In quite a number of cases, there is an excessive amount of pain, preventing sleep; where this is due to cramp-like contractions of the muscles and movements of the fragments, it is relieved by more accurate fixation, as by strips of plaster; otherwise a hypodermic injection of heroin or morphin is indicated.
Dislocation of the Clavicle
Dislocation of the acromial end—sometimes, and perhaps more correctly, spoken of as dislocation of the scapula—is more frequent than that at the sternal end, and it usually results from a blow from behind, or from a fall on the tip of the shoulder, driving down the scapula, so that the clavicle projects upwards and overrides the acromion process.
Downward displacement of the acromial end of the clavicle is much rarer, and may follow a fall on the elbow or a blow over the clavicle. The end of the bone lies under the acromion process, in contact with the capsule of the shoulder-joint, and the acromion stands out prominently.
The clinical features are so well marked that the diagnosis is unmistakable. The head inclines towards the affected side, and the tip of the shoulder tends to pass slightly downward, forward, and medially. The displaced end of the bone can be seen and felt as a prominence under the skin, or the empty socket can be palpated, while the muscles attached to the displaced clavicle stand out in relief. The movements at the shoulder are restricted, particularly in the direction of abduction above the level of the shoulder. These injuries are sometimes associated with fracture of the ribs, a complication which adds materially to the difficulties of treatment.
Treatment.—Reduction is easily effected by bracing back the shoulders and replacing the bone in its socket by manipulation; but retention is invariably difficult, and in many cases impossible; even when the displacement is permanent, however, the usefulness of the arm is not necessarily impaired.
Treatment is similar to that for fracture of the clavicle by sling and body bandage. Another plan is to place a pad over the acromial end of the clavicle, and fix it in this position by a few turns of elastic bandage carried over the shoulder and under the elbow. The forearm is placed in a sling with the elbow well supported, and the arm is bound to the side by a circular bandage. When the bone cannot be kept in position and the usefulness of the limb is impaired, the joint surfaces may be rawed and the bones wired, with a view to obtaining ankylosis.
The sternal end may be dislocated forwards, backwards, or upwards.
Forward dislocation is the most common; the end of the clavicle lies on the front of the sternum, somewhat below the level of the sterno-clavicular joint, and its articular surface can be distinctly palpated ([Fig. 16]). The inter-articular cartilage sometimes remains attached to one bone, sometimes to the other; the rhomboid ligament is usually intact.
In the backward dislocation the end of the clavicle lies behind the manubrium sterni and the muscles attached to it; there is a marked hollow in the position of the joint, and the facet on the sternum can be felt. In a comparatively small number of cases the bone exerts pressure upon the trachea and œsophagus, producing difficulty in breathing and swallowing. It has also been known to press upon the subclavian artery and on other important structures at the root of the neck.