiologists report says the collor bone plate is still 100s

 

 

(yes, that's a titanium bar across my ribcage, not from any recent or cycling related incidents).

 

EDIT: I guess the time factor is all relative to how one feels. I don't know if you're going the physio route (I didn't), but I did do the same excersises I was given for broken ribs and sternum (ie. walk your hands up the wall in front of you, and to your side, to get range of motion back).

[Mongoose!]

thanks for this

will follow this topic closely as i broke mine 21.9.2014

 

also got surgery - plate

 

Tonight will be my first "race"

 

Online racing.........

 

But riding with a sling (opright position) bly maar k@k.

[Lurch the stalker]

Two years back I did my left collar bone in a motorbike accident, and they reckoned it would heal naturally.

Long story short, after a year I still had a gap between the two pieces of bone and any excessive movement caused the bone to rub together which is quite painful.

Due to that complication they then put a plate in during May last year.

Plate was removed a couple months back and have been back on the bike about a month now and flexibility is much better without the plate.

[greatwhite]

I was in surgery last week Monday for a plate.

 

I am back on the IDT as of today, arm in sling.

 

This will be the case till end of next week when small road rides on the MTB will compliment majority of the training on IDT (8 hours this week, and 10 next week only), this will be confirmed by follow xray next week. Thereafter back 100% to training program.

 

I plan on racing the Bestmed Satellite Classic on 18th of October. Exactly 5 weeks after the crash. 94.7 and DC in November. No W2W though

 

Luckily my surgeon rides too and has been pretty "lenient" on recovery times but has been pretty adamant to stay off the MTB trails, not sure if its because of recovery or because he knows Im a noob and will probably fall again. Told me can start IDT a week after op, left 2 days extra as wound was still a bit swollen.

 

I have decided to try use this forced recovery time away from MTB and silly social rides to really focus on training on the IDT so hopefully what would have been a setback will be actually make me a stronger rider.

 

You get an A for determination! I can tell you that out of saddle with hands on the hoods on road the bike was sort of borderline for me and that is at 4 weeks. After about 2.5 weeks I went on my mtb less than a km and the jarring from the road at that point wasn't fun, so you might find you are on the IDT a while longer than anticipated, but see how it goes and good luck.

[Skott5]

At 2 weeks I was on the IDT

At 4 Weeks I was on the Road

At 6 weeks I was back on the trails.

 

You kinda feel when it's ready.

[greatwhite]

OK, so 3 days on the road bike in a row and it isn't too bad. A little discomfort but otherwise OK. Feeling a lot more optimistic that I'll be training properly soon. I do think, however, at 6 weeks, if I get back on the mtb, I will still be conservative with what I do for a while and feel it out.

[Rocket-Boy]

OK, so 3 days on the road bike in a row and it isn't too bad. A little discomfort but otherwise OK. Feeling a lot more optimistic that I'll be training properly soon. I do think, however, at 6 weeks, if I get back on the mtb, I will still be conservative with what I do for a while and feel it out.

Im of the opinion that with injuries like that if you dont give them proper time to heal then you battle with them going forward.

Sure its going to set your training back a bit but its worth it to give it the time it needs to heal properly.

[Scott2luvit]

the good news is you now have your licence to cycle

[greatwhite]

Im of the opinion that with injuries like that if you dont give them proper time to heal then you battle with them going forward.

Sure its going to set your training back a bit but its worth it to give it the time it needs to heal properly.

 

Agreed, that's one of the reasons for being conservative. I'm not an elite level level athlete any more and my income is not dependent on it, so while I would like to get going again, I'm certainly not going to take any risks - frustrating as it might sometimes be.