Broken collar bone advice?

Listen to whatever the Doctor and the Physical Therapist say and follow it.  As it's been said to me many, many times (I just separated my shoulder on Sunday) it's not worth trying to do things too ealry that in the end will aggravate the injury and lengthen your recovery.  Read the LazyMarathoner's blog ... she hurt her shoulder and has been sitting upright on the trainer and training on the eliptical.

Rest, Ice, and Repeat. 

Sorry to hear about your crash. There seems to be a lot of that going around. I crashed 2.5 weeks ago and fractured the greater tuberosity of the humerus, which is basically my shoulder. My first advice to you is to take at least a week to do absolutely nothing but rest. I don't know how badly you were injured elsewhere, but I was  pretty beat up and I slept a ton in that first week. I think it helped a lot.

If your orthopedist says it's ok, you can probably bike on the trainer, but like Dream Chaser said, sitting upright. You can't put any weight on your shoulder. I wear my sling to limit movement. I was also allowed to use the elliptical to replace running and I got back in the pool after the road rash healed and learned one-arm freestyle. SuzanneS broke her collarbone during IMCdA training and she gave me some good advice about the swimming.

But I think the most important thing is to listen to your doctors and listen to your body. There are still days where I'm too wiped to do anything so I just rest. And as many have said, you only get to heal a bone correctly once so take the time needed to get it right.

My crash was August 10 so you can check out my logs to see my modified version of training since if interested.

Good luck with your recovery. I know how frustrating and disappointing it is. I'm living it now. But it's already starting to get better so I'm trying to focus on the light at the end of the tunnel! 

Hi there,

I am currently going through something completely different, Stress Fracture, but yesterday a local professional triathlete told me that i should run in the pool , so i don't lose it(fitness), also he gave the example of Simon Whitfield when he broke his collar bone, he kept running in the pool to keep his fitness, but you are the best person to judge whether you are ready to start training or not.

Best wishes

Maubueno

Sorry about your accident.  Like some others have said, be sure to listen to your orthopedist.  For cardio I am sure the stationary bike will be ok...it will be a while for running and swimming. 

I broke my clavicle in June 2007 from a crash.  I was impatient and tried rushing things.  I don't know if this created the problems I had later but the fracture just would not heal.  I had a non-union and later found also a torn rotator cuff.  I had surgery in January to repair both.  I'm pretty much back to normal activities but my left arm does get fatigued easier than it did before the accident/surgery.  Not trying to scare you, just to make the point that you need to listen to your doctor.  Most broken clavicles heal fine on their own.  You just need to be patient and smart with your PT.

thanks for the advise and well wishes.  i took a week off and rested then was back to work in the mornings and school in the afternoons but no training. at 2.5 weeks i hit the leg press and have set up my bike on the trainer.  I am still in a lot of pain walking around and its achy by the end of the day but 15-20 minutes on the bike lifts my spirits immensely!

 have a bad break in the center of the bone that is offset quite a bit.  the physio said she wouldn't even think of having me move my shoulder for another 2 weeks.  i  saw the doctor this morning and she didn't like the x-ray and is going to consult with a colleuge about referring to an ortho about surgery. so i wait...