Acromioclavicular (AC) Joint Injury: A Painful Injury that Requires Patience
Let’s talk about what an Acromioclavicular (AC) joint injury looks like and what some of the options would be to repair this injury. The AC joint is a part of the shoulder. It is located where the clavicle (or collarbone) connects to the shoulder girdle itself. This is found at the uppermost part of the shoulder blade. Unfortunately, injuries to the AC joint are incredibly painful.
The Difficulties of Dealing with an AC Joint Injury
Since we move our shoulders quite a bit, these AC joint injuries are difficult to deal with throughout many of our every-day shoulder movements. For example, when we shrug our shoulders, this kind of movement tends to put more pressure on the AC joint. This shrugging motion creates a “pulling” motion of the joint. In other cases, the joint gets pinched (depending on the type of movement). Pain also occurs whenever you lift something or use any kind of overhead movement.
What are the Treatment Options?
Normally, surgery is not recommended for AC joint injuries. You doctor will likely recommend ice, rest, heat, and some kind of medication (pain, anti-inflammatory, and sometimes muscle relaxers.) The goal is to get the joint to calm down. Once the swelling goes away, the healing process can begin.
In some instances, you may have some level of change to your joint, possibly a fracture. In these cases, it’s usually a type 2 or type 3 acromion, which means the end of the AC joint has a curve to it. This curved bone can aggravate some of the tissue, muscles, ligaments or tendons underneath. A doctor will snip off this curved, bony protrusion. This will relieve the pressure on the other tissues in the joint space. This procedure will also help create additional room in the shoulder area so that this area can heal. Along with healing, the extra space allows for things in this area to glide around without any rubbing or fraying action.
In some very rare cases, the doctor may actually cut off the end of your clavicle all together. This will completely get rid of the AC joint all together. Again, this is a very rare occurrence.
A Painful Injury that Takes Patience
At the end of the day, an AC joint injury is a very painful injury that takes time to heal. Considering that surgery is not an option in most cases, extreme patience is required for those who deal with this injury.
If you have an AC joint injury or any other kind of injury from a fall or an accident, contact us today at Dwyer Williams Cherkoss Accident Injury Attorneys for a free case evaluation. Our team of experienced personal injury attorneys will work hard to ensure that you receive the justice that you deserve!