Recovery after plate surgery for a broken collarbone (clavicle open reduction and internal fixation) usually runs in three overlapping phases. The bone typically takes 6 to 12 weeks to heal. Comfortable everyday use of the arm often returns by around 3 months. Full strength, overhead work and contact sport usually take 4 to 6 months, sometimes longer. Your surgeon’s protocol comes first. If their timings differ from the ranges on this page, use theirs.
The plate put in during collarbone surgery holds the two ends of the bone in line while it heals. It does not make the bone heal faster. Most of the work in recovery is getting the shoulder moving again without loading the bone before it is ready.
Key takeaways
- Bone healing: a repaired collarbone typically takes 6 to 12 weeks to heal. Full function takes longer.
- Surgeon first: your surgeon’s protocol comes first on sling time, movement limits and lifting.
- Early limits: many protocols keep the arm below shoulder height and limit lifting to light objects for the first 6 weeks.
- Numb patch: a numb area of skin below the scar is common after this surgery and often shrinks over months.
- Longer goals: heavy lifting, manual work and contact sport usually wait until at least 3 months, often longer.
Where are you right now?
- First 2 weeks: read days 1 to 3, weeks 1 to 2 and the “Is this normal?” section. Pain, bruising and sleep are the main issues now.
- Weeks 2 to 6: the sling is usually coming off and gentle movement is building. Read weeks 2 to 6 and the “When can I” table.
- 6 to 12 weeks: the bone is usually healing and strengthening often starts. Read weeks 6 to 12 and “If it isn’t going to plan”.
- 3 months on: read the month-by-month section. The focus is strength, overhead work and heavier tasks.
Week by week
- Days 1 to 3: the arm rests in a sling. Pain is usually highest now and settles with the medication your team prescribes. Hand, wrist and elbow movement is often encouraged from day one to limit stiffness and swelling.
- Weeks 1 to 2: the wound is checked. Stitches or clips, if used, are usually removed around day 10 to 14. Many people return to desk work in this window if pain allows.
- Weeks 2 to 6: the sling is typically reduced and then stopped, often somewhere between 2 and 6 weeks. Gentle shoulder movement usually starts, often kept below shoulder height. Lifting is usually limited to light objects, roughly a cup of coffee or a phone.
- Weeks 6 to 8: an X-ray is often taken to check healing. If the bone is uniting, many surgeons lift the movement limits and allow light strengthening.
- Weeks 8 to 12: strengthening builds for the shoulder blade muscles and rotator cuff. Reaching overhead usually becomes easier. Moderate lifting is often introduced step by step.
Month by month
- Month 3: most people use the arm for daily tasks without thinking about it. Some ache at the end of the day is common. Heavier lifting and manual work are often reintroduced gradually from here, if the surgeon is satisfied with healing.
- Months 4 to 6: strength keeps building. Return to contact sport, sport with a risk of falls and heavy overhead work usually falls in this window, after clearance from the surgeon.
- Months 6 to 12: the last of the stiffness and fatigue in the shoulder often fade. Some people notice the plate under the skin, especially under backpack straps or seat belts. Removing the plate is sometimes discussed once the bone has fully healed, usually not before about a year.
Is this normal?
- Night pain: yes, in the first few weeks. Lying flat often pulls on the shoulder. Many people sleep propped up on pillows or in a reclining chair for the first 1 to 3 weeks.
- Swelling and bruising: bruising often spreads down the chest or arm in the first 2 weeks as it drains with gravity. Increasing redness and heat around the wound is different and is covered below.
- Stiffness: yes, after weeks in a sling. The shoulder joint itself was not operated on, so stiffness usually responds well to the movement program your PT gives you.
- Clicking: soft, painless clicking around the shoulder blade or shoulder is common as movement returns and is usually harmless. A new grinding or clunk at the fracture site with fresh pain should be checked.
- Numbness near the scar: a numb or tingling patch of skin below the incision is common, because small skin nerves cross the collarbone. It often shrinks over 6 to 12 months. Part of it can be permanent.
- Low mood: yes. Poor sleep, a sling and losing the use of one arm wear on most people. Tell your doctor if it lasts more than a few weeks.
If it isn’t going to plan
You are at week 8. The sling went back on the shelf weeks ago, but reaching the top shelf still stops short, and you are wondering whether the plate is the reason. The belief that it will loosen up by itself with time and normal use is common. For some shoulders it holds. For others the range stops improving around week 6 to 10.
The plate does not usually block shoulder movement. More often the shoulder joint and the muscles around the shoulder blade have stiffened from weeks of protection and need graded stretching and strengthening. Pain that rises after week 6 rather than easing, or weakness that is not improving, can have other causes, from irritation over the plate to slow bone healing.
The plate holds the bone. The movement work brings the shoulder back.
The route is a review with your surgeon or physical therapist. Ask: Has the bone healed on the latest X-ray? What movement and lifting am I cleared for now? Which movements are stiff, and why? What range should I have by the next review?
When can I…
| Activity | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Shower | Often from about 3 to 14 days, once the wound dressing allows it. Keep the arm supported. |
| Sleep in bed | Often 1 to 3 weeks, propped on pillows at first. |
| Drive | Often 4 to 6 weeks, once out of the sling and able to control the wheel safely. |
| Desk work | Often 1 to 2 weeks. |
| Lift | Light objects from about 2 to 6 weeks. Moderate loads from about 8 to 12 weeks. Heavy loads usually after 3 months. |
| Reach overhead | Often from about 6 to 8 weeks, once the surgeon lifts the height limit. |
| Manual work or sport | Usually 3 to 6 months. Contact sport often 4 to 6 months. |
Your surgeon’s protocol comes first.
Call your local emergency number or go to the emergency department if
- Sudden breathlessness or chest pain: especially pain on breathing in, or breathlessness with one calf swollen, hot or painful.
- Your hand turns pale, cold or blue: or the arm on the operated side becomes suddenly numb and heavy.
- Fever with a spreading red wound: together with feeling very unwell, shivering or confused.
See a doctor today if
- Wound changes: redness spreading from the scar, increasing heat, discharge, a bad smell, or the wound opening.
- Fever: a temperature of 38°C (100.4°F) or above.
- Spreading numbness or weakness: numbness, tingling or weakness spreading into the arm or hand, rather than the usual patch below the scar.
- Uncontrolled pain: pain that gets worse each day or is not controlled by the medication you were given.
Get it checked soon if
- A new lump, clunk or grinding: at the collarbone with fresh pain, especially after a fall or a heavy lift.
- Pain rising after week 6: rather than easing.
- The plate is pressing: skin over the plate becoming thin, red or sore.
- Movement has stalled: no gain in range for 3 to 4 weeks.
More on this area: surgery recovery guides.
The bone sets the pace for the first 12 weeks. Steady, planned movement sets it after that.
Written by Louise Yow, Neck & Shoulder Physio.