Well, I'm 36, and broke my collar bone May 10 of this year. The fracture was a compression type break, with floaters, and jaged edges. The emergency room doctor, and my medic both agreed that the F8 brace was cruel and unusual punishment, and generally not required, IF you have good posture. If you tend to hunch over, wear the brace, it will prevent that. The reason they didn't like the brace is because when you move the good arm, the bad arm is disturbed. My collar bone only crunched and ground away for a couple days. I slept on the couch, with a towel rolled axially allong my spine to keep my shoulders back. The down side is that my collar bone is vertically and horizontally misalligned. I have about a 1/2" step, with a sharp point. The outer part of the clavical is lower than the inner section. The bone is healing nicely, with a big knot of calcium building above, below and beside the original bone. Maybe the F8 brace would have helped with alignment, maybe not. My doctor says not. It will be strong when it heals, but it is going to take time. I think it is strong enough to get back onto my bike, but I'm going to take the rest of the summer off. My sandrail is getting a lot more use this year.