I had a motorcycle accident 3 weeks ago and broke my collar bone. It was a bad break so the Doc pinned, plated and grafted it back together.
I have been given the option of leaving the metalwork in or, later in the year, having it removed.
My main concern is if the plates etc will have a negative effect on my ability to perform the olympic lifts and front squat.
If anyone has had a similar experience or any input/advide, I’d be very grateful.
Thanks. Pat.
With my plates, the docs expected to leave them in unless a problem developed with them. Didn’t have any problems so … the plates are still in. My plates were for an ankle however.
Heal up!
Regards,
Mark
As a engineer with structural analysis experience, I would be concerned if the metal was left in place. Bones to flex under stress. With a stiff metal attachments, these may create stress increases at the attachment points that would create local stresses that are high enough to damage the bone.
Perhaps this would generate pain that would simply make you stop or reduce the effort. This probably is not a concern for most folks, but for those lifting weights or some other sports, leaving the metal in place could be a problem.
Thanks for the input guys - interesting to see two opposite but equally valid points of view.
I guess it may well be a case of wait and see.
Pat.
It all depends on how high the bone is stressed in the future. The metal represents a discontinuity in stiffness, and such things create local stress concentrations that create failure risk.
If the bone is not highly stressed, it would not matter.