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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staff
A broken collarbone is a common injury, particularly in children and young adults. Your collarbone connects the upper part of your breastbone to your shoulder blade. Common causes of a broken collarbone include falls, sports injuries and trauma from traffic accidents. Infants can sometimes experience a broken collarbone during the birth process.
If you think you or your child has a broken collarbone, seek prompt medical attention. Most broken collarbones heal well with ice, pain relievers, a sling, physical therapy and time. But a complicated broken collarbone may require surgery to realign the broken bone and to implant plates, screws or rods into the bone to maintain proper alignment during healing.
- Clavicle fracture (broken collarbone). American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00072. Accessed Oct. 5, 2012.
- Hatch RL, et al. Clavicle fractures. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Oct. 5, 2012.
- Browner BD, et al. Skeletal Trauma. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier: 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/page.do?eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2220-6..10045-3--s0180&isbn=978-1-4160-2220-6&sid=1363898074&uniqId=370379811-3#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2220-6..10045-3--s0280. Accessed Oct. 5, 2012.
- Marx JA, et al. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?about=true&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05472-0..X0001-1--TOP&isbn=978-0-323-05472-0&uniqId=230100505-57. Accessed Oct. 8, 2012.
- Kim W, et al. Management of acute clavicle fractures. Orthopedic Clinics of North America. 2008;39:491.
- Rakel RE. Textbook of Family Medicine. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2011. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/191205553-4/0/1481/0.html#. Accessed Oct. 8, 2012.
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