Broken collarbone
Overview
A broken collarbone is usually caused by an injury to your shoulder. Get medical advice as soon as possible if you think you have a broken collarbone.
Symptoms
You may have broken your collarbone if you've been injured and your shoulder: is very painfulis swollen or bruisedhas changed shapehas bone sticking out of the skin Sometimes a broken collarbone can lead to complications that cause other symptoms such as: chest paindifficulty breathingcoughing up blood But this is rare.
Treatment
You'll need to haveX-raysto check if you've broken your collarbone. A broken collarbone needs to be treated in hospital. Your arm will usually be put in a sling to help your collarbone heal. You'll also be given painkillers to help with pain. If the break is very bad you may need surgery to repair it, but this is rare. You'll usually be shown some shoulder and arm exercises to do at home to help you recover quicker. After you've left the hospital, you'll need to go for follow-up appointments to check how your collarbone is healing.
When to see a doctor
If you think you've broken your collarbone, there are some things you can do while you're waiting to see a doctor. You should: use a towel or bandage to put the affected arm in a slingstop any bleeding by putting pressure on the wound with a clean towel or dressing, if possibleavoid using the affected shoulder or armavoid touching the bone if it's sticking out from your skin