# Freshly healed collar bone, start paddling time estimation?



## Kellman (Oct 14, 2008)

Here's the deal....coming from someone who has separated both shoulders twice, dislocated both, broke a wrist an elbow in two spots and a shoulder. All in relatively separate incidents...

Sounds like it was a pretty rough break. In terms of those type of injuries, the most important things in my personal experience is #1) rehab, which it sounds like you are doing, range of motion, stretching, strengthening etc..
You gotta get back in the water and you gotta strengthen that sucker back up. Start small like in some flat water or class II or whatever, but make sure that you are warming it up without any unnecessary stress. It will likely hurt like a bitch some and be sore but the more you keep up with the rehab and the more you work to re-strengthen that back up without reversing the progress you have already made the sooner youll be back out there. 

I know how it is, good luck out there.
-Zack


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## Kendo (Jul 26, 2006)

Thanks Zack!
the forsight and experience helps! I will definetly continue to rehab and strengthening excercises.


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## okieboater (Oct 19, 2004)

Years ago I broke my collar bone in a dirt bike accident.

Doctor put me in a "figure 8 brace" said to really take it easy and he would not do a plaster cast.

Followed instructions for maybe 3 or 4 weeks, went to a party and did some things I should not do, plus driving a stick shift truck.

Went back to the Doctor for a scheduled check up and got my butt chewed out. My collar bone was healing ok, but I had pulled it apart and made a bridge at the break.

He had to rebreak the fracture and this time put me in a full shoulder cast with my right arm (broke collar bone on right side) crossed over my chest like Napolean did in his historical photos.

It was another very difficult 6 weeks before it healed and the Doc cut the cast off. Yes you can reach across with your left arm and twist and shift gears on a floor shift, but not very well.

My recommendation is to follow Doctor instructions, maybe see a sports physical therapist for a few rehab sessions and really rehab not doing anything that screws up the healing and recovery process.


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## IkayakNboard (May 12, 2005)

It is a tough call. I broke my collar bone a while back in a bad way. Pieces of the bone had splintered off, tearing some of the nerves, and bone poking through the skin. Seems like it was fairly early summer when it happened, and I resisted the temptation to get in my boat the rest of the season. I then rebroke it after a very mellow fall on my snowboard in January. And then again the following April after slipping on a patch of ice when hiking, and bracing myself with my hands. I then decided to let it heal for a full year before doing anything that could potentially cause me to rebreak it. Haven't broken it since, though it still hurts when I work out (push ups, bench press, etc)...and it's been about 8 years since the initial break. A good friend of mine has broken his a total of 7 times, almost once per year (all snowboarding). The good news is the subsequent breaks didn't hurt nearly as bad as the 1st.


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## Kellman (Oct 14, 2008)

anytime!


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## ChrisL (Apr 11, 2007)

You are probably good to go playboating, I would avoid creeking(if you do that) until next spring. I broke mine a few years ago longboarding, it didn't heal completely (nonunion) and I had to have surgery. So now I have a plate and six screws in my shoulder. You don't seem to have that problem, the biggest problem for me was rebuilding the soft tissue in my shoulder. If you have been going to a PT do EXACTLY what they say and don't assume that just because your shoulder feels better that it is. I learned that the hard way and I now regret it. I paddled flat water for a few weeks before I got into my playboat, then waited until I was feeling solid with that before I started running the shit. Good luck!


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