A broken collar bone can be dangerous and painful for a young child. If a child breaks their collar bone, they must be brought in for medical attention. Please keep reading to learn more about the exercises you can do with your child to help alleviate some of the pain and stiffness from their collarbone injury.
Rick’s Greatest Shoulder Rehab Challenge
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They want me to advise them on how to rehab a shoulder.
And I know this is no big deal.
I love the shoulder, and it was one of my passions. I even did my master of Science project on rotator cuff rehabilitation exercises.
A person fell off a chair and broke their collar bone. That’s the information I gave.
A broken collar bone is no big deal. This is a widespread injury but often a poorly rehabilitated injury focusing on rest and not on returning the shoulder to optimal function or rehabilitating the shoulder to prevent future damage.
A concern to me was falling off a chair.
I asked if the person had been drinking.
She had been, but she had been drinking apple juice.
I asked how old she was.
She is a 4-year-old that fell out of the kitchen chair and broke her collar bone. Her dad contacted me and asked if there were a few exercises I could give her.
The situation got me thinking.
I have never designed an exercise rehabilitation program for anyone that young. The big things that she needs to do are focus on shoulder movement and maintaining strength [¹] in the shoulder muscles. She can do this with no equipment, and it can be done very quickly every day.
What Is The Big Beal About A Broken Collar Bone At Four Years Old?
The collarbone is a small, curved bone that extends from the breastbone to the shoulder. This fragile and easily broken bone plays an integral role in many movements; it helps move your arm outwards or upwards when reaching for something above you. When children suffer such injuries early on, there will be some short-term effects, but long-term results can vary as well as how quickly they improve over time with appropriate treatment.
Signs And Symptoms
A person with a broken collarbone might experience the following:
- Pain over the collarbone
- Difficulty in moving the arm
- Swelling, tenderness, and bruising
How To Treat Collar Bone?
A broken collarbone is the most common type of shoulder injury. It heals with ice, arm support, pain medicine, and exercises in most cases. You can use a sling or a shoulder immobilizer to help your arm heal properly. A shoulder immobilizer works like a sling but has an additional strap around your waist for added stability.
The Best Way To Help A Child With A Broken Collarbone
A broken collarbone can cause long-term problems if it is not treated correctly. When a child breaks their collarbone, they need to be brought in for medical attention. It’s important to schedule an appointment as soon as possible or bring them in immediately if the injury seems severe. A broken collarbone can also be painful and frustrating for a 4-year-old. That’s why it’s essential to keep them active with these exercises to help alleviate some of the pain and stiffness from their injury.
Pushups: There is a chance that the shoulder will heal properly, but it will be limited in its mobility. The collarbone plays an essential role in any movement overhead. It’s best to do what you can early on during your rehabilitation process to improve your range of motion and stabilize as quickly as possible, even if you’re four years old.
Wall Pushups:
Wall Pushups are typically used by individuals who have broken their collarbone, have other shoulder injuries, or suffer from neck pain. Wall pushups allow you to exercise your chest muscles similarly to regular pushups on the floor, with one significant difference: instead of supporting your weight against gravity and stress, it’s supported against the wall.
Will The Collarbone Heal Straight?
Even with broken bones not in the perfect alignment, the body can usually make them straight again. This is because a thick periosteum (outer layer of bone) on collarbones generally does not break; this typically acts as a sleeve to hold together the fractured parts while they heal.
Sometimes, there may be bumps on whatever arm or shoulder broke – these tend to get smaller and eventually go away within one year in kids who still have time for growth left in them! Sometimes such bruises will never entirely disappear, but they don’t cause other problems like pain or discomfort [²] when using your arms and shoulders.
Broken collarbones often heal quickly and entirely within a few months. Your child should be able to do everything they did before the injury in that time frame.
Are you ready to enhance your strength, posture, and overall performance? Scapular Stabilization Exercises are key to improving your shoulder health and preventing injuries. By incorporating these exercises into your routine, you can strengthen the muscles that support your shoulder blades, leading to better mobility and stability.
Reference
1.Cruz-Jentoft, A. J., Hughes, B. D., Scott, D., Sanders, K. M., & Rizzoli, R. (2020). Nutritional strategies for maintaining muscle mass and strength from middle age to later life: A narrative review. Maturitas, 132, 57–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.maturitas.2019.11.007
2. Pinkowish, M. D. (2000, November 15). Management of pain and other discomfort. Document – Gale Academic OneFile. https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA67503381&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=0031305X&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7E23c4fc98&aty=open-web-entry