What happens if you broke your collarbone

Your doctor will ask you about your symptoms and how the injury occurred. Sometimes the location of the break will be evident, because your bone will be pushing up under your skin. Depending on the type of break, the doctor may want to check to see if nerves or blood vessels were also damaged. The doctor will order shoulder X-rays to show the exact location of the break, how much the bone ends have moved, and whether other bones are broken.

Treatment for a broken collarbone depends on the type and severity of your fracture. There are risks and benefits to both nonsurgical and surgical treatments.

In the past, nonsurgical treatment for a break in the middle part of the clavicle was thought to be best. But in the last several years, a study reported, surgical treatment became predominant.

A meta-analysis of surgical and nonsurgical treatment noted that complication rates were 25 percent, no matter which treatment was chosen. Both studies called for more research to determine what kinds of breaks benefit most from surgery.

One complication of conservative treatment is that the bone may slip out of alignment. This is called malunion. You may need further treatment, depending on how malunion affects your arm function.

In some cases, you may have a bump on your skin above the break. The bump usually gets smaller in time. If your broken collarbone is fragmented, fractured in more than one place, or badly aligned, surgery may be recommended. Typically, treating complex breaks involve:.

Pins and screws are removed once the bone has healed. Metal plates are typically not removed unless there is irritation of the overlying skin. There may be surgical complications, such as problems with the bone healing, irritation from the inserted hardware, infection, or injury to your lung.

Doctors are currently researching minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery for broken collarbones. You'll be given painkillers to relieve the pain. Surgery under a general anaesthetic is only needed if the injury is severe — for example, where the bone has broken through the skin — or if the bones have failed to line up and are overlapping significantly.

Several techniques can be used to repair the collarbone. Fixing the break with a plate and screws is the most common method. Your surgeon will explain the technique they're going to use and its advantages and disadvantages. Before you're discharged, you may see a physiotherapist , who can show you some gentle arm and shoulder exercises to do at home with your arm out of its sling. These will help reduce stiffness, relieve some of the pain, and strengthen your shoulder muscles.

You'll probably need to go back to the hospital outpatient department about a week after being discharged to check your collarbone is healing properly. See your GP if you have any concerns before this appointment. In adults, it usually takes about 6 to 8 weeks for a broken collarbone to heal, although it can take longer. In children, it usually takes about 3 to 6 weeks to heal. 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.

Will the Collarbone Heal Straight? You should put ice on the injured area for 20 to 30 minutes at a time, making sure not to freeze the skin.

Pain medication such as Tylenol or over-the-counter nonsteroidal agents such as ibuprofen or naproxen Advil or Aleve, for example are acceptable. The only time you should not take medication is if there is a break in the skin over the fracture, which indicates that the ends of the bones may have punctured the skin.

In that case, the fracture may need surgery to clean out any dirt or debris. Other indications of more severe injury include tingling, numbness or weakness in the hand or arm.

If the injury is near the sternum and you have shortness of breath or difficulty swallowing you should seek immediate medical attention. The first thing the physician will do is take an X-ray to determine if the clavicle is broken, where the fracture is located and how many pieces it is broken into. Clavicle fractures are basically divided into three types based upon location. 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.