Recover from a Crumpled Collarbone Quicker

Get back on the bike in less time, with less trauma to your body and mind.

The Hard Truth (and ground)
Crashes happen. For some riders they are little more than an annoyance in an otherwise enjoyable ride. These riders brush themselves off, check the bike for damage, then go rolling along down the trail. But for others, those of us who hit the ground the way a two-year-old’s hand smashes ribbon candy, crashes can affect more than a ride. They can break our bodies.

In a little over four years of riding I’ve crashed hard about ten times. Please realize before you exclaim “only ten?!”, that these crashes were not ‘gently clip out, hurdle the bars, slide into the dirt’ crashes. They were lose total control, flip in the air like a jet boat on choppy water, nose-wheelie skids that flung me into trees, off trails, and over large portions of the earth. Twenty percent of these crashes broke a bone. More specifically, my collarbone. The same one. Twice.

Treatment for a collarbone break is bizarre. Doctors will cast a broken arm, put pins in a shattered ankle, and hand you a bag of ice for a broken collarbone. Because of its location in the upper chest, the clavicle cannot be cast without immobilizing the whole chest area, and operating is seldom done unless the shattered bone fragments are endangering nerves or arteries. So when you break your collarbone, after a painful examination, you will most likely leave the hospital with a few painkillers and a sling to hold your arm in place. The rest is up to you. Since I’ve been through the process twice, I have learned some lessons that should help if you end up in the same situation. These lessons are: get mentally well; get physically well; then merge the two.

Get Physical
Face it. A broken bone won’t knit overnight, proper mending takes time. Make the most of this time by staying fit and healing correctly.

The first step is to listen to both your doctor and your body. In the first couple of weeks you should try not to move your arm. Each movement, even a shrug of the shoulders, will cause blinding pain and a childish whimper. Sleeping is an adventure best accomplished by setting yourself up like a king or queen. Use plenty of pillows to support your arm and keep you from rolling over. My technique was to place a husband at the headboard then stack two pillows in front of it and place one pillow under my arm. This setup helped me get some much needed sleep and started my journey to recovery.

After a few weeks of lying around you’ll quickly realize that setting limits is important. When the bone has begun to set, at about 21 days, you’ll want to increase your activity back to ‘normal’ levels. Sure, you used to go out for drinks or a movie after a full day of work, but now you’ll see this as insanity. I found that I could spend about half my usual time at parties and other events before I needed a nap. After a crash even simple tasks sap your strength, so plan accordingly.

Also understand that regular activities are more difficult. Getting dressed requires another pair of hands or a change in wardrobe. Start wearing slip-on shoes, button down shirts and sweat pants if you can get away with it. Driving a car can be impossible with only one arm and decreased mobility. Use this as an excuse to walk more. By walking you’ll keep your lungs, legs, and heart in shape and that means less time playing catch up when you get back on your wheels. And most important, take the time to do your therapy. Pulling rubber bands may seem infantile, but if you shortchange your body by skipping workouts you’ll heal incorrectly and take longer to heal the next time you break.

My regiment was a combination of prescribed physical therapy, short walks, leg and abdomen exercises, and reading back issues of Dirt Rag. Choose your own avenue for recovery, but try to remain active. Bed sores are harder to explain than saddle sores.

Mentality Matters
Confidence in yourself and your equipment often leads to better rides and enhanced skills. If you believe your Huffy can climb anything, it will. Conversely, if the sight of wet roots makes you pee your pants, you’ll avoid roots entirely or other riders will make fun of the way you smell.

Try to take the crash and injury in stride. It will help you have more confidence when you mount up again. After my fall I began to visualize the crash. I came to realize why it happened. It was the result of too much speed, the wrong angle, and bad technique. If the negative memory remained intact (like the football/broken nose incident on the Brady Bunch) I’d become more tentative on the trails. Bad thoughts would become self perpetuating and in the worst case I would come to hate riding and myself. I didn’t let this happen.

I replayed the event mentally and changed the outcome. No longer had I launched myself sideways, the bike was in line and level in the air. The second change was the landing. This time the front tire remained on the rim and the bike didn’t slap me to the earth like a badminton birdie. Finally, in my mind I ended the ride with a smile and a cold drink as opposed to a mile-long walk in clipless shoes. By changing the effect the crash had on me mentally, I could look forward to getting back on the bike.

Some studies have indicated that healing time is decreased in patients who have a good attitude. This may be a crock, but I kept a positive outlook and my bone was healed in 12 days. A bonus to being pleasant and positive is that people will continue to visit you during your recovery. If you’re an ogre people will shun you and then who will you ride with when you’re totally healed?

Merge Ahead
The final step is to get back on the horse, or bike as it were. Once ready to ride the bike, make your first time out fairly short. I rode for about 45 minutes on easy trails when I got the OK from my doctor. By limiting trail time and difficulty I gained some confidence and didn’t risk further injury by fatiguing myself.

But shorter rides still mean time off the bike. Make use of this time to continue a workout program and to work on your bike. Learn to true the wheel you taco’d in the crash. Or take a moment to clear the shrubbery from your cogs. You can even take a break from bikes altogether and read a book or watch a movie. The pause offered by your injury will often fuel your desire to get back on the bike. I know it did for me. Now I’m riding as much as the weather permits and I’m more focused on the trail.

The best advice I can offer anyone sidelined from this, or any injury, is to remain positive. A broken bone will heal eventually. Don’t let it destroy your spirit.

If you wish to make an accident claim then contact Irwin Mitchell for more details.