Clavicle Break: Week 5 (July 21, 2018 - July 28, 2018)

Pain Level: 1 to 3 no pain medication.
Discomfort: 5 to 10
Attire: Getting back to normal, so long as it goes on without much strain.
Sleeping: Bed.
Nutrition: Higher than normal calories to maximize healing, with supplements geared towards bone regrowth.
Mobility: Getting around fairly normally, but still being very careful.
Physical Therapy: Body weight range of motion exercises.

I had my first follow up Orthopedic visit on the 26th of this week.  Until then, it was business as usual.  I had full range of motion nearly immediately in my shoulder, though there was stiffness and some pain that didn't seem to come from the clavicle itself.  I credit my small attempts at movement a few times a day in the days prior.  The X-Rays showed no sign of calcification, but that's completely normal.  The doctor was able to (gently) push and pull on the clavicle with no obvious movement, indicating that the bones were definitely knitting together, even if it didn't show on the X-Rays.  He gave me the go ahead to ditch the sling and start physical therapy.

He also released me back to work, just in time for my trip to Colorado (where I would have ridden the Copper Triangle with friends).  I felt better about taking PTO for that time, rather than doing it while still on medical leave.

Physical therapy consisted of body weight arm movements, including side raises, front raises (palm up and palm down), "coke can" raises, low resistance theraband cross body pulls, and finally shoulder blade compressions followed by toe-touches meant to stretch the back (that last one felt absolutely phenomenal).  I was prescribed these 3 times a day for 30 seconds, building 15 seconds a day until I reached two minutes.  After that, I could start adding light weights, starting with 2lbs, then 3lbs, and finally 5lbs, incremented weekly.  I could postpone the additional weight if the pain dictated it, but I was advised not to advance the weights.  This is recovery - not strength training.  The idea is to explore and identify problems, not exacerbate them.

The only exercise that gave me any trouble is the palm up front raise.  Something is stretched, torn, ripped, or otherwise damaged that catches at the top end of that movement.

I was very diligent with physical therapy this week.

A lot of time was spent in the recliner, though not as much as previously.  I continued with the YouTube videos, the cycling documentaries (having exhausted what I could easily find on Lance Armstrong), and followed the Tour de France through Thomas' win in Paris.

I was able to get out into the garage this week and really cleaned the bike up.  It was easier with both arms available, but I still approached it very carefully.  I didn't repair anything, but I did get all the dirt off of it and realigned the handlebars.  I found a couple of new things, though.  A barely noticeable, yet still worrisome deformity in the rear wheel, and a snapped rail in my saddle.  The rear wheel is concerning, but the saddle is toast.  The dent in the top tube is still a concern, but I was confident that neither it nor the weird deformity in the rear wheel would hinder any indoor training efforts.  Since that's all I planned to do for the foreseeable future, I wasn't that concerned.  However, I didn't have confidence in the frame (as awesome as it's been) for outdoor riding, so I started gathering info for my next bike.  I focused on aero road bikes this week, gathering a list of about 20 potentials.  The point of this is that through my injury, my love and passion for the sport hadn't diminished.  I was mentally, if not physically prepared to go all in, full gas, 100%.

My bike research settled on the Seven 622 SLX custom bike.  I started to think about how I could afford it.

All in all, this was the first week that things started feeling relatively normal.  I still did everything slowly, deliberately, and carefully, but I was able to do pretty much everything within reason.  It was living Diet-Life.  Life-Light.

Just in time for the trip to Colorado, where I wouldn't be riding the Copper Triangle with my friends.

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