Forums >Health and Nutrition>Running with a broken collarbone
Well, I got my 100 miles in for March last night on the treadmill and had my Dr.'s appointment today to check up on my collarbone.
Here's the latest picture:
I was pretty disappointed when I saw the X-rays because it didn't look like it had healed much to me, but the Dr. was happy with it and checked it out a little, had me take my sling off and said I could keep it off, it looked good to him. They gave me some range of motion exercises to work on, said I didn't need to wear the sling when I ran, just avoid lifting heavy objects. I'm assuming that falling down would still be a bad thing so I'm going to stay off the trails for at least a few more weeks. I'm not supposed to go back for 6 weeks and he said he expects it to be completely healed by then.
Ended up with 50 miles last week so I'm going to try to just jump right back into my training plan. I have a half marathon race on the schedule this weekend, I think I'm either going to run it at marathon pace or just do a long run in it's place. I know I lost some of my speed, and a little of my endurance, just over 6 weeks to go to my goal 50K trail race so I need to get going on getting it back!
Age: 50 Weight: 224 Height: 6'3" (Goal weight 195)
Current PR's: Mara 3:14:36* (2017); HM 1:36:13 (2017); 10K 43:59 (2014); 5K 21:12 (2016)
Connoisseur of Cookies
These things take a while to heal. I fully understand the frustration. Seriously, though, you gotta be patient. These things take weeks to months to heal. It's not like a strain where you can pop ibuprofen and rest a couple days and be back at it. You gotta give it enough time. Your body will do what it needs to do.
Your most recent image is pretty decent improvement over your initial x-ray. But it is still broken. Sounds like your doc is being reasonable with you and your activity levels. As tough as it is, and I know as I've been there myself, don't push it.
And yes. Falling would be bad. I fell on mine and grabbed a railing for support with my affected arm. Broke it all over again.
Don't be me.
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"C" is for cookie. That's good enough for me.
Got a new picture of my collarbone today.
For sure some improvement and Dr. said there is calcification showing, but not as much as she would have liked. She wouldn't clear me for my 50K trail race this weekend due to the risk of falling. I told her I was probably going to run it anyway and she said be careful and if I fall try to fall on my right side. It's getting close and they actually scheduled another X-ray in 3 weeks thinking that I could probably get cleared to start doing some light lifting and exercises if it looks good then.
Really struggling with this, as it feels really good now. Nearly have my full range of motion back and really no pain at all. I think I'm going to run the race, but try to make myself not try to be as competitive and be very cautious especially on the downhills instead of letting it loose like I normally would.
The Dr. said it could take as long as a year to fully heal. Ugh!
Proboscis Colossus
Want me to go out and line the trail with sofa cushions, just in case?
Glad it's getting better, but be careful, man! Seriously, I do wish I had time to go out and ride that trail, see if there are majorly dangerous spots for a guy with a bum wing. I can tell you, it's supposed to rain here pretty much from tonight until Thursday morning, so it will almost certainly be muddy/slick.
"God guides us on our journey, but careful with those feet." - David Lee Roth, of all people
Well, I ended up falling 7 times during my trail race but somehow didn't re-break my collarbone. I ended up stopping after 20.6 miles and calling it a day instead of trying to finish and risking re-injury even more.
Here's a link to the race report if you are interested - https://www.runningahead.com/forums/post/2103a0e3efab4f3eb5fadeab48277350#focus
I'm staying off the trails until I get cleared by the Dr. from now on! I got VERY lucky and am not going to push my luck any farther for a while.
Well, I ended up falling 7 times during my trail race but somehow didn't re-break my collarbone. I ended up stopping after 20.6 miles and calling it a day instead of trying to finish and risking re-injury even more. Here's a link to the race report if you are interested - https://www.runningahead.com/forums/post/2103a0e3efab4f3eb5fadeab48277350#focus I'm staying off the trails until I get cleared by the Dr. from now on! I got VERY lucky and am not going to push my luck any farther for a while.
Um...
SMART Approach
A few tips from a bone healing professional. if concerns about a possible nonunion or to speed up fracture healing, ask your doc to prescribe an EXOGEN bone healing system. it works well to crank up your body's biological healing response and promote angiogenesis. The mid shaft of clavicle can be a bit of a watershed for blood flow.
Vitamin D3 is very important for bone health and most of us have sub-optimal levels. A minimum 5,000 IU a day if you think you may be a bit low. Or get 15-20 min of full body non sunscreen skin exposure to the sun daily. Don't shower for at least an hour after. The herb Cissus Quadrangularis can be helpful for bone healing and bone health.
Run Coach. Recovery Coach. Founder of SMART Approach Training, Coaching & Recovery
Structured Marathon Adaptive Recovery Training
Safe Muscle Activation Recovery Technique
www.smartapproachtraining.com
Simply out of curiosity, what is a "bone healing professional"? Do you work for EXOGEN?
Yes, I am a representative of Bioventus who markets EXOGEN over 9 years, but my purpose here is not to push EXOGEN, just educate. If a doc in another part of the country would prescribe it, I would have nothing to gain from it. I just know a lot about bone. I also have represented osteoporosis drugs in the past and have a lot of education and training on both bone health and bone healing and take a special interest and passion towards it and also supplements.
Walk-Jogger
A few tips from a bone healing professional. if concerns about a possible nonunion or to speed up fracture healing, ask your doc to prescribe an EXOGEN bone healing system. it works well to crank up your body's biological healing response and promote angiogenesis. The mid shaft of clavicle can be a bit of a watershed for blood flow. Vitamin D3 is very important for bone health and most of us have sub-optimal levels. A minimum 5,000 IU a day if you think you may be a bit low. Or get 15-20 min of full body non sunscreen skin exposure to the sun daily. Don't shower for at least an hour after. The herb Cissus Quadrangularis can be helpful for bone healing and bone health.
TChuck, I'm very curious about this suggestion, as I've never heard it before. Is there credible scientific evidence that shows that one should delay showering after sun exposure? I'm a big vitamin D proponent, but I always hit the shower immediately after my outdoor workouts.
Retired & Loving It
If it wasn't your intention to push your product why was your product the only product mentioned? What about your competitors?
It may not have been your intention to push or not push a particular product. However, as you work for the product you mentioned it's on you to disclose that information up front. What's more, giving a little detail on your background would probably go further into getting people to take you seriously instead of just saying "I'm a bone healing professional". Especially if that's how you choose to identify yourself.
That being said, I, too, am interested in the credible and legitimate science to back up your claims. So what've you got?
If I sound snarky it's because I am. I've dealt with enough medical device reps to know better than to think there isn't an angle being played in any mention of one particular product... especially if the rep in question works for the product being mentioned.
Vitamin D3 is an oil soluble hormone that your skin produces when exposed to ultraviolet B radiation. The Vitamin D3 formed on the surface of your skin takes a long time to get into your bloodstream. It needs to get absorbed through your skin to get into your bloodstream. This is common knowledge.
One hour without showering helps a bit if you get regular sun exposure but 1-2 days without showering is ideal. BUT, who doesn't shower after being in the sun? Exactly, the solution would be to only wash your armpits and private areas with soap and just rinse the rest of your body. This would be optimum and allow your body to keep the oil on its skin to ensure it is absorbed. There are other factors that can affect absorption, like being obese, African American or dark skinned, using sunscreen, too much Vit. A in your multiple (beta carotene is ok), Magnesium deficiency......it is so fascinating. I really got heavy into the research last year when my wife tested at suboptimal levels after being out in the sun and beach all summer. It floored me! The only thing I advocate is to get your levels tested and take D3 in higher doses than what your family doc would recommend or follow their advice and get retested as you still won't have an optimal level. You need to get your blood levels above 50 for optimum health. Most of us need 5,000 - 10,000 iu per day to get levels above 50.
If it wasn't your intention to push your product why was your product the only product mentioned? What about your competitors? It may not have been your intention to push or not push a particular product. However, as you work for the product you mentioned it's on you to disclose that information up front. What's more, giving a little detail on your background would probably go further into getting people to take you seriously instead of just saying "I'm a bone healing professional". Especially if that's how you choose to identify yourself. That being said, I, too, am interested in the credible and legitimate science to back up your claims. So what've you got? If I sound snarky it's because I am. I've dealt with enough medical device reps to know better than to think there isn't an angle being played in any mention of one particular product... especially if the rep in question works for the product being mentioned.
Hey Cookie, am not new to the site and have been posting for year on all subjects. Again I don't benefit if a doc prescribes this device for you unless you live in my area. I am just here to educate and help just like anyone else posting. Because you asked, I will provide more info but feel free to PM me if you want. Exogen ultrasound is FDA regulated and approved to treat specific acute fractures and any nonunion fracture other than the spine. It requires a prescription by a physician. They are seen on EBAY but these devices are legally registered to another patient. Insurance plans readily cover it - code E0760. There are over a dozen trials including many nonunion trials (level1, 2 and 3 trials) - the average heal rate using Exogen for established nonunions is 86% with most of the fractures in the trials being over a year old. There are electrical bone stimulators on the market also and they are FDA approved to only treat nonunions. The heal rate is a lower percentage but they do work. There are less trials, and no true mechanism of action. They also need to be worn for hours a day while Exogen is 20 minutes a day which why it is more widely used by orthopedic surgeons and podiatrists. I have a bunch of studies but you can go the website to look up references or PM me and I can attach some trials to you. www.exogen.com It is very common that most people do not know about these bone healing systems.
Labrat
Vitamin D is mainly produced in the basal layers of the skin, the stratum basale and the stratum spinosum.
If you can scrub it out of those via a shower I think you may be leaning towards a bit of overuse of exfoliating granules.
5K 20:23 (Vdot 48.7) 9/9/17
10K 44:06 (Vdot 46.3) 3/11/17
HM 1:33:48 (Vdot 48.6) 11/11/17
FM 4:13:43 (Vdot 35.4) 3/4/18
Vitamin D is mainly produced in the basal layers of the skin, the stratum basale and the stratum spinosum. If you can scrub it out of those via a shower I think you may be leaning towards a bit of overuse of exfoliating granules.
https://www.vitamindcouncil.org/blog/washing-away-vitamin-d/
http://www.easy-immune-health.com/vitamin-d-absorption.html
We get benefit from being in sun no doubt, but I do feel soapy showers play a part in getting maximum production of Vit D.