Brocken collar bone

[Craig B]

A friend of mine crashed recently and broke his collar bone, he's been advised to leave the shoulder strapped up to heal, no surgery however he's concerned that route will take 6-8 weeks, the alternative is to get it plated which will see him back on the bike inside 4 weeks however the surgeon who assessed him is against this???
Anyone out there with experience able to offer advice? Here's his x-ray..

[elaina]

Suggest he takes the xray to his dr and ask for a second opinion.

[Welsh Exile]

keep it in the sling ....don't hunch over --- keep shoulders back at all times.
There's a few nerves running over the bone ...the doc might think that its the better option to let it set, naturally.

[Ed2001]

[cyclerugby]

Broke mine a few years back in a cyclo cross race and the surgeon plated the break on the basis of some studies at that time that suggested "natural healing" often resulted in a poor mend and other complications.
A mate broke his a little while after mine and it was left to heal naturally, but it didn't and consequently had to have the bone re broken and plated about 6 mths later and he had issues for a while after.

I had the plate removed 18mths later and its been fine ever since....although they did leave one of the screws in for some reason.

[legro]

broke mine in June had laser treatment and back racing in 3 weeks

http://www.physioclinic.net/
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The spirit of Brian must live on

[Tailwinds Always]

Without the expertise to be able to assess the seriousness of the break, I'd say that if you get a choice you should get it pinned.
I've heard it said that in countries where the system is health insurance based, and your insurance pays for work absence, they'll generally operate to shorten time-off work costs. Here in the UK, the NHS would rather not intervene if at all possible, as they could be liable for any problem with an intervention, but won't be liable for any "natural healing" problems, or time off work.

I let it heal naturally after quite a bad break, and got back on my bike inside three weeks, but now have a very untidy bump there, which is annoying if I need to carry a heavy bag, with a strap over that shoulder.

[cjdjustride]

In the USA and many mainland European countries it would be straight in for surgery. However, surgery is a) more expensive and, more importantly in the view of many medical practitioners b) involves a general anesthetic which has inherent risks even for the healthiest individual. A further consideration is aesthetics. An operation can usually help in achieving a lump free repair which is why that route is popular in the States! So unless you're a model or you don't want the tell-tale sign of a clavicle fracture to be seen in the showers then it isn't a concern.
Both my breakages (and one was where there was a mid section of bone
completely detatched from either side) followed the natural healing process. Damned frustrating at times but worked out OK. On the turbo within the week.
Whatever route is taken it's very important to get proper physio/sports injury treatment at the appropriate time. Soft tissue damage will always accompany a serious fracture and the long term problems associated with the sub-optimal repair of such tissue can sometimes be greater than the original injury.
Hope this helps

[Doc James]

Not going to offer a medical opinion but instead a few points to clarify. This is not to get at the OP, but rather to give some insight into healthcare law in the UK:

1) I'm not clear how the image was obtained (it seems too good for camera phone so I suspect it's been ripped from the computer database) but somewhat oddly, you do not have the right to medical images taken of you. They may be transferred from one healthcare provider to another immediately involved in the care of the patient after signing a release form. Release to the patient themselves is generally not permitted. Friends of friends etc. with access to hospital computers are NOT allowed to access images and if the activity that lead to this image appearing on VR comes to light there could be serious ramifications.

2) If Xrays are to be posted, can they at least be anonymised? The name, DOB and ID should be removed (photoshop etc). There's enough here for an internet fraudster to buy a mobile phone, credit card etc. Mr Brindle already has enough trouble with a recently broken clavicle without his financial world exploding.

To reiterate, I'm not getting at anyone and please do continue the debate on treatment of clavicle #.....
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[Tucker]

I wonder why the x-ray notes that the patient was erect? I mean, if it was a pelvic x-ray I'd understand, but its his collarbone FFS.

[Doc James]

Thanks Tucker, that was precisely the post this topic needed
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[Wheezer!]

Think it means he was stood up rather than lying down
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[Tucker]

[Davey C]

[legro]

[Doc James]

[Doc James]

Just to clarify, the missing word is.... oh, never mind
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[mattr]

Maybe he broke it trying to get erect. Frantic Fwapping until the bone snapped.


Too much beer could well do that, or an ugly radiographer.

[legro]

[Doc James]

Thanks Legro. Suppose I owe you 5k now. Wish I'd never got involved
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