Broken collar bone may exhibit the following symptoms;
- Very painful
- Clicking, cracking and unusual sounds with shoulder movement
- Loss of shoulder movement, in particular reaching up and across the body
- Abnormal collar bone shape with possible bump or skin protrusion
- Strong muscle contraction and spasm of the shoulder
- Associated swelling and bruising of the shoulder
Causes
A collar bone is susceptible to being broken from a fall injury or due to a direct impact injury. The amount of force required to break a bone decreases with age as bones become less dense and possibly even brittle.
Fall Injury
Falling is a very serious problem and can be sustained while you are moving or stationary and from a low height or from a greater height. The more horizontal the fall on the front of your shoulder, or outstretched arm, the higher the risk of breaking a collarbone. Falling over the front of the handlebars of a bicycle often causes this injury.
Direct Impact Injury
Contact sports like AFL, rugby and NRL where fast moving players are stopped suddenly by impact to the point of the shoulder, or when they are tackled and have their shoulder driven into the ground, risk having their collar bones broken. The more the impact is from the front and down on the shoulder, the more likely it is to break.