# Ever broken your collar bone? How long till you ditched the sling?



## rotary16 (Apr 19, 2004)

OK, I know what the doctor said, and what my wifes says and what everyone else NOT wearing the aggravating sling says....... But it drives me crazy!!

So, you who have had broken collar bones, how long did you really wear your sling???


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## PsyDoc (Feb 3, 2004)

*I wore mine...*

...until it was just as uncomfortable wearing it as it was not wearing it. That was what my doc said when I asked him how long I had to wear the sling; he was right. Keep in mind that my collarbone shattered into five pieces at the break site. For the first few weeks, it was all I could do not to cry when showering or any other time I was out of the sling. Every time the sling was off there was the "click-click" of bone hitting bone...still gives me the willies thinking about that sound. I loved my sling for about 5-6 weeks, and then I was just as uncomfortable with it as without. My broken collarbone also bruised the nerve network in my upper right chest and upper arm to the elbow; it was a full year before the feeling came back. My wife, who also broke her collarbone in a cycling related accident 4 days sooner than mine, stopped wearing her sling about 7-10 days sooner than I did. I did a little write-up for my website on the accidents at: http://chiron.valdosta.edu/mawhatley/accident/


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## Len J (Jan 28, 2004)

*About 3 weeks..........*

of course, when I broke my collarbone I also broke 2 ribs, and a vertabrea in my back. My collarbone was also a break clean thru with a displacement so Healing involved reknitting of the bone. My MD indicated that the ultimate healing would be a function of the amount of time I kept it immpbilized. Being laid up with the other injuries (which frankly caused me more pain than the shoulder) made keeping the sling on not much of a chore.


Len


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## LBA (Jun 9, 2004)

*collar bone + elbow = 3 1/2 weeks in figure 8, c.6 wks in sling*

Go with what your doctor & PT say.

I didn't rely on the sling that much for the collar bone (it was supposed to hold up the weight of the elbow cast, but just kept slipping down). I had one of those figure 8 braces, which was very uncomfortable, and I wore it for about 3 1/2 weeks to give the shoulder support. Didn't help that I popped the collar bone out of it's set after a week.  
I'm with Len J, though, the elbow & road rash were pretty distracting & kept me mostly house-bound. Proper showering was not an option! Don't get me started about washing my hair! Elastic waistbands s*** too.

There's a complication called 'frozen shoulder' you'll want to check out with your doctor. You should find background details with a google search. The crux of the problem is that the fluid in the shoulder socket doesn't get moved around during immobility, then when you try to move your arm upward there's pain and extreme stiffness. It's like an engine without oil. If left too long, lots of physical therapy (and sometimes surgery) are required to get the motion back properly. I'm just another patient - consult real medical advice before taking any action.

Back to the point of your question, I wore the sling on and off for over month as a warning to others more than to help me out. This was especially true when I was out where people who might no know me could bump into me or otherwise hit my arm (shopping of any kind, any social event where someone might hug me). I even let the grocery store load the bags in my car!


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Others' experience meaningless*

The nature of the break and your personal pain tolerance are far more important that how long someone else used their sling. Collarbone breaks can range from slight separation to broken in several pieces. With all due respect to Tyler Hamilton, while he did have a broken collarbone, he did not have any significant bone separation, which is what allowed him to ride the tour last year. His break was certainly on the mild end of things, and he got by with just a figure 8 bandage. I had a break like this (felt the bone move only once, on the first day) and ditched the sling after 3 days. A riding buddy ended up having surgery because the bones would not connect. Quite a range in degree of injury, and so there is no relevant experience you can apply.


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## KleinMan (Mar 10, 2004)

So how did Tyler Hamilton ride in the last Tour with his busted collar bone? I know he's tough, but damn, that must have hurt like hell.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Like I said*

From what I read, Tyler's break was not separated. He had the pain of the break (all reports said he was in signficant pain, especially for the first several days) but since the bone was not moving, he didn't have to worry about things moving. In an uncomplicated collarbone break, you typically have a week of pretty significant pain when you move, a week of dull pain, and then "Gee, it doesn't hurt anymore." However, I must repeat, every case is different.


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