Broken collarbone

[chelseaMumma]

Ds 14 broke his collarbone at school yesterday, obviously in a great deal of pain and no school for a while.

Anyone have any experience of broken collarbones and healing time?? And anything I can do to make this better for him??

DD broke hers when she was small (5). For a week or so she was quite fragile, wanted to sit on the couch and not move around too much. She appreciated having it in a sling as it helped her move around with a bit more confidence. After a week or two it had clearly stated to heal and she started playing more normally and having to be reminded to take it easy. It would still hurt if knocked. Having the sling was useful then too to remind her and others to be careful. At 14 your DS is probably still growing which will help it heal faster and regrow to the right shape eventually.

Dd broke hers last year (when she was 19).
At A&E, x-ray etc, everyone kept saying it was one of the most painful breaks to do.
Sorry to say she was in real pain for 2-3 weeks. Beacause they can't set it / put it in a cast then every slight movement is painful - just picking up a drink or reaching for your phone.was able to do a lot more by about week 5.
However, the good news is, being young and fit they heal quickly. She was able to drive after 2 months. Contact sports by 5 months. She doesn't get any pain or problems once she started contact spots again and does hers about 4 times a week.

Go full on with painkillers. Loose clothes to fit over sling and minimise jiggling around. Nice food with plenty of roughage to avoid constipation from painkillers. Sleep partially upright or propped on pillows.

I broke mine in my late teens. It hurt a lot. I didn't take it easy for long enough and it still hurts sometimes now, as it hasn't healed right.

A few teens at school have broken their collarbone - they were all back after a day or so, but reduced days, didn't carry a bag around school, one didn't wear uniform (too fiddly with one arm!), lift pass/leaving lessons early etc. And painkillers kept in school.

I broke mine as an adult. I found sleeping was the most painful so initially I slept propped up as trying to get up from lying down was sooo sore. It took weeks to be totally pain free. Make sure he takes his pain meds regularly to help with that. Also don't let him overdo things as it could slow the bones knitting back together.

Thanks all

He's been pretty good with it, has refused painkillers as he says they weren't working.

Saw a consultant today and they want to put a metal plate in to fix the brake 😫

Notwithstanding the fact I haven't seen your son or the fracture, the practice in the hospital's I have worked is that it's very unusual to operate on a child's collar bone unless there's a very specific reason.

The end of the collarbone has broken off and somethings wrong with the ligaments. Consultants said the plate was the best option for ds and when the plate is removed in 3/4 months it will be as good as new

That sounds fair enough, the plate will be to support it while the ligaments heal.

I wish him well!

Aw, bless him. I mean, whereas no-one wants to have an operation, it does sound as if that will give him the support while it heals

We had this last year. DS (14) broke his, but right in the middle of the bone. It was a complete break, and the two parts of the bone overlapped, so they had to operate and put a plate in. Probably not as complicated as your ds's, as it didn't involve any ligaments.

The operation went smoothly, he was out in a few hours. A lot of pain from the op, but the bone itself stopped hurting straight away.

I propped him up with pillows, and changed his bed so that he slept on his good side.

Chair by the bed to help him pull himself up to sitting.

Get some old fashioned bandage to make slings you can use in the shower and get wet.

He had a super sling for around 6 weeks. Lunch and corridor pass for school, to get out of class early. Friend to carry school bag.

Physio afterwards, and it did take time to get strength back. He also had a specialist massage/acupuncture session after a couple of months, as he was pulling muscles doing sport without enough flexibility.

PM me if you like.

Oh, and he's leaving the plate in. Spoke to about 6 doctors over the hospital stay (couldn't believe how many were involved!) and general view was no need to take plate out if it isn't bothering him.

We also had a lot of support from the community children's nursing team. Lovely nurse visited the next day, rearranged his bedroom, changed his dressing. She came back a few times unti she discharged him.

NHS gave an awful lot of support.