Broken Collarbone Treatment

Collarbone is the bone that is right above your chest and is also called the clavicle. The collarbone is located between the sternum and the scapula. The bone is largely covered by skin and broken collarbone is a common medical injury in babies, children and athletes. Broken collarbones occur due to an accident or fall. In this article, we shall learn more about broken collarbone treatment.

Symptoms of a Broken Collarbone

Broken clavicle is often seen in patients who fall over their outstretched hand. Sometimes, falling and hitting the shoulder also leads to broken collarbone. In case of babies, they may fracture their soft bone during passage through the birth canal. It is important to understand the symptoms of a broken collarbone to get immediate medical help.

The first and most common symptom of a broken collarbone is shoulder pain. Other symptoms include protruding fracture fragments through the skin. The patient will develop visible bruising and swelling. The patient will not use the arm at all and hold it in an immobile position to help reduce the immense collarbone pain.

How to Treat a Broken Collarbone?

If you think the patient is suffering from a broken collarbone, it is very important to seek immediate clavicle fracture treatment. The typical broken collarbone treatment includes:

• The doctor will use a simple arm sling called the 'figure-of-8' splint to help make the arm immobile.
• The swelling is reduced by application of ice on the broken collarbone.
• Pain relievers like aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen may be advised to help alleviate the clavicle pain
• The patient will be advised complete cessation of activity of the affected area to avoid aggravation of the injury and pain

The broken collarbone healing process takes about 2 to 4 weeks in children and 4 to 8 weeks in adults. The sling is kept on during the entire broken collarbone healing process or as need be. The broken collarbone recovery time takes about 12 weeks and the pain tends to subside within a few weeks. The doctor may recommend reduction in physical activities for the entire broken collarbone recovery time.

Broken Collarbone Exercise

The doctor will advise one to carry out certain broken collarbone exercises like simple range of motion exercises. This will help in building the strength and restoring the function of the collarbone.

Broken Collarbone Complications

Most of the broken collarbone treatments includes non-surgical processes. Surgery is required only in 5 to 10% of the cases. Surgery is required in broken collarbone complications that includes fracture at the lateral end. This increases the risk of non-union of the bone if the fracture is on the shaft. Other broken collarbone complications include open fracture, nervous and vascular trauma, non-union for over 3 to 4 months, etc. Very rarely a patient may have problems near the shoulder end of the clavicle. Such patients are referred to an orthopedic surgeon within 2 to 3 days of broken collarbone.

You need to take care and prevent broken collarbone by avoiding falling on an outstretched arm. This was all about broken collarbone treatment. If you or someone you know suffers from a bone fracture, seek medical help immediately. I hope this article has helped you understand how to treat a broken collarbone.

DISCLAIMER
The information offered on this site is not to be used as a substitute for professional medical prevention, diagnosis, or treatment. The reader is advised to consult with a medical consultant before taking any home remedies, supplements or following any treatment advised by anyone on this site. A medical consultant will be able to provide the reader with advice that is safe and effective for an individual's specific needs and diagnose a particular health problem based on their personal medical history.