Broken Collarbone Experience - Return to Golf

[phizzy30]

40 minutes ago, barcila79 said:

Hi all,

I have read the entire thread and highly appreciate all your insights and stories. I wanted to keep this alive because collarbones are going to continue to fracture and I do find it kind of therapeutic to write.

 

I'm a 34 y/o male and have been playing golf for about 5 years. I'm physically very active (golf, soccer, run, surf, ski) and find it hard to sit still.

 

April 16 2023: while playing a soccer 11v11 friendly match I fractured my right collarbone (dominant arm). I am one of those people who doesn't know how to play without intensity - I jumped to header a corner, got pushed mid-air, and fell on my side, breaking my clavicle and bruising my hip bone. I knew at that instant I had fractured my collarbone; I could feel the bone shards in my shoulder move around freely. I was taken to the ER for an x-ray and a medical examination. Driven by the pain, I held my shoulder up high during the x-ray which eventually came back with little displacement (see Fig. 1). The doctor concluded I had fractured my collarbone, gave me a sling, and said it was up to my orthopedic surgeon and me to decide whether to operate.

 

April 18 2023: I had slept in a decent condition in the days leading to my visit to the orthopedic surgeon. The doctor said my sling was too high and adjusted it to a lower position which drove one of my bone shards up with the intent of piercing my skin (see Fig. 2). He said the bump caused from that bone shard was normal and will eventually form a callus and will likely be there forever. I was in more pain and he gave me the alternatives: to operate or not. Despite offering both alternatives, he was clearly leaning toward a natural recovery, claiming naturally healed collarbone fractures heal perfectly well with a 90% chance, whereas surgery only marginally improves your odds to 98%. He also commented that a plate and screws were in fact two surgeries: installation and extraction. He booked an appointment for two weeks to see how my pain evolved and to give me time to think whether I wanted surgery or not (moment in which I came across this forum).

 

April 18-May 2 2023: As a bachelor living alone, I found it incredibly hard to take care of myself using my non-dominant arm only: showering, bathroom duties, brushing my teeth, getting dressed, cooking...all simple day to day tasks I had taken for granted, suddenly became extremely difficult to perform. One arm showering is pretty much useless, for those reading this: be prepared to smell for at least a few weeks. T-shirts were impossible to put on and off without pain, so they were ditched and I started wearing zippered sweatshirts and button down shirts. Luckily for me I have wonderful friends who took turns coming over, cooking for me, helping me with my groceries, and helping me get my sling on. As days went by, my pain started subsiding and I was able to use my right hand for simple tasks like typing on a wireless keyboard on my lap or typing on my phone.

 

May 2 2023: second visit to the orthopedic surgeon. I had a second set of x-rays taken, this time I took my sling off and relaxed my arm. The first x-ray was taken from a frontal view, the second slightly lower (kind of from the hip upwards). I asked the nurse if I could have a quick peek. A relaxed position showed a lot more displacement than the original x-ray and you could even see the bone shard sticking against the inside of my skin (see Fig. 3). I asked if i needed surgery, she smiled and said “you’re a smart guy, you should know”.

 

The orthopedic surgeon shortly called me into his office and cooley said there wasn't much difference between both x rays and still recommended no surgery. At this point I was in awe: I'm no expert but there was a massive difference between both x rays. He told me I shouldn't make a decision based on what I see in the x-ray, but how I felt, and how I had improved over the last few weeks. I told him about being very active, it being my dominant arm, and was frankly worried about future problems with the displacement and requested surgery. He immediately understood and got the paperwork in order. His tone changed upon my decision, and it felt like despite discouraging me from surgery, he started reassuring me that the surgery will go very well, and joked that my drive to the hospital was riskier than the operation itself.

 

Surgery scheduled for May 8 2023. Will update you on the process
 

Wish you a speedy recovery, bro.  I've had a small fracture to my collar bone a couple years ago and the doctor told me no physical activity for 6-8 weeks to let it naturally heal.  It healed eventually but I still get pain in that area from time to time.  You may experience that as well after a full recovery.  My advice to you is to start on a calcium/vitamin D/magnesium regiment after surgery to ensure faster healing.  Good luck!!! 

[barcila79]

20 hours ago, phizzy30 said:

Wish you a speedy recovery, bro.  I've had a small fracture to my collar bone a couple years ago and the doctor told me no physical activity for 6-8 weeks to let it naturally heal.  It healed eventually but I still get pain in that area from time to time.  You may experience that as well after a full recovery.  My advice to you is to start on a calcium/vitamin D/magnesium regiment after surgery to ensure faster healing.  Good luck!!! 

 

Thanks Phizzy30, that's exactly the reason why I decided to get surgery; it may reduce random pain and potential issues in the future.

Thank you for your advice, will definitely include those on my shopping list!

[Niels1999]

When I broke my left collarbone (from my perspective) 6.5 weeks ago, I was glad I found this topic.

This is how my recovery is going / went (Male, 24, sports: Golf, soccer)

• The first 5/6 days after the accident I used the sling most of the time (didn't use my left hand for writing). The surgeon told me that there is a 75% chance of natural recovery and a 25% chance of requiring a surgery. I chose for the conservative option as I'd rather not have surgery. Didn't have much pain when wearing the sling.
• Slowly started using my left hand for typing again as that is required for my study and work.
• After +- 3 weeks I completely stopped wearing the sling as I did not have pain anymore without wearing the sling. The surgeon told me that I did not require surgery, as natural recovery was going well.
• After 6 weeks I decided to go to the driving range and I could do approach shots without any pain (half/three-quarter swing) up to a 7-iron. (Didn't go any further yet)
• Now after 6.5 weeks I barely notice any difference compared to before the accident.

Will update with my golf progress.

 

Niels