Antoine Vidal Breaks his Collarbone During Training

 Exact same thought.

 when they announced the schedule last year, there still was time enough for Rachel Atherton to have another baby. Like from scratch. Ridiculous!

 Just looking at that x-ray tells me that is going to need a plate - it'd heal way too short given the break.

Speaking from the experience of having broken my right clavicle twice - once in the middle which was allowed to heal in a sling (went pretty well) and once at the end nearest the humerus that was "left to heal as it may not need surgery" for 7 weeks before it became very clear surgery was necessary - that was nearly 2 months wasted.

If in doubt, go for surgery is my advice.

 The 2023 season starts in 2024 (

 Why downvote this guy - he's right? I was advised rest and sling, 11 uncomfortable days later my collarbone is sticking out at a crazy angle and they had to operate anyway.

 100% agree

 I‘m rocking 2 collar bone plates. Once when I was 28 years old and another at 40. Good as new each time.

 Broke mine 2 weeks ago. Was told surgery brings complications to other areas; lungs, vascular, muscular etc. Im in that wait and see phase now.

 @Jake-Whitehouse: yes internet diagnostics are far better than doctors ones

 @pasteque51: If my collarbone is sticking out of my body I don't think I need a doctor to tell me it needs fixing, dummy

 There's an extensive broken collarbone thread in the forums with a decade of personal accounts. For myself surgery immediately stabilizes things which is great. The downside is the surgery itself, you lose a lot of feeling in your chest. I had my plate removed 2 years later, it's better now but the nerve damage and lack of feeling is even worse than round 1. Like anything each option has advantages.

 @GBangShredder: I didn't get surgery and wish I had. The nerve situation is not perfect for me regardless, and because my whole upper body is no longer symmetrical, it messes with my back.

My opinion, based on my own experience, is if everything is displaced enough that the broken side is noticeably "shorter" than it used to be, get that shit lined back up.

Especially this one that looks like a pretty clean break but is very displaced, you'd be crazy to not get it fixed.
Mine was in several pieces which might have been part of why they didn't want to operate.

 @KennyWatson: broke mine the first time 25yrs or so ago; no surgery, figure 8 sling, kept it fairly stable during the initial healing period, and ended up with similar wonky geometry / messed up range of motion, etc.

Had another break this summer (same bone). Again, no surgery, but much less focus on stabilization; used a sling off & on for the first few days, made a point of maintaining ROM, was riding (road) within 2 weeks, generally keeping active, and it ended up healing with better function than before. Net yay, I guess?

 that x ray is not a "rest and sling" fracture, no self respecting Dr is going to advise as such. That above needs reducing, plating then rest and support.

 @coriordan: It's a personal thing, but if it's broken in two places like this one, letting it "just heal" is a recipe for disaster. The problem is some people heal really well, others don't and goes all over the place. By the time you know it's going wrong, sometimes it's too late and they won't operate. Hands down if I broke mine again, I would get it plated for sure. Mine is 12 - 14 mm short and therefore the bio mechanics of that shoulder will never be the same again. Think suspension strut on an F1 car.

 No doctor will advice you to not get surgery in such a case. In case of a clean break without displacement, you can let it heal by itself if you want. I had good luck with that method

 @billybonkers9: I hope you sold that ripmo

 100% agree. That's displaced similar to the break I had a couple years ago. Rest and a sling is recommended for most people because most people lead sedentary lives and it won't drastically affect their quality of life. For people like myself and I'm betting a lot of others who ride not having full functionality back will have a very negative impact on life. Leaving a bone that displaced to just heal will likely eventually heal, but it will take longer and will result in reduced mobility and functionality. Within a week of my surgery I was doing my own PT and back on a road bike. Not to mention the week I had to wait to get into surgery with it like that was the most uncomfortable and worst sleep I've ever had (worse than having a newborn). I've had zero issues after the surgery but a fully recovery took months and maybe close to a year to feel like things were back to normal and I had full strength on that shoulder.

 One thing is for sure, I wouldn't trust Pinkbike comment section medical advise more than a doctors.

 @IluvRIDING: I'm not sure that's 100% true and there's a lot of subjectivity to a course of treatment especially with clavicle fractures, even the medical papers are quite explicit about this. Find the collarbone thread on the forums, there's hundreds maybe thousands of personal accounts and outcomes there. I highly doubt most surgeons have seen a thousand collarbones broken by riding MTB then tracked and discussed their different outcomes contrasted against their peers. Personally, I found that information far more valuable than the boiler plate generic information my Doctor and surgeon offered me.

 Smashed mine 40 years ago and let it heal naturally. Trouble is if the clavicle ends up shorter you wear out the shoulder joint. By 60 you have the shoulder of an 80 year old which is not fixable. The surgeon won't replace it until you stop using it which is of no use to anyone. I am happy I can still ride but there's not many other activities I can do. forget swimming, surfing, climbing, golf, kayak, tennis, or anything that requires the arm lifting above chest height.

 I'll throw my two cents in this as a doctor. If the two ends are close together, surgery is not needed. The broken ends ooze out a little bit of gel that connect together and then slowly solidify. There's barely an objective difference in outcomes between sling and rest and surgery (in less significantly displaced cases. Maybe there's new research out but that was my understanding.

 @dirtbagluvin:

I'll chime in as an ortho MD. Nonunion rates are reported up to 15-20% in various sources. For the general population, however, an overwhelming majority of these fractures are treated nonoperatively with no difference in outcomes. For the high-level athlete, most of my peers will offer surgical intervention and there is often minimal debate. Even in the general population for certain Z-type and distracted fracture patterns, we will at least offer surgery as union rates after ORIF approach 100%.
Also, our fixation strategies have evolved significantly. Over this past weekend I fixed one with dual low-profile plating. Anecdotally these lower profile plates are better tolerated and the dual plate offers a biomechanical advantage. Ultimately patient specific factors dictate treatment options - high level athlete, certain fracture patterns, polytrauma patients, open fractures, etc.

 @duplex: chime right outta here bro we got this

 Break yours and see if you feel the same then

 @coriordan: stubbed toes hurt bad, what are you talking about!

 It bloody hurts

 I’ve broken a lot of bones, legs, arms, nose, fingers, ribs and collarbone. Without a doubt the collarbone hurt the most

 @enduroNZ: Try and scapula and come back to me.

 @enduroNZ: You must not have busted your ribs too bad lol.

 @enduroNZ: yeah I found my collarbone to be fine when I broke it. I managed to drive myself to hospital and everything, it was only after the surgery which I had a week later that it was painful. Again though it definitely wasn’t the worst paid I’ve felt for sure by a long shot. Just bloody uncomfortably more than anything

 Surgery basically just stabilizes the healing site. The bone doesn't actually heal any quicker

 Can you do trial v. trail next?

 Actually not that much, the night after surgery was probably the worst bit for me. Also depends on what painkillers you’re given etc

 For me it wasn't bad pain wise when I broke it. But sleeping sucked a lot

 depends how badly its broken, that above is a complex fracture that needs reduction (repositioning) and probably a plate to support it while it heals. Add to that there is also what looks like a type 2/3 separation. this would hurt. a simple crack without displacement maybe some mild pain and discomfort.
source: me, Paramedic and bike/ski patroller who sees this stuff on an almost daily basis

 If you don’t get surgery and have a pretty bad break it hurts like hell. I have broken my arm multiple times, dislocated knees, fractured ribs, but my collarbone definitely hurt the most. Not being able to lay down comfortably is the real kicker.

 @B-foster: same! broke mine 3x now, the break isn't that bad but the night after sugery for the 2nd one was the worst pain of my life

 it hurts as a mofo. Not right when it happens, when you're still high on adrenaline, but oh boy a bit later. Reducing the fracture after the couple hours that had passed was the most acute pain of my life. The way home in a car is not much better, nor are the first couple nights.

 Depends a lot on the break. If there's a lot of displacement between the broken bits and the raw bone ends aren't grinding against one another, then the pain is like *just* a really bad soft tissue injury. Very uncomfortable but manageable with normal pain meds.
I've broken 2 and the one that had zero displacement was excruciating. The nerves were at 11 a lot of the time, whereas the break that was 4 pieces, big displacement and required surgery wasn't terribly painful *most* of the time.

The "nice" thing about a collarbone break is it's not weight bearing compared to say broken toes or a buggered knee so usually you can stay comfortable.