Injury may occur during a fall or as a result of various types of traffic accidents involving, for example, a car and a bicycle, where the shoulder lands. Sports injuries are a very common cause of broken collarbones. To a large extent, this applies to younger people, as the collarbone fully hardens after the age of twenty. The most vulnerable to this type of injury are people who practice the so-called contact sports such as ice hockey, football, handball and rugby. The main factor for a collarbone fracture is a fall, especially when it occurs at high speeds. That’s why there is so much damage of this type in downhill skiing, cycling or skateboarding.
Symptoms of a broken collarbone
The main symptoms of a fractured collarbone are sharp shoulder pain preventing the movement of the upper limb, which may be accompanied by dizziness and nausea. Other signs of a fracture may be: visible displacement of bone elements, limpness and lowering of the arm downwards, large local swelling, distinct bone creaking when trying to lift the arm forward.
When a collarbone fracture occurs:
- sharp pain in the collarbone,
- inability to move the arm
- tenderness to touch
- swelling, bruise
- tumor, enhancement of the fracture area.