Suspected Broken Clavicle - any reason to do anything?

[Biciclette Bianchi]

I know that self-diagnosis is fraught with peril. That being said, I think that there is a pretty good chance that I broke my clavicle when I clipped a pedal in a race and went down hard on my shoulder (almost ten days ago now). Anyway, is there any reason to do anything about this? Poking around on the web, it seems like rest is usually the only treatment required. Since the pain is now not very bad (unless I really stretch out my arm), I am not sure that there is any reason to waste time trying to get in to see my orthopedics guy. In fact, I hit a very high quality 140 miles last week in the saddle with only minimal discomfort, so the injury is not interfering with my training. My current thought is to not worry about this, unless there is some reason that I should get in to see an MD. Any thoughts?

Thanks for any opinions.


Dave

 

[180mmCrank]

You are joking right - I guess not

Go and see someone get it properly diagnosed. You don't wnat to mess with this kind of thing it can cause all sorts of other issues ... neck... shoulder... back pain.

For the sake of an hour appointment I would get it sorted.

Terry

 

[Guidokcd]

An X-ray will clarify everything for you. If it's fractured, but not displaced, a sling for a few weeks should do the trick. However, if there is a big "step-off" as it's sometimes called, then you might need a plate.

Go to a walk-in clinic that does x-rays and get the result, from there you can figure out the rest.

Probably worst-case senario should you do nothing and continue to ride, it will heal weird and you'll have a different looking clavicle from the other side. If it's displaced and you do nothing, it may not heal at all and you run the risk of other problems. However, if it's displaced, I doubt you'd be able to tolerate riding. If you can still ride now, it sounds like it more bruised than anything, or maybe you have a sllight shoulder separation at the AC joint and it's not a fractured clavicle. You could ride with that more likely than a fracture. If you fell with your arm stretched out, trying to catch yourself, probably a clavicle. If you landed on the shoulder, probably a AC separation.

 

[Biciclette Bianchi]

If you fell with your arm stretched out, trying to catch yourself, probably a clavicle. If you landed on the shoulder, probably a AC separation.

I landed first on my forearm and then hard on my shoulder and hip (finally rolling onto my back and getting road rash across both shoulder blades). I looked in the mirror last night, and my injured shoulder is sitting a lot higher than the non-injured side. Interestingly, the injured shoulder is also not near as broad (so maybe something is displaced). I called my orthopedic guy (it sucks to be middle-aged, and have my own "orthopedic guy"), but I can't get an appointment until July 9th. Maybe I'll call my regular GP and see what he says.

Thanks for the information about what may be going on.


Dave

 

[Guidokcd]

Right now, you just need an xray. If your ortho has a machine in his office, that's good, but if you're just going to go to his office for him to send you to get an xray, save the time and go ahead and get it. Your GP may or may not have one in his office.

If it's higher towards the shoulder as oppose to closer to your neck, then it's probably a separation, but again, that's speculation.

Good luck with it.

 

[Biciclette Bianchi]

If it's higher towards the shoulder as oppose to closer to your neck, then it's probably a separation, but again, that's speculation.

After reading quite a bit, I'm now convinced that it's a separation (I've got quite a "bump" near the joint where my clavicle is sticking up). Though the pain is pretty well abated, I will get in to see my ortho in about a week. Thanks to everyone for the comments.


Dave