Dislocated collarbone (clavicle)

Sorry to hear about your injury. What you have is a dislocation of the acromio-clavicular joint. It is right at the crease of the shoulder and collar bone when you raise your arm up. I Googled "acromio clavicular dislocation" and came up with several links. One ( http://www.shoulder-info.com/patients/shoulder/acjoint_dislocation.htm) had an Xray that looked a whole lot like your shoulder.

I can offer little by way of personal experience with this. But I am personally recovering from a shoulder dislocation with labral and supraspinatus tears that happened when I fell on Valentines Day. My saga is posted a couple down from yours. If the recovery from your injury is like mine you will go through some hard times for a couple months. As I pushed the shoulder it has improved, and very rapidly. Do you have trouble reaching into your back pocket or tucking in your shirt. I did, and developed some exercises to loosen up the shoulder capsule. They have worked great. I mention these in my post yeaterday. But I caution you, my injury is in a different place than yours, so tread lightly. Good luck.

David

I have dislocated and broken my shoulder(clavicle, scapula, glenoid) numerous times. 

Doctors have done diddly squawt.

I think you need to be a professional baseball pitcher to actually get any treatment.

I fractured my collarbone in 1988 skiing at Northstar. All I wore was a brace that held my shoulders back for like 2 months and the fracture healed nicely. I got a lot of calcium (?) deposits over the bone that supposedly make it stronger than it was in the first place, and the fractured right side of my upper chest protrudes now more than the left side, but my rippling pectorals divert anyone's attention from the unevenness.

 

Obviously your dislocation is different than my fracture, but you should be fine. Just give it time and don't rush any activity. Ghost is right: you need a pretty darn good reason to get treatment beyond just waiting for it to heal on its own.

thats is an AC joint seperation alright.  been there.  if you are a high level overhand motion athlete, think tennis or pitching,  you might want to get that fixed surgically. 

 

Physical therapy will help a whole lot.  Go once or twice  to look at the devices and learn what motions work well, then you can probably make a weight and pully setup that will work just fine at home.   

 

Do not try to hold a 6 pack out at arms length anytime soon.  don;t ak how I know this, just take my word for it.

 

Timing, I did mine at 48 Years old in January, about 7 years ago, did the beer thing at about week 3, did the PT and continued at home, I skied again with poles that same winter, I was just cautious.  I was playing golf  by May that year and have been fine since. 

I dislocated mine a few years ago, and although my the left side of the collar bone is still very slightly higher than the right, I have no problems at all. Forgot I even did it. I got a brace that you wear over your shoulders that pulls them back, like wearing a backpack, and that made it a lot more comfortable. I had no PT or anything, and over a few weeks it healed itself.

Hello, I dislocated my collarbone in the same manner about 15 years ago. I kept it immobile because it hurt to move it. I had no treatments done to it and it is still dislocated. Over the years I have gotten my max bench press up to 400 ponds with no interference or pain. Actually, th stronger I keep it the better it feels. Any way, not at all crippling or even painful but it will always stick up a little better it feels.

hi thats great. how dow i get this brace for my dislocation, mine is 3months old now.

Hi,

I just read your thread.  I had a grade 4 separation of the AC joint about a decade ago.  I now have a gap of about 1 inch between the distal end of my clavicle and the Acromio-clavicular process on the scapula (shoulder blade).  My x-rays looked identical to yours.  In addition to an orthopedic surgeon, I went to a sports medicine doctor.  He actually said that if I had to damage it, a grade 4 separation (absolutely no ligaments left holding the joint together) was better than a grade 3 separation (some ligaments still attached).  There would be less pain, and no indication that surgery would help.   He said to expect some "tenting" (clavicle sticks out on top of shoulder), and if it became severe, they would actually cut the distal end of the clavicle off.  Otherwise he said to rehab the shoulder with weights and stretching, and it is what it is.  10 years later, I still have the tenting, the shoulder droops a little, but essentially it is pain free and fully functional.  I have to be careful that I don't overload it with really heavy weights (in the gym) but other than that it works fine.  Re: shoulder injuries and recovery - it takes time for full recovery - don't expect it to happen in a matter of months.  Mine took about 2-3 years to get back to normal.  During that time (starting about 4 months after the injury) I went back to mountain biking and skiing, but I had to take it easy, and accept a little pain from tweaking.  About 2.5 years ago, I also completely tore the supraspinatus tendon (rotator cuff) off the head of the humerus and had it surgically repaired.  Once again recovery was slow, and it's only been this year that the shoulder is about 90% back to normal, but once again I began to ski and mountain bike about 5 months post surgery, but very carefully.  I hope this gives you some useful info re: what you are facing.

I've just had a bmx accident, and landed upside down in my shoulder.

38 healthy, injured shoulder.

6 hours in A&e 3 hours before seen, given paracetamol, told to wait for an x-ray.

2 hours later told, dislocation of collarbone, and snapped ligament on edge of shoulder.

Excruciating pain, told i required a further x-ray as the original didn't show a clear enough indication, sat outside the x-ray dept, 1 hour later still not seen, then told it had been cancelled.

Taken back to original nurse who gave me liquid morphine"after waiting some 5 hours", then informed i'd have to wear a sling for 7 days then come back, upon leaving the hospital i read my appointment slip and it says to return in 10 days!!.

As you can imagine....... not best pleased.

Unable to sleep or do the most basic of tasks.

I was told i might require surgery to repair.

But also been told by a family freind who is a nurse that it may knit itself together.

I fail to see how this can be,seeing as its snapped and my collar bone is raised higher than usual.

Ps, how long does it take to type one handed lol =/

I will post further to update you on my condition.

As i literally "share your pain".

This happened to me 3 months ago, i fell from head height upside down onto concrete. My shoulder sits 2cm higher than normal..

good to know i'm not the only one. Going to a osteopath next week to see what they can do :)

Dear Epic,

                sometimes it helps to hear someone elses story to know that we are not crazy,heres mine.Nine months ago I was in las Vegas for holiday and the weather was rainy and miserable. The sidewalks are all granite and very slippery when wet. My flip flops had no tread so i decided I could skate because I couldnt walk. I held on to my husband but I did slip, twisted my body to the left but hung on I wasnt going down.I did not realize anything seroius but I felt I had put my hip out and my neck was sore.

The next two months I went to a chiropractor with no results but the pain was mostly in my neck and the middle of my left shoulder blade. Finally went to the doctor and he requested an xray of my neck. I work in a fast paced industry Im the finace manager for an RV dealership and do all deals. The xray of my neck came back and the doc told me I have osteoarthritis. Over the next four months I tried pysio therapy ,acupunture, more chiro which nothing helped and I have now been in pain for 6 months every day and still working. I left work finally at the end of Aug on a medical leave i just didnt have the energy to contunue and thought my job was possibly adding more stress and the sitting position wasnt helping plus try to go to the doctors appointments when you are working I dont get time off for an hour to go to the doctor. I then asked my doctor for another look and asked to do a ct scan I would not believe it was arthritis im only 46 and not overwieght and in good shape. It only took another month to have the scan as the request wasnt filled out right and took my follow up to see what was the delay. Ok so had the scan and doctor gives me the summary on paper tells me to read it he doesnt know what it means and is refering me to a specialist. It appears I have disc bulging and will need an mri.

Here in Canada it took me three years to get a doctor because I moved to a larger city.

I dont see the same doctor for every visit because he is too full or on holidays etc.

They only want to talk about one thing and write a prescription.

After all this i went to a diffrent Chiroprator and he actually touched me, asked my to lift my arm, turn my neck ect and after a few tests told me my collorbone was dislocated. He didnt crunch me but used a laser and some shock treatment,boy was I sore for a few days. Now the specialist doctors receptionist has booked me in to see the right doctor but advised me not to go to the chiropractor,my appointment is in two weeks. More waiting still in pain(seems more isolated from collor bone into neck ) and around and around we go.

Isnt this fun,stuck with neck pain in Canada lol.

I am in desperate need of help and or direction. I dislocated or popped my right collar bone/clavicle. Because of the dislodged clavicle, I have serious neck pain, my back is out and my hips are out, normally I would set up a few appointments with chiropractor. AS it is dislocated, popped etc. doing something with the chiro is a waste of money.I got to see an orthopedic surgeon last week who in detail explained the dangers of surgery to refasten it, because of the vital organs in the area, understood. He then explained that I would be starting 3-4 appointments a week manipulating the soft tissue. He then explained that he would be cutting thru my throat accessing my spine to its new location,  so I said to the good doctor, so the incision for this procedure will be about 1-1.5 inches above the location that the clavicle needs to be refastened at. He said that is correct, I said  "Are you out of your f______ mind?) I said what will you be doing with the clavicle? He said you are upset and aggitated. No shit, let me break it down in my world. So I restore cars as a hobby and the rear axel is loose or has come off the frame. Here is the thing, without that axel being reattached, I will never be able to allign the front end of the car. I said they turned Michael Jackson white, this can't be rocket science. By the way I am in Langley British Columbia Canada. Have you ever heard of anything like this? I am 52, I have grandkids, I have some miles left in me. I am hoping that I can locate a medical facility and doctor in Seattle who can deal with this.I understand the potential risk, but I am not going thru life with this pain. Christ, I think a good drywaller could deal this up. Thank you for taking the time to read this.   Lee Cleaveley

Hey man ....I dislocated my collarbone as a child. I fellout of a tree onto my back and was knocked out. However, I fell right on top of an exposed root and it knocked my collarbone out. I was about 7 or 8 at the time, and I am now 30. I have been experiencing somer pain lately in the gym. I really do not know if it is because of my increase in weights, but it is something that I will need to check out. Bottom line is you might not fully recover. Sorry dude!

i have the same thing and it looks exatly the same exeped on my left sholder (got it from skiing in to a tree) and now i haft to saport my arm of im standing or to long or siting with out an arm rest

That is actually potentially life threatening. You didnt mention getting it popped back into place?  It can be very bad for a bone to be out of place, blood clots can form because the normal pathways are constricted and pinched off by the bone being out of place.  This leads to blood clots near the heart.  Can you see why thats deadly?  See a doctor.  It recently happened to a St Louis Rams player. Danny Amendola this week.  Follow his treatment and that will give you a good idea of what you should do because hes getting treated from the best of the best when it comes to doctors and therapy.

I don't know if you have ever had anything else dislocate, but I was born with a genetic condition called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Their are 6 different types (I don't fit neatly in any of them). I have had my clavicle dislocate. All of my joints do, and most of them I have learned to maneuver them back into place because when you have EDS your cartilage and your skin are very stretchy because the gene that develops your collagen is defective.

 

My heart was beating very fast because the pain was so intense. They ran tests on my heart and it was normal. They gave me quite a bit of morphine, and I guess while my body was super relaxed it slipped back in because after a couple of days of rest it just popped back in. That's probably not going to happen if you don't have EDS.

 

If you are hypermobile, (really limber) or you have fragile skin, or both...you might want to see a geneticist.

Hi,
if you are in college, assuming you are not an athlete already, go find the Athletic Training Room (where teams get their ankles taped up and such) talk to one of the ATCs there and see if they can help you rehab. They aren't really supposed to work with non athletes but most are nice and will help you at no cost.
Bring your x-rays and the doctor's note if he wrote one.

hi,

i injured my collarbone recently due to bike crash. happened to see your x ray picture when doing the google search. it is indentical to what i have. i have learned from my friend who has experienced the similar type of injury that chinese physician diagnose and cures this injury faster than chiro doctor. i decided to give a try after my specialist doc appointment to confirm there is no bone fracture. i cannot wait for the lenghty and inefficient treatment to cure this nasty injury.