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By Francisco Antonio Suing
[Field Report]
Disclaimer:
This is my experience.
We’re different, results may vary from person to person.
In the case of a broken bone, see a doctor/surgeon to make a proper decision.Well, that’s how life works.
One day you live free and proud with all your capabilities and strength. But then, a simple accident is enough to bring you down, changing your reality and understanding of the man you see in the mirror.
Sheer will, self care, and time.
The infamous three when it comes to healing some misfortune upon the body.
...but when it’s possible.
Let us begin.
Stage One – Pain Uber Alles (First month after the accident)What to expect.
-Pain beyond imagination during the first week. (Painkillers can help. Don’t overuse them.)
-Shallowness at its peak in the first two weeks. (Nothing to do about it.)
-Start losing muscle mass in the shoulder and arm. (Nothing to do about it.)
-Being useless most of the time. (Even walking and moving around is a challenge in the beginning.)
-Change sleeping habits. (You’ll have to get creative even to get to the bathroom)
What I did.
-Rest most of the time.
-Use a sling to hold my arm against my chest.
-Eat like I used to, but make emphasis on red meat and milk.
-I went two times to see a chiropractor.
-I went to see a doctor and had multiple X-Rays.
-At bedtime my face always looked up.
-Massage my shoulder and neck muscles everyday.
-Used a bandage around my thorax to keep my shoulder in position.
What could have been better.
-Have more rest.
The first month is the basis for a good healing.
Moving the shoulder too soon will cause a longer arm.
-When sitting in a chair or couch, have a small pillow in which your elbow can rest.
The sling helps a lot, but having your elbow over a soft but firm pillow will ‘feel’ more natural.
-If you need your hand, move the whole thorax like a robot.
-USE a chest harness. (Perhaps the most important advice you’ll get from this article.)
In simple terms the shoulder can move up and down, forward and backwards.
The sling will restrain the up and down motion.
But the chest harness will help keeping your shoulders back.
After all the chaos I went through, I’d dare to say having your shoulders back is more important because the collarbone will have the proper space to get back and heal to its original shape.
What seems like it didn’t help.
-Seen the chiropractic with the objective of fixing the broken collarbone.
The collarbone is a special bone, it’s ‘floating’.
It doesn’t matter how much the chiropractor pushes it against your shoulder, it will never go back to its original position. It’s broken. It will pop up again. This might be the reason why some doctors recommend going for surgery.
-There’s a tape the chiropractor put around the collarbone and the shoulder. It made it look nice and fancy but again, the pieces of the broken collarbone will go up or down depending on the muscle attached to it.
Things to have in mind.
-A bump or a scar. Either case, you’ll never look the same.
-Avoid the temptation to move your arm during the first month.
-After six months you’ll be able to use your arm like before.
-Having X-Rays helps you understand your situation.
-In the first week the longer piece of my collarbone was almost diagonal. But with time this piece of bone got back almost to its original position.
-If you’re an active, young, handsome, and healthy man; no need to worry day and night, you’ll recover with all your previous greatness, force and abilities.
The last point was the most difficult for me. Having a broken bone is like being left behind. An outcast. A useless tool on a box. A wolf with no teeth. You’ll depend on the grace and mercy from the people around you.
If you need to be out there in the arena ASAP because of work, family, etc., go for the certainty of steel; surgery. Not everybody had the luxury of having six months to spare. After surgery you could be useful again in one month, that’s what the doctor said.
Stage Two – Here we go again (Months two to four)What to expect.
-No more shallowness. (But a new bump for life...)
-Loss of muscle mass around the shoulder and arm. (Nothing to do about it.)
-The affected shoulder might start to look lower. (Pay close attention to this point.)
-A visible bump according to the fracture. (Nothing to do about it.)
-Being able to move your arm. (Baby steps tho)
-Can’t stand up for too long. For some reason, when standing for a long time, a strong pain began in the area of the scapula bone. It gets better over time.
What I did.
-Start using a chest harness. Better late than never.
-Stop using the sling. Can’t say if this was the right decision.
-Got rid of the bandage.
-Start moving and raising my arm a little bit.
-Look at myself in the mirror more than usual to notice any deformity.
-Start moving my arm more but without any weight or brute force.
-In month four I started using ten pound weights for my right arm and a plastic band (three pound) for my left arm to exercise a bit.
What could have been better.
-Keep using the chest harness for more time.
It gives you more confidence when it comes to moving your arm and shoulder.
-Having a new X-Ray to check the healing progress.
What seems like it didn’t help.
-Worrying about the new bump.
-Worrying about the limitations of my arm at the moment in terms of motion and force.
Things to have in mind.
-From month three and beyond, you do have to be able to push your collarbone and not feel any pain. Otherwise there might be a problem. See a doctor.
-Raising your whole arm will not be the same at this point yet.
-Even when you start to feel better, until month number four you won’t be able to use your arm by its own.
-Home made food is the best option.
To a man who only knows how to live free, being limited by his own flesh will drive him crazy. The desire to move, to walk, to raise my arm was my biggest thought and ambition in the beginning. I can’t say if it was a good idea or not. But I always moved my left arm more and more everyday.
On month four I tried to do push ups but as soon I laid down, pain surrounded my collarbone making the exercise impossible. But what was helpful was doing push ups against a wall while standing up.
I think it was on month two when against all limitations I raised my left hand high enough to touch my face. What a wonderful ‘feeling’. There are many simple things we take for granted everyday.
Stage Three – A free man once more (Months five and six)What to expect.
-More freedom to use your arm. More degrees of motion.
-The force will grow again along the shoulder and arm.
-A visible bump only you’ll notice.
What I did.
-Went back to my normal activities like it never happened.
-If I have to carry some heavy weight I found a way to do it instead of thinking it’s beyond my capabilities because of my broken collarbone.
-Pay close attention to any movement that might cause pain.
-Study yourself. Sounds ‘weird’ but only you can understand your own limitations and act upon them...
-Throwing punches into the air with speed, as an exercise, might cause some pain. This will get better over time.
What could have been better.
-Keep using the chest harness just “in case”.
-Have some professional guidance in how to do exercises with the arm. I just watched videos on youtube and followed my ‘instinct’ to do my exercises.
What seems like it didn’t help.
-Nothing to add.
Things to have in mind.
-I was able to do pull ups and push downs without any problem from month six onward. But few. The only limitation is the muscle strength that has to recover with time. Aside from that, pain due to force must be minimum to zero around the shoulder area.
-Don’t wait until month six to start putting stress to your shoulder and arm, but with care.
Too little is laziness, too much is madness.
-Sleeping over my left shoulder took more time to be possible again.
-Sometimes when lifting weights I can hear some cracking noises coming from the collarbone area. This is not always.
-Raising my arm straight took some time. But after month six I can move my arm without any limitation.
-My left arm is 0.5 millimeters longer now.
-Pay close attention to the position of your shoulder. During month three mine looked lower. This is another reason why doctors recommend surgery. I had to correct my posture on a daily basis. The chest harness helps to correct this imperfection more than you can think.
-Even when I mentioned seeing a chiropractor wasn’t the best decision in the beginning, a visit could be helpful in month three. Remember, your arm will have no motion for a long period of time. This will cause the muscles to get stiff and when you start to exercise again some muscle fibers can ‘jump’ and hurt a lot. A proper massage from a chiropractor can detect and fix any minor problem.
-My accident occurred in early December, winter. And because of that, I always protected the area from the cold with extra clothing.
-I was 29 years old when it happened.
Like anything else in life, you’ll find advantages and disadvantages when you choose one way over the other.
Take what’s useful for your particular case and move on.
And well, that’s it for today.
Keep your eyes wide open on the road...
FrASuing