All You Need To Know About Clavicle Fractures
Your clavicle, or “collarbone”, plays an important role in the positioning and function of your arm. It is the main connection of your shoulder girdle to the rest of your body. Because of the collarbone’s length and vulnerable location lying just under the skin of the shoulder, it is often at risk for injury. Clavicle fractures are some of the most common fractures treated by orthopaedic doctors. Of note, the clavicle is the last bone in the body to stop growing – often at up to 25 years of age. As a result of this prolonged growth, the clavicle has excellent healing potential, and most clavicle fractures can be treated non-operatively by simply allowing the bones to mend. However, there are some types of clavicle fractures that are best treated surgically. The clavicle is critical in providing length and contour to the shoulder which allows muscles around the shoulder girdle to function effectively. Fractures that cause significant shortening or mal-alignment of the clavicle can cause weakness in the shoulder or risk of “nonunion” or incomplete healing of the fracture leading to chronic pain.
Risk Factors for Clavicle Fractures
- Falls – either directly on the shoulder or onto an outstretched hand attempting to “break the fall.”
- Direct blow – any forceful blow to the clavicle (i.e. – falling object, lacrosse stick) can cause a fracture due to the little muscle or soft tissue protection to the bone.
- Osteoporosis, or low bone quality
Symptoms of Clavicle Fractures
- Difficulty moving one or both arms. It may be impossible to raise the arm at all and attempts may cause a grinding or crackling noise.
- There may be some pain emanating from the site of the break, even without moving.
- A swollen bump above the site of the break. May be visible beneath skin.
- Swelling and bruising of the clavicle.
- A sagging or hanging shoulder.
Treatment of Clavicle Fractures
- A clavicle fracture is treated differently dependent upon how severe the break is and where it is broken. The clavicle most often breaks cleanly in the middle. This type of fracture usually heals within 6-8 weeks and is treated by:
- Sling to immobilize and support the arm during healing.
- Pain medication to reduce any pain the person is experiencing.
- Ice to limit swelling and help with the pain.
- Physical therapy after healing or towards the end of healing to help regain full motion and strengthen surrounding muscles.
- Surgery is reserved for patients with significant separation of the bone ends, shortening of the bone due to overlap of the fracture ends, and fractures creating multiple pieces. These types of injuries are at risk to heal in positions that limit full shoulder function, or are at risk of not healing which causes significant pain with attempts at using the arm.
- If you have sustained a clavicle injury, it is best to seek consultation with a orthopaedic specialist to review the nature of the injury and determine the best course of treatment in order to maximize your outcome from this very common injury.
A fascinating discussion is worth comment. I do think that you ought to publish more about this topic, it might not be a taboo matter but typically people don’t talk about such topics. To the next! Kind regards!!
A lot of thanks for all your valuable labor on this website. Gloria really loves participating in research and it’s easy to see why. I learn all regarding the lively manner you convey both useful and interesting suggestions via the web site and even strongly encourage contribution from people on the concept while our daughter has been learning a lot. Have fun with the remaining portion of the year. You’re conducting a dazzling job.
Hiya, I’m really glad I have found this information. Nowadays bloggers publish only about gossip and web stuff and this is actually annoying. A good web site with exciting content, this is what I need. Thank you for making this web site, and I will be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Awesome post. I’m a regular visitor of your website and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the nice site. I will be a regular visitor for a really long time.
I have been browsing online more than 3 hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It is pretty worth enough for me. Personally, if all web owners and bloggers made good content as you did, the web will be a lot more useful than ever before.
Hiya, I’m really glad I’ve found this info. Today bloggers publish just about gossip and net stuff and this is really irritating. A good website with exciting content, this is what I need. Thank you for making this site, and I’ll be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Hi there. I discovered your web site by the use of Google while searching for a comparable matter, your website came up. It appears to be good. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.
Hello there, just became aware of your blog through Google, and found that it’s really informative. I am gonna watch out for brussels. I’ll appreciate if you continue this in future. Many people will be benefited from your writing. Cheers!
Hello there. I discovered your web site via Google even as searching for a similar matter, your website came up. It looks good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.
Hiya, I’m really glad I have found this information. Today bloggers publish only about gossip and net stuff and this is really irritating. A good site with interesting content, that’s what I need. Thank you for making this web-site, and I will be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Hello there. I discovered your web site via Google even as searching for a similar subject, your site got here up. It seems to be good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.
Hiya, I’m really glad I’ve found this info. Today bloggers publish only about gossip and internet stuff and this is actually irritating. A good blog with exciting content, this is what I need. Thank you for making this web-site, and I’ll be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Helpful info. Fortunate me I found your web site accidentally, and I am shocked why this coincidence did not happened earlier! I bookmarked it.
Awesome write-up. I am a normal visitor of your website and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the excellent site. I’ll be a frequent visitor for a long time.
Hiya, I am really glad I have found this info. Today bloggers publish only about gossip and web stuff and this is really annoying. A good website with exciting content, this is what I need. Thank you for making this web site, and I will be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Thanks for sharing, this is a fantastic blog.Really thank you! Fantastic.
Good post. I study something more difficult on different blogs everyday. It’s going to always be stimulating to learn content material from other writers and observe a little bit one thing from their store. I’d prefer to use some with the content material on my blog whether you don’t mind. Natually I’ll give you a link in your web blog. Thanks for sharing.
I have to say this post was certainly informative and contains useful content for enthusiastic visitors. I will definitely bookmark this website for future reference and further viewing. cheers a bunch for sharing this with us!
Hello there. I discovered your website by means of Google even as looking for a comparable topic, your web site got here up. It appears to be good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to come back then.
Hey there. I discovered your site by the use of Google whilst looking for a related matter, your web site got here up. It seems great. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to come back then.