Rehabilitation

What happens as I recover?

Bone takes six weeks to heal to 50% of its normal strength; three months to achieve 80% and continues to get stronger for up to 18 months post injury. Since the normal load on the shoulder girdle is relatively light you can return to normal activities quite early on. If your sport or work activities load the arms heavily it may be three to four months before you go back to them depending on the injury and the amount of healing in your case. X-rays will be taken to assess the progress of healing. Braces, splints and slings are not normally needed beyond six weeks and may be discarded earlier in stable fracture patterns.

Physical therapy is often very helpful during your recovery from shoulder fractures. Some of the joints may have been directly involved in the injury. The complex movements of the shoulder girdle all get stiff when you immobilize the shoulder for a long period. A physical therapist will supervise an exercise program intended to improve mobility while avoiding overloading the healing bones and muscles. Some movements should be avoided to prevent over-stretching healing ligaments. Recovery of normal scapulothoracic motion may take some concentration and effort as well as time.

For most fractures of the shoulder girdle you can expect the fracture to heal and function to return to normal. Persistent swelling at the fracture site may be felt in the case of collarbone or breastbone fractures and there may be slight asymmetry between the shoulders. After acromioclavicular separation there may also be a persistent bump with the outer end of the collarbone riding high. More serious long term problems are recurrent instability following glenohumeral joint dislocation and painful stiffness after fractures or fracture dislocation of the proximal humerus. A more guarded outlook follows a more serious original fracture.