Collarbone Pain

Understanding Collarbone Pain

The human body is made up of hundreds of bones. Each bone has a name and have function with particular purpose. One of which is the collarbone or clavicle. It is the bone that can be found right on top of your sternum and scapula. Collarbone is the bone that is responsible for holding your arm in place. Collarbone is one of the most prominent bones in the body because you can easily feel it. In some cases, you can even see it when you face the mirror. This is also one of the bones in the body that is easily injured, fractures, and resultant pain. In this article, we are going to talk about collarbone pain.

Collarbone Pain Symptoms

-  Pain and tenderness in the shoulders, the front of chest and neck. This is aggravated when the joints are compressed by motions like, crossing the arm across the chest. The collarbone pain is often mild and throbbing.

-  Unable to move his or her arms. Sometimes, forced movement can cause a popping, or a clicking sound. Due to the absence of muscular cover, the obvious bone deformity is visible as a lump on the shoulder, or along the bone where there is a fracture. This can be accompanied by swelling, bruising and tenderness in the affected part. The extreme pain can also cause nausea and dizziness.

-  Fever and swelling. The affected area may appear warm and red.

-  Pain in the shoulders and joints can be felt, especially when the joints are pressed. Lying on the side while sleeping, can worsen the pain.

Causes of Pain in Collarbone

- Collarbone fracture. It is one of the most frequent reasons for the collarbone pain out there. This injury is very common in sports: football, basketball, wrestling, track and field and so on. The mechanics of the collarbone fracture is usually a direct impact of a force a direct hit to the collarbone. Collarbone damage that is followed by a collarbone pain might happen as a result of falling down on your shoulder, your hand or an elbow. Under the muscle pressure the middle fracture is displaced up and backwards and a peripheral fracture under the weight of the hand is usually displaced down and inside. You have a pain when moving a hand; feel a definite restriction in the shoulder joint. Swelling and redness is usually noticeable in the area of the fracture.

- Dislocation of the clavicle (collarbone) joints. Another possible reason for the collarbone pain. The reason of the dislocation could be a direct hit to the chest, shoulder hit or as a result of a fall on your side. The sternoclavicular end of the collarbone can have a forward, backward, upward or downward displacement. The most common is the anterior sternoclavicular joint dislocation . it is when the medial end of the collarbone is pushed toward the outside of the chest. The posterior dislocation happens when the collarbone is pushed backward into the chest. The direct hit to the medial collarbone part can cause a posterior sternoclavicular joint dislocation with damage to the trachea, esophagus, thoracic duct, lung, or large blood vessels. For sternoclavicular dislocations to happen a very significant force has to be applied  it usually happens from a direct hit to the front of the shoulder, although dislocation may also happen from the inflammatory processes. The dislocation severity that causes the collarbone pain is measured by the extent of damage to the ligaments. The most usual are first-degree dislocations when the ligaments are partially torn or overstretched. Second degree is when the complete tear occurs to sternoclavicular and partial tear to the costoclavicular ligaments. Third degree injury occurs when the rupture of both ligaments and a dislocation of the collarbone from the chest occurs.

- Osteolysis of the distal clavicle. Sometimes you feel the collarbone pain right by the shoulder. You may also feel some stiffness and swelling. The pain usually increases if some lifting activities take place: push-ups, bench press and other forms of heavy lifting. It happens a lot to bodybuilders, crossfitters, boxers, basketball players and athletes alike. 

Collarbone pain Treatment

- The best treatment for a fractured collarbone is immobilizing the affected arm, and supporting the shoulder with a sling, or a "clavicle strap". Clavicle straps are foam padded shoulder straps that provide support to the broken bones, and hold it in place till the bones heal. Once the sling is removed, physical therapy may be needed to restore the strength in the shoulders. To reduce the pain and inflammation, ice packs can be applied on the shoulder. It takes approximately twelve weeks for the clavicle fractures to heal completely in adults. If the fracture is severely displaced, or if there is any skin penetration, then surgery might be required.

- The best non surgical treatment for the osteoarthritis is rest, and anti inflammatory medications. For extreme pain and inflammation, the doctor might recommend cortisone injections. Surgical treatment, in the form of resection arthroplasty, is done in severe cases. A small portion of the outer end of the clavicle is removed, so that there is a space between the clavicle and acromion. This prevents friction, and eases the movement of the joints.

- Intravenous antibiotic treatment, for around six to eight weeks, is the preferred course of treatment for osteomyelitis of the clavicle. In severe cases, surgery might be required.

- Rest, and modification of the exercise routine can help in easing the collarbone pain. In case, the non surgical measures fail to improve the condition, surgical procedures like distal clavicle resection may be an option.