exercise with a broken collerbone ?

egirlcat207

Had an accident very recently and ended up with a shattered collerbone and bruised ribs. Have to have surgery to set the bone. No, not planning on any weight lifting but am curious if there are any exercises I can do after the surgery - which is just next week. I don't want to lose any muscle and full mobility will probably be about 10 weeks . I was considering eating a high protein diet..will that be enough ? What about lower body exercises ? Like walking or something equally as low impact ? I don't have a pool which I think would be optimal . Suggestions ?

Debmal77

treadmill....on incline??...I would check with my doctor also..

meganjcallaghan

regardless of what exercise you do (and yes....check with the doctor), you do use up extra calories (unfortunately not much done in the way of studies to put a number on it for you but after my kidney donation surgery I ate probably about 500 - 700 extra calories a day and after 4 weeks I had only put back on 4 of the 12 extra pounds I'd lost pre-surgery) so eating a little extra to make sure you are getting the necessary nutrients to heal is a good idea....and you might as well make it protein, I suppose.

Michael190lbs

Just rest it for a while seriously just heal!! Watch your calorie intake and rest/ recovery will be the best thing you can do!! I had a botched hernia surgery that caused me to break ribs every two months for two years (11 ribs total) it was horrible!! I put on 50 lbs because I was eating crap (biggest mistake) and not moving obviously. Its been two years since I had surgery to fix the first screw up and have lost 85 lbs being smart.. Be smart just heal and eat accordingly!!

cheshirecatastrophe

Well...10 weeks, you are going to lose upper body muscle and mobility. The good news is you can get it back with time and effort--I did from 6 weeks on the DL with a broken wrist. I'd ask your doctor about what lower body exercises you can do--leg machines, core work, maybe the elliptical (low-impact) or walking. I've definitely seen people on the elliptical at my gym with an arm in a sling, which I presume is a collarbone issue. I can't imagine sweating on purpose with my arm in an actual cast from e.g. a broken wrist.

sunnyside1213

Eat things with calcium and magnesium. Try low impact and walking, but if it hurts, stop. I have been there and it is miserable without surgery.

chriscolh

Eat well, and rest. Seriously. I broke my collarbone years ago. Long story short, I was impatient and not willing to take the time I needed to heal. My collarbone continued shift and move every time I did something stupid. It took 3 times longer to heal than what it would have if I had just rested, and is now 1/2" shorter because I wouldn't leave it alone. You can get stronger later. You need to heal now. Again, focus on nutrition and you'll be ok.
Just my 2cents, but it was a hard lesson learned!

Good luck, and I hope you heal well and quickly!!

Packerjohn

Talk to the doctor, but I've had some shoulder operations and walking, lower body weight machine work was what I could get by with. Best of luck.