Broken collarbone

Training
23

Ceramic speed rotator cuff

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No

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I had surgery yesterday and now today it hurts even worse than it did when I broke it. Is that normal?

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I didnā€™t feel much pain when i broke mine. It came as a shock when the xrays came back and i found out how much was actually broken. Didnā€™t need any painkillers. After i woke up from surgery, though, I immediately felt just like somebody opened up my shoulder and scraped around in there. Had massive pain and needed the painkillers for about 36 hours. was ok after that

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Thanks. I figured it was normal to hurt more for the surgery. I also didnā€™t think it hurt very bad when I broke it.

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Post surgery is worse. If you had a nerve block did you enjoy the thawing sensation?

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I did not have a nerve block.

Today my pain is about a 7/10 while laying down and 11/10 standing up. And Thatā€™s on oxy and Tylenol.

Right after beaking it was probably a 5/10 with no drugs

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All I can say is hang in there. I didnā€™t sleep at all the first night, only a little the 2nd, but by the 3rd I was getting 2 blocks of a few hours each and a nap, 4th day i only took 1 dose of tylenol and things were more achy than painful. Better and better every day.

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33

pro-tip for helping with sleep; pillow next to you on the bed to create a sort of cradle to keep your arm elevated and prevent you rolling onto it and if possible have the bed to yourself.

unofficial tip from a non-medically trained, injury prone idiot; donā€™t spend too much time in your sling. Sleep in it (to keep it still and help with sleep) and wear it if you go out (people will be more aware of you and so less likely to bump into someone wearing a sling). If your just around the house keep the sling off and try to move your arm and utilise it within itā€™s range of motion. Anything that hurts stop. But this will help to retain some strength.

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34

Broke my collarbone five days ago. Doc says no surgery needed. How long does it take to regain fitness? I watched a GCN video in which they said the amount of time off the bike equals the time it takes to regain your form. In other words, if you are off the bike for three months, expect three months to regain the fitness you had prior to the injury. Thoughts?

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Think Ti is the standard so shouldnā€™t be too bad on the g. Kept mine in, donā€™t want hassle of another surgery (however minor). Itā€™s mildly uncomfortable at times but not enough to justify.

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Your very lucky you donā€™t need surgery. I think I got about 3 hours of sleep last night and 6 hours of laying awake in pain.

Get on the trainer as soon as you feel you safely can even if itā€™s just for 10 mins of easy pedaling.

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Hang in there man, It will get better. Take the drugs, but when you feel you dont need them anymore, stop taking the drugs!

I did mine in 2015, break looks identical to yours. Surgery pain was way worse than actual break. I was riding the trainer 2-3 days after surgery and back on the road 4 weeks later. It might not feel like it now, but i promise youā€™ll get back to it and feel normal again.

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Iā€™ve spoken to a bunch of medical professionals, nobody recommends taking out the hardware unless I am having an issue. Most of the danger seems to be possible infection during the surgery.

Iā€™ve got a titanium plate plus 12 screws as my collarbone shattered into 5 pieces, my big concern is the plate being in there and causing a break at the ends/neck of the bone as opposed to in the middle.

As far as getting back into riding, I gave myself a few non-biking weeks, lots of walking but figured it was nice to have a break and the rest is probably better for the broken bone than large amounts of physical exertion.

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To those that got surgery: is your shoulder numb now?

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My shoulder muscle was numb for the first week or two but I had some pain around the back, now I only have a numb-ish area by my incision at ~4weeks. My shoulder muscles and the area just above my arm pit still get sore, a bit of light massage helps.

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Can you lift your hand above your shoulder yet?

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Yep. The dr. gave me some stretches which included using my good arm to lift my bad arm up and hold. Iā€™m probably at 80% range of motion straight up. I think I could do it without using my other arm, but Iā€™m being conservative. Plenty of time to regain strength and flexibility.

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43

Ahh man I canā€™t wait.

Did my first trainer ride today just 40w for 10 minutes. 4 days post surgery.

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Cutting nerves is unavoidable so you will lose some sensation.

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