Fracture of clavicle: symptoms and treatment

Fracture of the clavicle - quite commoninjury. It can be the result of a direct impact on it, but more often it happens due to a fall on the arm elongated or bent at the elbow or the side part of the shoulder. The most vulnerable areas are the middle third of the bone and the boundary between it and the second third - this is the most subtle and curved place.

Classification

The most common in adults are the following types of fracture:

- transverse;

- Splintered (the most complex, with a large number of fragments, displaced relative to each other);

- oblique.
In children, the most frequent fracture is the "green branch" type - the subperiosteal. In some cases, the neurovascular bundle and the dome of the pleura are damaged, sometimes a sharp fragment pierces the skin.

How to recognize a clavicle fracture

The most easily recognized fracture with displacement. From the damaged side, the shoulder joint is slightly lower in comparison with the other and protrudes forward. A person with such trauma holds a bent arm at the trunk, pressing it with his elbow. The arm seems longer than from the side of a healthy collarbone. The head is also inclined in the same direction, a hemorrhage and a tumor are visible in the place of fracture, touching it painfully. In children, the symptoms of a clavicle fracture are reduced to swelling and tenderness when feeling, possibly the appearance of a hematoma. To verify the presence of a fracture and determine its type, an X-ray examination is performed.

Treatment of clavicle fracture

The bone fragments are returned to the correct position,lifting his shoulder up and pulling it back, but fixing this position is very difficult. However, even if the clavicle does not grow together exactly, noticeable changes, both functional and aesthetic, usually do not occur. The only exception is the prolonged fixation of the shoulder joint, which can lead to its stiffness. Treat fracture of the clavicle with a slight bias or without displacement using an 8-band dressing, which is applied to, pre-anesthetized with 20ml of 1% novocaine, place. For adults, the dressing is strengthened with a plaster bandage, while children are treated as usual. If the injury is complex, many fragments strongly displaced between themselves, a special tire is used. It is made of two Cramer tires, bending them and tie them together. Such a device firmly fixes the peripheral fragment in a raised position and slightly retracted.

The bandage is removed after 2-4 weeks, dependingfrom the complexity of the damage, the functioning of the hand is completely restored 4-7 weeks after the fracture. In the case of squeezing or damaging the neurovascular bundle, or if there is a risk of a breach of its integrity, an urgent surgical treatment is performed when attempting to restore the fragments. Surgery is also indicated in cases with a significant displacement of fragments. When this manipulation is performed, the clavicle is fixed with a spoke or a steel rod, which is removed after 3-4 months. Removal is carried out under local anesthesia. The incision is made for this purpose in the place where the end of the rod is probed.

Fracture of collarbone in newborns

Among birth injuries of the musculoskeletalapparatus, it is the fracture of the clavicle that occurs most often. Approximately 3% of all children are born with this diagnosis. The cause can be rapid childbirth, the wrong position of the child and other reasons that make it difficult for the child to move through the birth canal. As a result, the baby's shoulders are squeezed by the pelvic bones of the mother, and a fracture occurs. Treat such small patients, pribintovyvaya handle to the body, putting a cotton pad between them. For 5-8 days such an inborn fracture overgrows completely, the movements are restored after a while and nothing reminiscent of what happened.