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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staff
A separated shoulder is an injury to one of your body's most mobile joints. The top of your shoulder blade meets the end of your collarbone at what is called the acromioclavicular joint. A separated shoulder is a stretch or tear of one or more of the ligaments of this joint.
A separated shoulder doesn't usually require surgery. Instead, conservative treatment — such as rest, ice and pain relievers — is often enough to relieve the pain of a separated shoulder. Most people regain full shoulder function within a few weeks after experiencing a separated shoulder.
- Shoulder separation. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00033. Accessed Nov. 12, 2008.
- Shoulder problems. American Academy of Family Physicians. http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/tools/symptom/518.html. Accessed Nov. 12, 2008.
- Koehler SM. Acromioclavicular joint injury (shoulder separation). http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 12, 2008.
- McMahon PJ, et al. Sports Medicine: Acromioclavicular joint injury. In: Skinner HB. Current Diagnosis & Treatment in Orthopedics. 4th ed. The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2006. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2319233. Accessed Jan. 12, 2009.
- Gutman D, et al. Extremity Trauma: Acromioclavicular Joint Separation. In: Knoop KJ, et al. Atlas of Emergency Medicine. 2nd ed. The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2002. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=784421&searchStr=dislocation+of+acromioclavicular+joint. Accessed Jan. 12, 2009.
