So I was chatting with a cycling friend who is recovering from breaking his
clavicle for the second time. He and his orthopedic surgeon are pondering
his long term prospects given the severity of his repeated repairs.
“You know, some jockeys break their collarbones so often they just have
them removed.”
I agreed that the clavicle is much abused bone and probably one of the
least critical for normal human function, but I am very skeptical of the
assertion that they are removed. I searched online but all I found were
similar claims about jockeys. (And descriptions of various procedures all
of which do less than remove or replace the whole bone.) The interesting
thing to me is that the relating of this dubious rumor seems to always
include “my doctor said…”
Not quite friend of a friend, but still a hallmark of an urban legend.
Anybody have any evidence or other sitings to report?
Do jockeys have their collarbones removed to avoid breakage?
A colleague of mine broke three clavicles in the space of a year. We joked that she should have them replaced with foam rubber clavicles, (and then joked when they put in a titanium plate to hold the bone together that she was doing a slow-motion Wolverine procedure). The doctors never made any noises about removing them entirely, though, and what they did do seems like a lot of effort if that was an option.
I do recall from one of the old “baby in a well” stories that some people are *born *without clavicles (and such people are very useful for extracting babies from wells because they can really tuck their arms in). I suppose such people, if very short, might make good jockeys.
I can’t find any reports of it being done* to avoid breakage*, and I’d be rather shocked to find more than a rogue doctor or two doing it for such a purpose.
It can, and is, done if the bone or joint is damaged, diseased or infected beyond recovery, or if the blood supply is compromised in some way that can’t be corrected with a less drastic surgery. It’s not done very often, though.
Surprisingly, it seems the results are pretty good, with little long term loss of range of motion and significant pain relief.
Thanks! That’s an excellent link. I didn’t think it was done preventatively,
I just was trying to keep my query readable. Using terms like “due to nonunion”
or even “to avoid re-breakage” didn’t seem appropriate for this venue.
The paper you linked discusses outcomes of unilateral procedures and I could
find no similar mention of bilateral operations. That would be the procedure if
you were going for prevention or better aerodynamics.
I guess it’s the suspicion that cyclists or jockeys might have such a motive
that makes this legend tellable and re-tellable.
I’m pretty sure he’s joking. However, I bet having no clavicle makes it a lot easier to escape from a straitjacket. BTW I’ve broken by right clavicle 4 times, twice in 8 weeks.
Five years ago, a story came out about a professional bicycle rider that was going to have his often broken clavicle replaced with a lighter, stronger, carbon graphite clavicle.
Alas, that story started from a blog dated April 1st.
I was told that when I was 4 or 5 I had a strep infection that spread to my right clavicle, so the doctors removed it. I’ve grown up without a clavicle in my right shoulder.
But now when I try to search online for reasons why a doctor would remove my clavicle, I can’t find anything.
I’m beginning to think it’s a story told to my family that was complete bullshit to cover up an incompetent doctor’s mistake.
I’m now in my mid thirties, so I’m sure even if I could find the hospital records I wouldn’t be able to sue. I’m just curious, wanting to know the real reason it happened.
And the funny thing is, growing up it was a source of fun for me and my brothers and cousins. A way to play a silly harmless prank on unsuspecting people.
But I still wonder why the doctor took out my clavicle.
Osteomyelitis can occur in any bone in your body.
Perhaps your clavicle was broken and thats why it got infected ?
But anyway, since you were only 4 perhaps the growth centres of the bone were destroyed by the bacteria and the clavicle would never form properly after that., and thats why they removed it.