Nov 12, 2008, 6:05 PM
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Broken Clavicle: How long should I wait?
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I am a T-I, AFF-I, Rigger, and coach. I was in a motorcycle accident last week and broke my clavicle, fractured a rib and punctured a lung. I was wondering if anyone else has had a similar brake and how long it took you to heal. Thanks in advance.
Nov 12, 2008, 6:44 PM
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Re: [bbl] Broken Clavicle: How long should I wait?
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Wow, well... I'd think that the punctured lung would be more a concern than the collar bone or ribs.
Ask your doctor how long you should wait.
I broke my collar bone and sternum and the collar bone took a lot longer to heal. It hurt for about 3 months. Whether or not it was "safe" regardless of the pain was a mute point for me at the time because I wasn't jumping or doing anything to aggravate it.
Nov 12, 2008, 7:57 PM
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Re: [bbl] Broken Clavicle: How long should I wait?
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I broke mine a few years ago in a bike wreck too. I miss the old Electraglide! 45 days later I was on the new sled and jumping. Depends on how you heel and feel is what my doc said. good luck with it...oh...and don't fall out of the attic scavenging old parts to sell, land on the concrete garage floor, re-breaking it all over. Yea, I did that too. About a week after the bike wreck. Fortunately I was already heavily sedated when I went to see the doc again.
Nov 13, 2008, 1:07 AM
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Re: [bbl] Broken Clavicle: How long should I wait?
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I had a break March 1st and I did my first hop n pop May 31, that was almost a bit early. I did a few jumps like that and then I did camera fulltime for a few weeks and did my first tandem on June 15th.
It does take time to recover and when you get back in to it the muscles in the shoulder can ace a lot and the stronger muscles get over use and the smaller ones keep getting smaller....
I have a bump on the bone and the rig was very uncomfortable the first few jumps but that gets better pretty fast.
My doc cleared me before I felt safe to jump though....
If you get stuck I had a very good physio and can fax the gym program I have specific for this problem and specific for getting back to tandems.
Nov 13, 2008, 2:47 AM
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Re: [bbl] Broken Clavicle: How long should I wait?
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I broke my clavicle in a car accident and it took forever to get back in the air. The story was in the X-rays.
In my case the fracture took about eight months to heal. I'm not a doctor, but apparently if the bone is actually broken apart (non-union) then surgery is recommended and it heals pretty fast. If the bone is just cracked, then it needs to heal on its own. If that takes too long then there are some therapies that can be used, or surgery might be recommended. Unfortunately insurance companies limit when those can be applied so it is a matter of waiting, not because it's really necessary, but because of insurance cost and limitations. It was very frustrating to know that if I was a star athlete, or just had tons of money to burn, there were ways to get better faster, but because I had a conventional insurance plan I was stuck with no options.
It was especially annoying because an earlier accident left me with a couple of compressed vertebrae, a broken rib, broken wrist, and broken elbow, but I managed to get back in the air in about six weeks.
I think my clavicle case was unusual. Most clavicle injuries seem to heal pretty fast. Good luck with it.
Nov 13, 2008, 7:19 AM
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Re: [labrys] Broken Clavicle: How long should I wait?
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Thanks for everyone's stories. I work at a busy dz. Did almost 1300 jumps this season. Helps to be versatile in the sport. I can go from doing anything they need except fly the plane.
Nov 13, 2008, 8:37 AM
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Re: [bbl] Broken Clavicle: How long should I wait?
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Chalk up another one for motorbike accidents here (mine was May 1st last year). I had a non-union fracture with a small displaced 3rd fragment they only discovered once they opened me up, warranting a plate and 7 screws that are still in there. I started doing exercises 4 weeks after surgery, was jumping after 6 and doing tandems after 8. The shoulder hurt the first few weeks when I got back in the air, before I built up enough strength again, but funny enough, I hardly ever feel the plate when wearing a rig, although it's screwed right on top of the collarbone.
Exercises definitely helped me a lot, although I wouldn't recommend rushing so much to get back in the air. Still, a friend with a very similar injury (6 screws, just on the right side, while mine were on the left) was cleared for jumping by his doctor after 7 weeks. I think in your case, the recovery time will depend more on the rib and puncured lung than the broken collarbone. Good luck!
Nov 15, 2008, 9:43 AM
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Re: [bbl] Broken Clavicle: How long should I wait?
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Broke the ol'rt. clavicle while racing my flattrack motorcycle back in the day. Due to the severity of the break, ("crushed" is more like it, 17 pieces!) I was not able to get back into ANY sport for well over a year. Listen to your body, doctor, and common sense.
Jan 27, 2009, 8:15 AM
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Re: [bbl] Broken Clavicle: How long should I wait?
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Ist get rid of the bike,,,2nd talk to the doc..3rd find and pay if you have to a good agressive physical therapist who specializes in sports medicine. that is the best option....my .02 cents
