The Moment That Changed My Life: How a Shattered Clavicle Led Me to Natural Health (graphic warning)

Three years ago, a single moment flipped my life upside down and set me on a path I never imagined: a life long career in natural health. It wasn’t a gentle nudge or a planned decision—it was a raw, painful, and transformative experience that showed me the incredible power of the body to heal itself when given the right support.

This is the story of how a broken clavicle became the catalyst for my life’s work.

It was early April 2022 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, just TWO blocks from the hospital where I was BORN.

The air was crisp, and I was savoring the last sips of wine on my front porch, working on a Sunday evening. A friend pulled up with an extra longboard skateboard, and we decided to ride the parking structure across the street, the usual spot for us next to my downtown apartment. It was the first flight of the year! We started on the fifth floor, gliding down level by level. The cement was slightly wet, but it didn’t faze us. On the fourth floor, I attempted my first-ever aerial jump—and I landed it! Elated, I should’ve stopped there. But I didn’t.

By the time we reached the bottom, I was flying. I continued across the street to the park, carving a deep turn with confidence. Thinking I’d slowed enough, I decided to tuck and roll into the grass—a terrible mistake. My body, low on phosphorus and brittle, couldn’t handle the impact. My left clavicle shattered on contact. I stood up, clutching my shoulder, and screamed, “I broke my clavicle!” Despite my limited anatomy knowledge at the time, I knew exactly what had happened. The pain was excruciating, and I could feel the bone threatening to pierce my skin.

Unable to walk the TWO BLOCKS to the ER, my friends drove me. I was SCREAMING in that waiting room—not just from pain but also remembering a lesson my father taught me: “The loudest in the ER gets seen first.” It worked, needless to say. After X-rays, I was sent home with a sling and pain medication. But I knew this injury was more than my prior year of myofascial release therapy could handle alone.

The moment of relief when they finally gave me something for the pain.

SIDE QUEST STORY FOR HISTORICAL CONTEXT This wasn’t my first brush with a broken bone. At 13, during a Civil War reenactment—a family pastime—I fell 13 feet from a tree, shattering my left radius (the forearm bone on the thumb side). A fragment had shifted toward my elbow, and it was gruesome. At the hospital, the doctor set the bone under anesthesia, but warned surgery was likely. My mother, a natural-minded woman (now a Board-Certified Naturopathic Doctor), had other ideas. She’d heard of an ancient tribal technique: holding the C6 point (the sixth cervical vertebra on the neck) with human contact, ideally the palm, for 72 hours straight, REGARDLESS of sleep or other demands.

Determined to spare me surgery, my mother (who just went by "mom" at the time), with help from my siblings, held my C6 for three days. When we returned for a check-up weeks later, the X-rays stunned everyone: my bone had healed perfectly, no surgery needed! It was a MIRACLE—one that taught me early on that the body has an extraordinary capacity to heal when supported naturally.

SIDE QUEST OVER

But would this work for my shattered clavicle? I visited “Dr. Mom,” who did what she could, including holding my C6 for about 12 hours. However, she couldn’t take three days off work to hold my neck again for three days straight and I was much older so my body would take longer to heal. I also consulted a local doctor, who recommended an orthopedic surgeon based on his son’s similar procedure. After weighing my options, I chose surgery to stabilize the bone, trusting that natural therapies could support my recovery post-op'.

FUN FACT: The Clavicle (collar bone), is the most commonly broken bone in the human body.

In the weeks before surgery, I worked with my mentor, Corey Cosgrove LMT, receiving THR3E DR. JOHN BARNES STYLE Myofascial Release Therapy sessions—without pain meds, so I could feel the raw effects. Each time, Corey’s fascial arm unwinding technique aligned my clavicle perfectly, but the moment I sat up, it would always slip out of place, even with the sling. Surgery became inevitable. A titanium plate and screws would ensure the bone would hold for the long term, but I knew the real healing would come from supporting my body’s natural processes. CLICK BELOW TO WATCH COREY COSGROVE LMT DO PSOAS RELEASE ON A CAT!

Pictured: Corey Cosgrove doing therapy on a Cat after he released their Psoas

Six weeks POST - Surgery, I returned to Corey for more myofascial release to release the trauma stored in my tissues, a term you may have heard me say before -- "Erasing Your Trauma". It was uncomfortable—anyone who’s had invasive surgery knows that weird sensation on the nerves—but I was just grateful to afford professional care. The allopathic doctor warned I might never regain sensation in parts of my shoulder due to nerve damage. For a year and a half, I continued therapy until I moved to Florida but there always remained some degree of nerve loss especially around my acromion where the last of the plate was installed. Then, in early 2025, I wondered if the Terahertz Wand, which I’d seen work “mini miracles” for others, could help my shoulder with it's possible ability to influence stem cells. I dedicated a 10-minute session to my shoulder at high frequency. A week later, while talking to a client, I touched my shoulder and froze. My jaw dropped. “Oh my word, I can feel this!” I exclaimed. That brief session restored sensation lost for over three years—a testament to the body’s ongoing ability to heal, even years later.

Terahertz Therapy After Motorcycle Accident with Great Results

Today, I only occasionally feel discomfort in my shoulder, with scar tissue causing pops between my manubrium and clavicle every once in a while. But looking back, combining allopathic medicine (surgery) with naturopathic care (Myofascial Release Therapy) was the life-changing balance I needed. It wasn’t just about healing a bone—it was about discovering my purpose.

Three months after the accident, I dove headfirst into my calling, enrolling at the Naturopathic Institute of Therapies & Education (N.I.T.E.) to earn my Therapeutic Bodywork Practitioner certification. It was grueling—'the toughest program in the nation' —as they quoted during the graduation ceremony, rivaling the intensity of studying chiropractic at Palmer or myofascial release with Dr. John Barnes. I thrived on the challenge, fueled by a fire to learn how to support the body’s innate healing power. Now, I’m pursuing my Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine at Trinity School of Natural Health, following in the footsteps of “Dr. Mom” and Dr. Basheen Baker, N.I.T.E.’s founder, both Trinity graduates. My mother instilled in me a natural instinct for healing through countless home remedies, while Dr. Baker’s clinical expertise deepened my understanding of how to nurture the body’s remarkable ability to heal itself.

Healing takes time—sometimes years—but the body is a miracle machine. My broken clavicle wasn’t just an injury; it was the moment that changed my life, proving that with the right support, our bodies can do extraordinary things. I’m living proof, and I’m here to help others discover that power too. It was all these mini miracles throughout my life that has taught me when you give the body what it needs, “miracles” really do happen!

So if you need a “miracle”, then I am here to serve you through Miracle Pain Relief.

In Love, Health, and Support,

-J. Forrest Hoekstra LMT Naturopathic Student

Myofascial Release Therapist

Miracle Pain Relief

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