Many have asked about how I’m feeling and recovering after my accident back in October (See “Accident, Injury, Recovery”)so I figured I’d lay out what I’ve been going through the past several months and where my body is now, nearly 4.5months later.
After the accident I spent over a week mostly home bound; partly due to the broken clavicle pain and partly due to the fact that my right calf was the size of my quad (from the hematoma). I slowly returned to semi-normal activity over the next few weeks, going back to work on a limited basis, walking around the neighborhood and hiking for exercise and trying to do some house chores. As one could imagine having an immobilized left arm (sling) and a partially functional right hand (casted) makes life a bit tricky, so even the mundane took twice as long.
Finally by early December (6 weeks out) I was weening myself out of the sling and moving my left arm around a little bit then on December 14th I got the cast off my right hand. It was amazingly liberating to have both arms/hands finally free, albeit still on a limited basis. Until late December my cardio work had been limited to hiking, recumbent stationary bike and the stair climber. It wasn’t until right around the holidays (8 weeks out) that I started some short easy jogs. To my surprise the clavicle was only a little sore, but the shoulder muscles were so atrophied that after 15-20min my entire arm would throb, and if I tried to push through it, the throbbing would last for hours afterwards.
So the running training began more as a jog/hike, 15min jogging, 15min walking, repeat. During this time I was also going to PT weekly and doing a large routine of stretches and range of motion (ROM) exercises for my shoulder in order to try and regain what I’d lost in the 8 weeks prior. It was slow, but at least I was making progress every week and regaining my ROM and some strength. Finally in late January (12 weeks out) the Orthopedic surgeon released me for all activity; running, lifting, climbing, skiing, etc. Whatever the strength of my arm could handle. Back to the gym several times a week for cable and weight exercises, I’ve never felt so pathetic, doing shoulder raises with a 2.5lb dumbbell, but it was still progress.
Even at the Moab Red Hot in February (15 weeks out) the arm would still occasionally throb, but I was finding was to relax the muscles and with the increased ROM, the pain was less frequent. I was super excited when I was able to finish the 55k only 24min off my PR, considering all that I’d been through that was a mental win. The subsequent weeks saw dramatic increases in my strength and the ROM return to near 90-95%. I’ve been able to run pain free for the past several weeks, do some climbing, and even get back to playing volleyball.
Post fracture now fully healed left clavicle. A little extra bone and a new alignment.
It’s been a fine balance trying to go about a normal life, train for ultras and continue to rehab the arm and shoulder (at 70-80% of its original strength), but it’s improving. There will always be a slight hitch in my left arm, and the left clavicle area is going to be congested forever, but hopefully neither of these things will inhibit any of the functionality, though that’s TBD. For now I’ll continue to strengthen, stretch and run, ever so slowly getting back to where I was, and hopefully to where I want to be. Thanks to all my great friends and family who helped me survive those first several weeks of decrepitness, who helped me move and have supported me through this whole healing process, its made everything a lot more palatable.
Hey, is your front delt smaller and weaker and lower than the unbroken clavicle side? I mean, does your pec overcompensate for your front delt?
Castle,
The delt doesn’t seem to be affected but I’ve had residual tightness in my left lat (broken side) since the accident. The PT said it was because the left side is now shorter in the front. No major mechanical issues, but I do notice it while climbing.
Hi,
I’m about 7.5 weeks post collarbone fracture with good ROM and 50% strength already although recent X-Ray doesn’t show hard callus union yet so been told to hold off any lifting til next X-Ray scheduled at 12 weeks out. Just doing legs, abs and cardio 3x per week for now. Eating healthy and plenty of sleep too.
I’m curious how many months would you say till near enough 100% full strength returned in your shoulder?(ie pressing same dumbbell weight as pre injury) Also, any long term niggles still persist after this and/or now? ie soreness or popping/clicking in shoulder joints? Any exercise movements more difficult/restricted range when performing now like press ups or pull ups?
Thanks
Mark,
Clavicles are tricky, because a large part of it depends on how bad your fracture was and how quickly you heal (its a low blood flow area, so super variable). Sounds like you’re well on the mend, as I initially lost quite a bit of ROM with mine maybe due to all the additional trauma from the accident and the slow recovery. My recollection was that I started doing resistance band work with my PT about 8weeks out but didn’t really start lifting light weights until 12weeks out (just an approximation). By 16weeks I was back to heavier exercises and started some easy climbing not long after. If you’ve maintained your ROM that’ll go a long way to speeding up recovery once the bone has fully healed as that was really what set me back the most. The only really lingering effects I notice now are some minor tightness in my latissimus since my clavicle healed with a 4mm overlap, shortening the bone, but its only cost me maybe 5degrees ROM. I really only notice this when climbing and I reach straight up to grab a hold, or when doing a push-press I just can’t touch my left ear.
The throbbing while running I had was due to the ROM issues and a loss of musculature, which it sounds like you’ve avoided better than I did. Right now I’m actually rehabbing a dislocated elbow (super painful) and after 2weeks am already working on light resistance and a decent ROM. Every little bit of natural ROM and resistance you can maintain helps, even if you can’t lift weights, so keep moving that arm around and good luck, hopefully you fully heal!
Eric
Hi Eric,
Thanks for the reply and kind support. Sorry to hear about your elbow. I get the impression that my doctor is suggesting healing maybe better served with more resting and less use of my arm with non-union right now. So basically I’ve been scared off from doing any further dumbbell lifts progression and just doing occasional, maybe once-twice a week repeated side raises and isometric static holds with about 5 pounds max simply to maintain the current strength and ROM and not bother with further strength progression until I get the all clear. I also continue to use my injured side per doctor’s recommendation for every day light activities like drinking, eating, brushing teeth, shaving, combing hair etc with no discomfort whatsoever.
It’s just frustrating as I feel it’s healing well and in complete conflict with the last X-Ray diagnosis. But it’s best not to take any risks with a fracture. Fingers crossed for my 12 week checkup.
Thanks again and good luck with your elbow!
Just a follow up….
Another X-Ray at 3 month post accident showed same non-union result.
Continued non-union was a shock and made me depressed as mentioned before. However, with docs go ahead, I started weight training progressing my strength in the shoulder from this 3 month point and was lifting virtually 100% power again after 3-4 months. I could feel the collar bone was improving slowly but surely no matter the X-Ray diagnosis. At 6 month post accident X-Ray the doctor finally confirmed a delayed union had healed and discharged me! It’s now 1 week shy of 11 months post accident and I can do all all gym exercises at full power with very slight to no discomfort what soever in pull-ups, press-ups and shoulder lifts. I don’t notice any limits in ROM compared to pre-accident. It felt virtually fully healed after about 10 months. Before that it was always uncomfortable sleeping directly on the broken side and trying to remove tight vests. All good now 🙂
Hi Eric. Just came across this as I was searching for clavicle fracture stuff haha. I fractured mine (car accident) in February 2019 and it’s now December 2019. I see it’s been about 6 years for you. So mine healed nonsurgically with a Z-shape and it’s still annoying. Do you still have symptoms like mine below/of your own and do you feel any changes between year 1-2, 2-3, etc.?
– The fracture site is perfectly under one of the muscles of my neck so I can make this thin muscle stick out if I turn my head the other direction. Not pleasant.
– I don’t know if yours does this but I can crack mine if I reach my arm back or hold it against my back (like a knuckle but I can do it more frequently). A physical therapist called me a “crack addict.”
– Pull-ups don’t really bother it but if I do L-sit pull-ups, then I feel stress or impingement on it.
– General daily annoyance.
David,thankfully mine is right in the middle of the clavicle so doesn’t get in the way of anything directly. It healed overlapped but there was a good union between the overlaps, so I have a nice double thick bone in the middle. I don’t notice any major issues with the shoulder, but i do still experience tightness in the lat muscles, as the shortening of the clavicle pulls on the lats a bit harder. So I can’t fully extend my arm straight over my head, but I’ve only lost a few degrees ROM. Most of the improvement and changes were seen during that first 6-10 months after. No issues with pullups or pushups or weights, but everyone heals and responds differently to traumatic injuries. Best of luck in the recovery.