It's hard to believe but it's true! You can ride within 1 wk of having surgery! Here's the story.
I fell on my final run on my final day of a wonderful trip to Whistler. July 14th. I knew when I hit to ground my C-bone was broken…damn did it hurt! Anyway our return flight was scheduled to leave Vancouver on the 15th so I decided not to seek medical attention until after I got back home. So on the morning of the 16th I started calling around to the local Orthopedic clinics trying to find a Dr that was not booked…. Finally found a Dr that was willing to work me in! By 5 PM I had x-rays, pain medication, and surgery scheduled for 3 PM on the 18th.
Here is the x-ray of my right clavicle notice the bone is in 3 pieces.
Let me say this surgery is not like most of you are thinking! Also let me say that I got really lucky to have found this Dr as he is leading the medical profession into some uncharted territory as opposed to simply following established protocols. Using arthroscopic surgery the Dr made a 1 inch long incision just below my c-bone and inserted a titanium rod about 2mm in diameter running parallel to my clavicle. He then used the same type thread commonly used in sutures (stitches) to wrap the broken c-bone to the titanium rod… basically making an internal splint. You can see the rod in the x-ray that was taken today. July 30th.
For the first 3 days after surgery the Dr ask that I do absolutely nothing… it was easy to comply because I was in a lot of pain. After that I was given the green light to do whatever I felt like! I think more than anything the trauma from surgery caused most of my discomfort for the first 3 days after surgery… but anyway by day 4 I was making it without any medication. Day 5 I actually rode my Mtn Bike down the street, day 6 I rode 5 miles on the street, and by day 7 I was back on the local single track. Day 8 I rode 12 miles of very technical (rough) single-track…. and was beginning to stand up and crank. Here it is day 12 after surgery and I can do jumping jacks and push-ups!
As you can see in the second x-ray the bone has not healed but the rod is supporting the bone and taking the load. Over time the Dr says the bone will heal and then he wants me to have a second surgery to remove the titanium rod. He is thinking the rod will be ready to come out in a bout 2-3 months. The first surgery took about 15 minutes and he says the second will take about 2 minutes.
At any rate I am glade that I had the surgery as my life is nearly back to normal. I will also add this is my third broken C-bone, one way back in my High School days (25 years ago) and more recently (2 yrs ago) as a result of a rode bike crash. In my opinion Arthroscopic Surgery is the only way to go! But as far as I know the only place to get it done is here in Bentonville, AR...
I fell on my final run on my final day of a wonderful trip to Whistler. July 14th. I knew when I hit to ground my C-bone was broken…damn did it hurt! Anyway our return flight was scheduled to leave Vancouver on the 15th so I decided not to seek medical attention until after I got back home. So on the morning of the 16th I started calling around to the local Orthopedic clinics trying to find a Dr that was not booked…. Finally found a Dr that was willing to work me in! By 5 PM I had x-rays, pain medication, and surgery scheduled for 3 PM on the 18th.
Here is the x-ray of my right clavicle notice the bone is in 3 pieces.
Let me say this surgery is not like most of you are thinking! Also let me say that I got really lucky to have found this Dr as he is leading the medical profession into some uncharted territory as opposed to simply following established protocols. Using arthroscopic surgery the Dr made a 1 inch long incision just below my c-bone and inserted a titanium rod about 2mm in diameter running parallel to my clavicle. He then used the same type thread commonly used in sutures (stitches) to wrap the broken c-bone to the titanium rod… basically making an internal splint. You can see the rod in the x-ray that was taken today. July 30th.
For the first 3 days after surgery the Dr ask that I do absolutely nothing… it was easy to comply because I was in a lot of pain. After that I was given the green light to do whatever I felt like! I think more than anything the trauma from surgery caused most of my discomfort for the first 3 days after surgery… but anyway by day 4 I was making it without any medication. Day 5 I actually rode my Mtn Bike down the street, day 6 I rode 5 miles on the street, and by day 7 I was back on the local single track. Day 8 I rode 12 miles of very technical (rough) single-track…. and was beginning to stand up and crank. Here it is day 12 after surgery and I can do jumping jacks and push-ups!
As you can see in the second x-ray the bone has not healed but the rod is supporting the bone and taking the load. Over time the Dr says the bone will heal and then he wants me to have a second surgery to remove the titanium rod. He is thinking the rod will be ready to come out in a bout 2-3 months. The first surgery took about 15 minutes and he says the second will take about 2 minutes.
At any rate I am glade that I had the surgery as my life is nearly back to normal. I will also add this is my third broken C-bone, one way back in my High School days (25 years ago) and more recently (2 yrs ago) as a result of a rode bike crash. In my opinion Arthroscopic Surgery is the only way to go! But as far as I know the only place to get it done is here in Bentonville, AR...