How to Repair a Broken Collarbone

The collarbone, also known as the clavicle, attaches your breastbone to your scapula. Broken collarbones are common injuries that happen most frequently to individuals under age 20. This is because the collarbone does not harden completely until that age. Clavicle fractures typically occur when you fall onto your shoulder and sometimes when you fall onto your outstretched hand. If you experience swelling, bruising, tenderness, a bulge on or near your shoulder, shoulder stiffness or pain, or inability to move your shoulder, see a doctor. According to specialists at the Mayo Clinic, "delays in diagnosis and treatment of a broken collarbone can lead to poor healing."

Instructions

• 1

  The Cleveland Clinic recommends Immobilizing the arm immediately after injury by putting it in a sling. Apply ice to the swelling and take anti-inflammatory medication to reduce pain and swelling.

• 2

  Your doctor should determine the type of clavicle fracture you have before deciding how to repair it. Most fractures can be healed without surgery by simply using a sling and engaging in early rehabilitative exercises. While you are likely to regain full function of your arm using non-surgical treatment, you may end up having a bump on your shoulder where the fracture occurred.

• 3

  Talk to your doctor about surgery to fix widely separated bones, those that have broken through the skin, and those that are broken in several places or severely dislocated. "Surgery is also recommended when nerve vessel injury has taken place or if the healing of the fracture has occurred in a mal-united position," according to the Cleveland Clinic. Benefits of surgery include a bump-free shoulder, quicker return to low-impact activities and, typically, immediate pain relief.

• 4

  Children should expect to keep the shoulder immobilized, usually with the help of a sling, for three to six weeks. For adults who choose the nonsurgical route, this should take six to 12 weeks. The severity of the fracture will determine the exact length of immobilization. "Light [rehabilitative] work can begin when the pain subsides, usually about two to four weeks after the fracture," reports hand and upper extremity surgeon C. Noel Henley, MD, on his website. You may need additional rehabilitation after your sling is removed to further strengthen and promote mobility of your shoulder muscles.