Got hit by a car 2 days ago, ended up with a broken collarbone, broken rop rib and broken scapula.
I have the option to do surgery next week if i want.
Going forward i’m hoping to get on the trainer this week.
I have some questions for the forum and the collective experiences you have:
For trainerroad: @TrainerRoad_Admin
Could you implement some sort of rehab trainingplan, where you start out with easy endurance and bumps it up according to pain/fatigue reported?
For the forum:
Recommendations on doing surgery vs no surgery?
How to start training going forward, i’m thinking of going to the gym to work legs 3 times a week and start cycling with easy 30 min endurance spins adjusting the time and intensity after how i feel. Should i be adding high intensity workouts like vo2 max or sprint workouts, or will i keep my fitness intact with endurance spins?
Sorry to hear about the collision and injuries. The following threads should help answer your questions. The first link details several TR users’ personal experiences with broken collarbones and whether they underwent surgery or not…
I got the option, I chose surgery Surgeon said that recovery afterwards is way faster, and he was right. 4 very painful days efter the surgery, then 5th day I could do a trainer spin.
4 weeks later I was riding outside again, albeit slowly and short rides.
But, every injury is different. Honestly I wouldn’t stress it too much. Focus on either doing the surgery or not, get that done, then focus on recovery, then the bike.
And no, don’t be doing V02 Max with a broken collarbone. Your body is in enough stress. Just get on the bike and move the legs. Doctor said that just getting the blood to move around is good enough.
It feels a bit like you’re panicking over the fitness loss. You’re just going to have to accept it, see it as a vacation from the bike You’ll get back fast!
Breaking a collarbone is a great way to shed fatigue. I ended up taking a full 10 days off, then rode zwift like easy rides for a while, feeling out duration and trying to get my heartrate back in check. I wasn’t back outside for 6 weeks, and that was with just the one fracture, with the surgery.
It sucks, but it’s just going to take time. The fitness will come back fast once your cleared to go for it again (enjoy re-living the newb gains phase).
Yep. I broke a collarbone and consulted 3 different sports medicine orthopedic surgeons. Since my break was toward the distal end, which evidently is more held together by ligaments, I opted for no surgery and was riding 10 days later. Pain was the guideline. Of course the risk was a mild crash could make things much worse. Sticking to the trainer would maybe be more sensible.
It is after 25 day pic of the injury without any treatment as my leg tibia was operated. I couldnt do anything and I had a little pain in left shoulder only and full hand work is working, now two months passed perhaps even sling will not work now. Is it healing or will healed without surgery. Any chance. I am 36. Its depression affecting my leg tibia healing also. What should I do. Help please
Ended up going for the surgery to relieve myself from the muscular pain in the shoulder area and to make sure the bone actually heals (life with toddlers makes no surgery a high risk endeavor).
Surgery happened 10 days after the crash. I would say i had a 50% pain reduction just the day after the surgery. And now 6 days out of the surgery i have exponentially increased mobility and strength.
For the bike i did 4 workouts prior to the surgery, ranging from 30-60 minutes mostly endurance.
Have had 3 rides after the surgery, all endurance. Today i could hold the bars for a few minutes at a time.
Question for those who have been through this, how long does it take for the heart rate to return to normal?
Today i had 60% ftp ride, at 85% of max heart rate. First 30 mins are ok then heart rate goes through the roof.
Surgeon said that recovery afterwards is way faster, and he was right. 4 very painful days efter the surgery, then 5th day I could do a trainer spin.