Collarbones

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
Fortunately I don't think that you've ever bruised yours enough to warrant posting a photo of them so we have been spared that for now.
You'll never ride the local trails knowing you are safe again...at any moment I could leap out of the bushes shirtless and man boob your retinas into malfunction!
 

DMan

shawly the least hangeriest guy on rotorburn
Wait....you said you had no hair.

Sounds similar to my daughter. First year of DH just done, I was really scared she'd be overwhelmed, but was regularly hitting lines that I had to have a good hard think about. :oops:
I wish. Teachers are really fussy about presentation for some reason?! I didn't think a pony tail was so hard....
Take us back. I was a far braver rider before responsibility. If it makes you feel better I'm sure stuff that "you have a hard think about" I'd just pretend I hadn't seen and take the B line.... F@cking gap jumps!


A possibly more important consideration, a lot of my female riding friends really struggle to get a comfortable fit around the bust with any kind of chest protection so don't put a lot of weight in our opinions, best bet is to talk with some of the other female competitors at the gravity events.
I thought you were going somewhere about helping with chest measurements.... Which I constantly offer to my wife. To the point of exasperation.
But it is something I've though about. Another reason I was looking at the shoulder T as they have it listed in the women's section of Leatts website
 

puffmoike

Likes Dirt
Not trying to be smart here, but having broken a collarbone before I doubt it helps for anything other than peace of mind.
It takes quite a big and specific impact to break one
My small piece of anecdata…

I went OTB pretty slowly fifteen months ago at the opening day of Lake Mountain. Trail was absolutely packed, so the train wasn’t going very fast (not that I ever go that quickly), and to be honest I have no idea what I must have been doing to manage to go OTB. Maybe 12kmh, landing on a smooth section of machine-made dirt.

Broke my collarbone, and made a real mess of it. Bits of splintered bone pointing in all directions.

I’ve had half-a-dozen considerably bigger stacks in my time, including a couple at You Yangs and Harcourt landing on granite, that I’ve got up and walked away from. Bruised, shaken and scratched, but not requiring hospitalisation.

So in the absence of any actual knowledge I’d suggest it’s not so much the size of the stack (within reason) but just the particular point and angle of impact. My guess is if I landed at a slightly different angle I’d barely be able to recall having crashed that day, because it felt like such an innocuous fall.

Would armour have helped? I got no idea.
 

DMan

shawly the least hangeriest guy on rotorburn
My small piece of anecdata…

I went OTB pretty slowly fifteen months ago at the opening day of Lake Mountain. Trail was absolutely packed, so the train wasn’t going very fast (not that I ever go that quickly), and to be honest I have no idea what I must have been doing to manage to go OTB. Maybe 12kmh, landing on a smooth section of machine-made dirt.

Broke my collarbone, and made a real mess of it. Bits of splintered bone pointing in all directions.

I’ve had half-a-dozen considerably bigger stacks in my time, including a couple at You Yangs and Harcourt landing on granite, that I’ve got up and walked away from. Bruised, shaken and scratched, but not requiring hospitalisation.

So in the absence of any actual knowledge I’d suggest it’s not so much the size of the stack (within reason) but just the particular point and angle of impact. My guess is if I landed at a slightly different angle I’d barely be able to recall having crashed that day, because it felt like such an innocuous fall.

Would armour have helped? I got no idea.
Look, the reality is a lot of it is just being unlucky. I've never broken a collar bone but I've had crashes that should have. I've damaged ligaments around my AC crashing into the ground on my shoulder of a jump, but was obviously lucky enough that the angle wasn't right and my tendons bore it as opposed to my CB breaking. Like you say, if you'd had some protection on that had deflected a bit of the force or changed the angle that you hit the dirt the outcome might have been different. But who knows...
 

The Reverend

Likes Bikes and Dirt
If it makes her more confident and comfortable then yes.

Bear in mind (and might have been observed easier) it only works for some injuries. Impacts are fine, overextending / twisting / compression are not helped by this.

My first hand experience is I saved myself a trip to the surgeon wearing one going off piste and having a bough from a tree hit me square on the collar bone but through my pad. Split the pad in half and my shoulder was fine.

Another trip / incident was a low speed front wheel wash out and I landed on my extended arm awkwardly.
Torn rotator cuff at two points, fractured clavicle, torn labrum, torn bicep tendon and about 9 months off the bike.
I was wearing protective gear then and it did nothing.

Comfort is a factor as I've kit that does the job but it's too bulky and so I don't wear it.
 

Scotty675

Cable thief
From my experience unfortunately they won't help. I've broken 5. Ive broken them in full motorcycle leathers (didn't help), full dianese upper body suit, with full shoulder, elbow, back protection (didn't help) and mtb gear (didn't help). Unfortunately if it is a hard enough impact to break a bone, that type of protection won't stop the break. They will stop some gravel rash and absorb a small amount of the impact.
 

DMan

shawly the least hangeriest guy on rotorburn
If it makes her more confident and comfortable then yes.

Bear in mind (and might have been observed easier) it only works for some injuries. Impacts are fine, overextending / twisting / compression are not helped by this.

My first hand experience is I saved myself a trip to the surgeon wearing one going off piste and having a bough from a tree hit me square on the collar bone but through my pad. Split the pad in half and my shoulder was fine.

Another trip / incident was a low speed front wheel wash out and I landed on my extended arm awkwardly.
Torn rotator cuff at two points, fractured clavicle, torn labrum, torn bicep tendon and about 9 months off the bike.
I was wearing protective gear then and it did nothing.

Comfort is a factor as I've kit that does the job but it's too bulky and so I don't wear it.
From my experience unfortunately they won't help. I've broken 5. Ive broken them in full motorcycle leathers (didn't help), full dianese upper body suit, with full shoulder, elbow, back protection (didn't help) and mtb gear (didn't help). Unfortunately if it is a hard enough impact to break a bone, that type of protection won't stop the break. They will stop some gravel rash and absorb a small amount of the impact.
Thanks guys. Appreciate the feedback
 

ozzybmx

taking a shit with my boobs out
Not trying to be smart here, but having broken a collarbone before I doubt it helps for anything other than peace of mind.
It takes quite a big and specific impact to break one
^^^ a crash where any other body part slows the impact could be the difference between a break and... nothing.

I've broke both of mine, luckily both non-displaced fractures, the doc was like "you are a lucky man"... pity the muscle trauma from the impact lasted years after the break. Both my boys have had clean displaced breaks, back riding again in 5-6 weeks.

Not sure what kind of body armour is going to stop any of these injuries but if the heat and comfort is bearable, it probably would help more to be wearing shoulder protection, than not wearing it, but to what extent and definitely crash severity dependant.
 

Paulie_AU

Likes Dirt
Every time I have broken a collar bone I have landed on the top of my shoulder. Last time was wearing a pressure suit and did the collar bone I hadn't previously broken and had a small rub graze on top of my shoulder just like the other 2 times. My daughter did one when she tripped running out the school gate. Skin off exactly where I lost skin on mine. It is all angle.
 

moorey

call me Mia
Felix has fractured his 2x. Once falling out of a high bed as a toddler, once tripping over a kite string when about 8.
Since then, he’s had many almighty stacks on the bike. BIIIIG stacks, and been unharmed. It’s all in the landing I guess.
 

ozzybmx

taking a shit with my boobs out
Its a human reflex to move your head away from impact, to shield where your eyes see trouble coming from, saving your good looks and brain.

Usually meaning you raise the arm or shoulder as a sacrifice... maybe it was meant as a sacrificial bone.
 

bear the bear

Is a real bear
I was perusing a thread off here from a few years back about breaking collarbones. I understand there's not much in the way of protection you can really get, but does anyone think this may help a little by protecting the shoulders and dispersing some force if you crashed on your shoulder? Thinking for my wife who's planning on an Enduro in August... I don't want anything too bulky or hot...

https://www.pushys.com.au/leatt-shoulder-tee-3df-airfit-lite.html
I think you need to research how a collarbone breaks, a) either through direct impact; or b) as a linkage short.
What you are proposing may mitigate scenario a), however scenario b) may still occur from an OTB.
I think you posted up recently that your wife broke her collarbone? If the fracture is healed correctly, and with time, it is stronger than the surrounding bone. The risk would be to undertake exercise before proper healing and risk another fracture in the same location (my brother did this).

Note: I am not a doctor and do not play one on TV.
 
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