How does broken clavicle heal

Share on: Facebook Twitter. Show references Clavicle fracture broken collarbone. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Accessed Sept. Hatch RL, et al. Clavicle fractures. Peters MDJ. Surgical versus conservative interventions for treating broken collarbones in adolescents and adults. Orthopedic Nursing. McKee-Garrett TM. Neonatal birth injuries. What Is a Broken Collarbone? How Does a Broken Collarbone Happen? Falling hard on a shoulder or an outstretched arm can cause a broken collarbone.

A collarbone also can break in a car crash or if someone is hit by a car. Someone who breaks a collarbone may have: pain over the collarbone trouble moving the arm or shoulder on that side swelling, tenderness, and bruising along the collarbone a bulge or "tenting" of the skin above the break How Are Broken Collarbones Diagnosed? To diagnose a collarbone fracture, a health care provider will: ask about the injury do a physical exam order X-rays How Are Collarbone Fractures Treated?

While the collarbone heals: Use ice for pain and swelling. Put an icepack, cold gel pack, or bag of frozen vegetables over the collarbone for 20—30 minutes every 2—3 hours.

Use the sling or shoulder immobilizer as directed by your health care provider. You'll wear it for about a month, but can remove it during bathing and sleeping. Follow your health care provider's instructions for using medicine for pain. For about the first 4—6 weeks: Avoid raising your arms above shoulder level. Avoid lifting anything that weighs more than 5 pounds 2. This is about the weight of a ounce bottle of liquid laundry detergent. Stay out of all sports and physical education.

Do all exercises to prevent elbow and shoulder stiffness and to help with muscle strength. Go to physical therapy, if needed.

Go to all follow-up appointments. Call your health care provider if your pain or swelling gets worse. Fractures near the sternum are the least common less than 5 percent of all clavicle fractures. Fractures near the AC joint are the second most common and can come in many different patterns.

The most common fractures of the clavicle are in the middle of the shaft of the bone, approximately halfway between the sternum and the AC joint. The most common way to treat the fractures in the middle is with immobilization with either a sling or a special bandage called a figure-of-8 splint. Studies have shown that these fractures heal just as quickly and as well with a sling as with the figure-of-8 splint, so we recommend a sling in a majority of cases.

The figure-of-8 splint is generally uncomfortable, difficult to wear nonstop for six or eight weeks and can result in skin problems and a smelly patient because it should not be removed to wash the armpit. Figure-of-8 splints are not indicated or useful in fractures of the clavicle near the AC joint. However, some orthopaedic doctors have strong opinions about the use of this figure-of-8 device, and it can produce an acceptable result.

The second thing that helps in the treatment of clavicle fractures is pain relief with cold therapy and pain medication. It is recommended that you ice the fractured area for 15 to 20 minutes every two hours for as long as necessary to decrease the pain and swelling.

Heat is not recommended. Pain medication in the form of narcotics is the best for relief of pain from a fractured clavicle, and you may need it for several weeks, especially to help you sleep. Many patients with this injury have to sleep sitting up to be comfortable.

Other pain-relieving medications such as acetaminophen or nonsteroidal medications may be used, but they generally will not be adequate by themselves until the pain and swelling start to subside. How long it takes the fracture to heal depends upon many factors, such as age, the location of the fracture and how many pieces it is broken into.

Clavicle fractures in children younger than 8 years old may heal in four or five weeks, and clavicle fractures in adolescents may take six to eight weeks. However, fractures in adults or teenagers who have stopped growing take 10 to 12 weeks to heal and may take longer. Most clavicle fractures will heal completely by four months in an adult. There are some indications that clavicle fractures broken into more pieces take longer than ones with a fewer fragments.

Within a few days of the fracture you should be able to move your fingers, wrist and elbow without too much discomfort. As the pain in the clavicle area improves you should be able to begin moving the shoulder joint a little to prevent the joint from tightening up too much. If the shoulder joint gets stiff, it is a condition known as a frozen shoulder. Usually as the pain in the fracture begins to subside, it is acceptable to begin moving the shoulder.

Your physician may show you the motions or send you to a physical therapist for instructions. Generally motion of the shoulder does not prevent clavicle fractures from healing once the fracture has begun to heal.

Once the fracture has healed, motion is generally not restricted. It may take months before the fracture has healed enough to withstand contact such as in sports. Strengthening of the shoulder and arm should wait until the fracture has healed.