Broken collarbone

Yes. The area around the incision is slightly numb now. It’s been 14 months. I guess it may be permanent.

Surgery was the 21st, been doing sweet spot on the trainer since the 26th. Thinking about trying to hit the road soon. Total cost of surgery came out to about $30,000

Fractured my left collarbone last night in a Crit. Ortho in the next day or two. Single, clean break so I doubt surgery. We will see.

I broke my collarbone on 21st Jan this year - got blown off my fat bike. No surgery - the fracture was very similar to that of @alexstenerson in the x-ray above - did my first trainer session on 31st Jan. I did a ramp test on the 8th Feb, even getting a small 3W increase!

Got discharged on 11th March then something happened a few days later :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

No surgery recommended for me from two different docs, even considering an eventual return to Ironman (swimming). So, we rest it up, I take my time away from the bike as planned and hit the trainer in a couple of weeks to start 2021. NBD.

Broke my right collarbone 4 days ago. Not much pain at all but I can’t lift my arm above parallel to the ground. Doctor said they will not do any surgery and I will get a new x ray in 10-14 days. The skin around my collarbone has a weird yellow colour. I’ve been instructed to swing my arm back and forth to make sure it does not become stale. I can move my arm pain-free if I assist it with my other arm (using the muscles on the injured side hurts a bit if I move it too high).

Not sure where you are, but go get yourself some Voltarin and some Arnicare gel. Mix the two up in the palm of your hand and rub generously over the area a few times a day and before bed. Helps with pain and to reduce bruising/yellowing. I found that combo more effective than NSAIDs and could tell a marked difference when I used it vs. not when I was recovering.

(My sister is a D.PT and recommended this, if that makes you feel better!)

Reviving this thread. Just butchered my collarbone on the trails on 3/19. Surgery on 3/24. Starting to think about doing some easy trainer rides in the coming days. Payson McElveen posted up with his trainer set up following his crash. I showed that to my orthopedic, and he does not want me putting weight on that arm yet like Payson was (leaning on a horizontally supported 2x4, keeping his body in a more upright position).

So, what kind of trainer setup or modifications have y’all used? Any pictures you can share?

Questions and concerns from a sleepless injured rider who can’t get comfortable post-surgery and post-pain-pills.

I broke mine a couple of months back (no surgery) and I found easy/endurance trainer rides to be fairly doable sitting upright in my sling. Actually had an old hybrid/commuter bike on the trainer while mine was being fixed and I think the geometry might have actually helpfed out in that regard :stuck_out_tongue:
I have also heard of people turning drop bars upside down to get the front end higher up, but I’ve never tried that one.

as above, i know a few people who turned there drops upside down.

i just stayed off the bike and went out for walks, won’t have helped with fitness but kept the weight down

I broke my elbow end of 2020, and once I was off the meds (about 2 weeks on morphine) and cleared by the doctor to ride (important to check this is sweating and stuff can cause inflammation at the place of incision) I rode z2 sessions sitting upright.

Since it sucked sitting upright, I did 45min sessions only, but I did them everyday, and this kept my fitness from plummeting (even more than it already had).

You’ll come back quickly, better to focus on healing correctly, eating well and all that!

When I busted mine I just rode the trainer with one arm in the sling and the other on the bars near the stem. Didn’t have an issue supporting with just one arm, but I kept those sessions short

I broke mine last July and didn’t require surgery.

Like others, I ended up riding mostly shorter and endurance (or even easier) rides for the first few weeks when returning to riding. By shorter I’m recalling 30-45 min versions.

In my case I think my Dr said it was ok to do this plan following a visit 10 days after my accident.

I rode with my arm in a sling and my good arm resting on my trainer desk (like the wahoo desk) raised as high as it would go and positioned above my road bars.

The position itself was certainly awkward at times, but I was glad to be doing a little more than walking.

I went to the gym pedaled on a basic gym bike for a couple weeks. My road bike was wrecked in the crash so I didn’t really have the trainer option for that time but it would have been extremely difficult to have gotten on it for the first 2 weeks anyway. Even though you can’t really “train” on those things, its not totally worthless physically and getting out of the house and spinning some pedals really helped me mentally.

By 2 weeks post surgery I had a new bike and was able to trainer ridemone armed so started back on the trainer at that point. Once I got so I could relatively comfortably get my bad side hand back on the bars, I was back to riding outside fairly soon after that. I was a little lees than 6 weeks from surgery to riding outside again.

broke mine probably a month before yours and i’m in a similar boat (in surgery recovery). Talked to the Ortho and said that he doesn’t want me riding as he doesn’t want sweat to get into the incision. taking it slow for the most part and although

i’ve tried to do walks part of me really wants to get on the bike which i’ve done for 30 min sessions every few days just to get the legs moving, goal is just to spin legs and keep HR under 150 (lower the better) and have my fans directed towards the surgery area to keep it mostly dry.

issue is that the incision opened up a little and so now i’m back in waiting game for the ‘all clear’ from the ortho before trying to ride again. not sure it would’ve been any different if i didn’t ride (as i think my toddler jumping on my arm caused it to open). but now i’m taking it slower. Ortho also said that i could start exercising more when i start PT which should be in a week or so.

so don’t copy me and try to rush it. might set you back and with the way the weather’s turning into more sun i should’ve just kept it easier for that first week or so in the hopes of getting approval for outside riding sooner (whenever that’ll be).

Alright thanks for all the replies. Crazy how much variability there is from person to person on this subject.

I did get on the bike today and cranked out a Dans. I sat up on the bike almost the entire time, occasionally leaning forward to put my left hand on the bars. It felt weird to be on the bike but it felt great afterwards to know that I’ve taken a step forward with my fitness while not likely impacting my clavicle recovery at all. I did ride with the sling on. The doc wants this thing on always for now unless I’m showering or doing my PT exercises.

I’ve noted some setup tweaks for next time, like flipping the bars, and moving my support table to my left side so I can left hand anything that I need a little easier.

Crazy feeling tired after Dans!

By the way, here’s the screenshot from PM’s social media post. My doc definitely doesn’t want me leaning on my right arm like that yet. But I could definitely see how a setup like this would allow me to be on the trainer for longer. Sitting up for 30 minutes kinda sucked.

Did mine, was back on the bike after 6 weeks. Surgeon said he loved cyclists as they had put his kids through private school !

Broke mine last year, no surgery.

I did easy 30-45 minute endurance rides in a sling 3 weeks after breaking it. I put no weight on that arm and it was fairly easy to do that. Get a mesh arm sling that is made to use in the shower as it gets really sweaty in a normal sling.

I had my surgery just before thanksgiving last year. I was sitting on the trainer 11 days after surgery. (I used it as an off-season break)
My setup did not change at all. The first week or two I just did long endurance rides and sat more upright or propped myself up with my “good” arm.