A broken collarbone, or fractured clavicle, is a common injury. It usually happens after a fall or a blow to the shoulder. It takes about 6 to 8 weeks to heal in adults, and 3 to 6 weeks in children.
To help speed the healing, you might get:
- A splint or brace to keep your shoulder from moving.
- A sling for your arm, which you might use for a few days.
- Anti-inflammatory painkillers, like aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen, which will help with pain and swelling.
- Range-of-motion and strengthening exercises.
Don't consider a broken collarbone a death sentence to your riding. Cunningham says that you'll likely be able to get back to riding quickly. With surgery, you could even be back in the saddle in just a few days. Without it, you may be stuck on a trainer for at least six weeks.
This type of fracture is fairly common—accounting for about 5 percent of all adult fractures. Most clavicle fractures occur when a fall onto the shoulder or an outstretched arm puts enough pressure on the bone that it snaps or breaks. A broken collarbone can be very painful and can make it hard to move your arm.
Most people notice some improvement in pain as the fracture begins to heal. We allow movement of the shoulder as tolerated. However, weight lifting restrictions are placed until the bone has healed. It is common to see it written that it takes 6 weeks to heal.
Rehabilitation Exercise Suggestions
- Pendulums: Perform two minutes each of front to back, side to side, and both clockwise/counter clockwise circles.
- Supine shoulder flexion with cane: Perform 2 x 20 reps staying in a pain-free range of motion.
After an injury, getting back to normal can take some time as it is a process that has to follow these steps: Injury. Reduce Swelling.
For a while after your surgery, you'll need to keep your arm immobile. Often, this means that you will need to wear your arm in a sling for several weeks. You'll receive instructions about how you can move your arm. Your doctor might give you other instructions about caring for your clavicle, like applying ice.
Most clavicle fractures heal within 4 to 8 weeks. Physical therapy may help with rehabilitation.
A Collarbone Fracture is not life threatening but can impact a patient's quality of life and function. Short Term - to pain, sleep disturbance and disability. Long Term - to malunion or non-union, that can result in ongoing pain and loss of function .
Specifically, surgery should be strongly considered if the fracture is shortened by 2 centimeters or more, displaced more than 100% (the fractured ends aren't touching at all), when there are specific fracture patterns (such as Z-type fractures), or when the fractures are highly comminuted (shattered).
When you lift your arm, muscles around your shoulder contract and pull the bones in specific directions. This causes the joints of your shoulder to glide and slide, and this gliding and sliding may cause a popping sensation in your collarbone. Collarbone popping usually occurs at your SC joint or your AC joint.
Here's a look at some of the bones that hurt the most to break:
- 1) Femur. The femur is the longest and strongest bone in the body.
- 2) Tailbone. You could probably imagine that this injury is highly painful.
- 3) Ribs. Breaking your ribs can be terribly distressing and quite painful.
- 4) Clavicle.
At first you need to wear a sling or brace as the bone heals. This will keep: Your collarbone in the right position to heal.
Holding the broken bone above your heart prevents blood from pooling and causing swelling. First, try sleeping on your back while supporting yourself on several pillows. If this doesn't help, adjust slowly to the side position if possible. Sleep in the middle of the bed, so you don't fall in the middle of the night.
As you lift your arm the clavicle elevates rotates and retracts. Thus if your clavicle fractures and heals shortened it can cause abnormal scapula motion and possibly shoulder pain and weakness. The clavicle also protects lung tissue and nerves.
Applying heat would increase circulation to the injury site, and bring about the inflammatory properties that aim to heal the tissues. Moreover, heat can reduce muscle stiffness, and encourage movement. Is heat good for the healing of a broken bone? The answer is yes in the later stages of healing.
There is no evidence that a broken bone will grow back stronger than it was before once it has healed. Although there may be a brief time when the fracture site is stronger, this is fleeting, and healed bones are capable of breaking again anywhere, including at the previous fracture site.
