Clavicle breaks often occur in children and adults under the age of 25 due to developing bones, sports accidents, and other traumas. The information on this page is written and peer reviewed by qualified clinicians. This is the procedure most often used to treat clavicle fractures. Occasionally, the bone will break where it attaches at the ribcage or shoulder blade. Joint injury Your shoulder can be injured without any bones being broken.
See a physician immediately if symptoms of a clavicle fracture are apparent. However, there was no control group that was treated surgically. Consult a doctor or other health care professional for diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions. Primary nonoperative treatment of displaced lateral fractures of the clavicle. Anatomy and biomechanics of the shoulder. Use an ice pack, or put crushed ice in a plastic bag. J Bone Joint Surg Am.
Specific exercises will help restore movement and strengthen your shoulder. This may require you to start your treatment from the beginning. You always have the right to refuse treatment. Outcome of clavicular fracture in 89 patients. While the bump will diminish over time, a small bump may remain after the fracture heals. Physeal injuries should be considered in adolescents with open growth plates.
A prospective study with nine to ten years of follow-up. The most common mechanism of injury is a forceful fall with the arm at the side, which commonly occurs during contact sports. This bone is the first to start developing during embryonic development, with ossification beginning very early in a pregnancy. You can easily wrap an injured knee or ankle in a medical bandage to help limit swelling and internal bleeding. Patients who have sustained clavicle fractures typically hold the affected arm adducted close to the body, often supporting the affected side with the opposite hand. Nondisplaced fractures can be treated with a sling for comfort and gradual increase in range of motion, as pain allows.
J Bone Joint Surg Am. The fracture often occurs through the distal physis, with disruption of the thick periosteal sleeve surrounding the clavicle. The clavicle to me seems like a very small, simple part of the body that can be death to athletes that are required to make a throwing motion base off of this experience. The method of surgical treatment for clavicular fractures is controversial. The movement of the clavicles increases the mobility of the shoulder joints beyond what would be possible with only ball-and-socket joints, allowing the arm to move in a large circle.
There are two distinct coracoclavicular ligaments: conoid and trapezoid. Occasionally, a person with a broken collarbone also experiences labored breathing, which may be a sign of an injured lung. Be aware that although opioids help relieve pain after surgery, they are a narcotic and can be addictive. . Often, patients will begin doing exercises for elbow motion immediately after the injury. In children and young adults, these injuries are typically related to sports participation, especially in contact sports such as football and rugby where participants are driven to the ground and land with the weight of their opponent on top of them. Advanced imaging such as computed tomography is indicated only in rare cases of distal or proximal fracture to assess the extent of intra-articular involvement.
It also serves as an important and easily located bony landmark due to its superficial location and projection from the trunk. The collarbone is long, thin, and located at the base of the neck. Problems with the hardware are not common, but some patients find that seatbelts and backpacks can irritate the collarbone area. You may also wear a shoulder brace that pulls both shoulders back slightly to help make sure the bone heals in its proper position. Your healthcare provider will ask about your injury and symptoms. You may also be able to avoid it altogether if you can get in the habit of sleeping on your back or your other side. Because of this displacement, there tends to be a high rate of nonunion.
Pins or screws can also be used to hold the fracture in good position after the bone ends have been put back in place. Most fractures occur in the middle portion, or shaft, of the bone. The defect in the bone may be seen by visual inspection or localized by palpation. This usually gets smaller over time, but a small bump may remain permanently. The clavicles, or collarbones, are a pair of long bones that connect the scapula to the sternum. Once the bone begins to heal, your pain will decrease and your doctor may start gentle shoulder exercises. A proper diagnosis and treatment plan will be developed to help your clavicle return to normal as soon as possible.
It is not intended as medical advice for individual conditions or treatments. The mean age of patients with sports-related clavicle fractures is 21 years. You may want to avoid activities that trigger pain and stiffness. Clavicle fractures constitute 5 to 10 percent of all fractures. This medicine is available with or without a doctor's order. J Bone Joint Surg Am. Because the clavicle lies directly under the skin, you may be able to feel the plate through your skin.