Any damage to the collar bone is called a clavicle fracture. This is a common injury among athletes especially in contact sports. The bone that runs along the front part of the shoulder going to the breast bone is called the collar bone. In case an athlete falls on his shoulder or an impact hits this part of the body with too much force, the result would be a fracture on the bone. A long vacation would definitely await any athlete or person who had this injury.

Right after the injury, you can expect pain to settle in on your collar bone especially on serious cases. A chain reaction of swelling will then take place as soon as the pain is felt by the athlete. In addition, any attempt of movement will cause pain and discomfort on this area of the body especially by the time the swelling has took place. You can also see and feel the deformation caused by the fracture on the collar bone. Seek medical help as soon as you experience these symptoms of a clavicle fracture and avoid exerting any effort in trying to move to avoid aggravating the situation.

Before anything else, the patient will be x-rayed immediately to check on the condition of the collar bone as well as to see if the situation is mild or critical. Some fractures can be huge while some are small cracks. Regardless of the degree of the condition, immediate medical response and proper treatment should be conducted to avoid more problems in the future.

Immobilization should be done afterwards to help with the healing process. A complete shutdown of activity should be strictly followed in order to speed up the recovery of the collar bone. Putting it on strain will add more harm than good. In addition, it will lengthen the recovery period as the problem will come back over and over again. Pain relievers and anti-inflammatory medications are prescribed by the doctor to combat discomforts and aches during your recovery progress. At the end of any sign of pain, stretching and strengthening programs are then started to help the body get back into its full potential. Although pain will occasionally visit the athlete for some time, this would be minimal and can be tolerated by the patient. Your doctor who does the regular inspection on your condition and progress will give you the ideal treatment and follow-up exercises to help with the healing and recovery. Refrain from trying to do stuffs that are quite heavy or physically demanding until you have fully recovered from the injury to prevent the re-occurrence of the damage.

Surgeries may only be required on cases where the collarbone has been split or there is no longer a union with the clavicle bone. The treatment method can be more painful and will demand longer recovery periods as compared to the previous case of a clavicle fracture. However, there is no need to fear as this type of case is uncommon as the collarbone usually does not get split in half.