Broken Collarbone

It is a common injury in children and young people. Collarbone joint the upper part of your breast bone to the shoulder bone. It is mostly occurred due to the trauma, injuries and fall during sports activities.

Symptoms

Below mention are the signs and symptoms of broken collarbone:

Bruising
Tenderness
Swelling
Pain across the shoulder
Bulge near the affected area
Stiffness
Limited movement at shoulder joint

Causes

General causes include:

Birth injury during vaginal birth
Fall with outstretched hands
Injury during sports activities
Road traffic accidents

Complications

If left untreated it may lead to the following complications:

Delay healing
Incomplete healing
Nerve injury
Blood vessel injury and then ischemic necrosis
Osteoarthritis

Diagnosis

After taking history then your doctor performs a physical examination to check the movement at joint, tenderness and swelling at affected area. Then he/she might recommend following test to check the extend of disease:

X-ray
CT scan

Treatment

The main goal of treatment is to heal the broken bone and to established the normal function of joint. Treatment option include:

Therapy to restore the movement and reduce the stiffness at joint.
Medications to reduce the pain and swelling and prevent inflammation.
Surgical might require to repair the broken bone

Lifestyle and Home Remedies

Apply cooling pad to reduce the pain and swelling. Limit the movement at joint by using sling for shoulder.

Broken Collarbone