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Last posts on private forums:  sare  2008-06-16 09:56:33 matthew 2008-04-12 21:25:59 pieniadz 2008-04-12 20:52:26
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Last posts on private blogs: matthew 2008-04-12 21:25:17 mary 2008-04-12 19:27:47 |
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Lastly added medical terms:
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You are in: Main Page / Medical articles / Diseases / Acromioclavicular Joint Dislocation
The acromioclavicular joint dislocation is a quite common injury to the shoulder. It affects sportsmen most often but it happens to ordinary people so it's always good to know its types.
The acromioclavicular joint
The acromioclavicular joint is placed at the top of the shoulder, it joins the acromion and the clavicle. It is the joint responsible for raiding arm above the head and allows the arm to rotate. Three ligaments are there to stabilize the joint: the acromioclavicular ligament, coracoacrominal ligament and the coracoclavicular ligament. The first one attaches the clavicle to the acromion of the scapula. The second one goes from the coracoid process to the acromion and the third one connects the clavicle to the coracoid process of the scapula.
Injuries
The injury happens to the sportsmen most often, soccer players, swimmers, horseback riders, bikers are most likely to suffer from injuries of the arm. The most common injury is the AC joint dislocation, it is graded on the degree of separation of the acromion from the clavicle and the severity scale varies from 1 to 6.6 or from I to III. Grade I is applied to the disruption of AC and CC ligaments, grade II is applied to completely dislocated AC ligament and partially disrupted coracoclavicular ligament. Grade III is applied to completely disrupted AC and CC ligaments, this one means that the joint will be very tender and swollen. It depends on the severity of the injury if a person tears one or all its ligaments. Type III of sprains can be done with a huge force which makes vivid changes in the look of the shoulder. The most frequent injury is when a person falls directly on the arm adducted up against the body. The AC joint hurts, swells, bruises, the motion is limited and maneuvers difficult to perform, depending on the severity of the injury, the symptoms may get more and more severe. After the examination, the doctor adducts the arm back to its place, even though the whole procedure is painful the pain is caused by the pathology of the arm, so it recedes afterwards. The majority of patients with types I and II recover after 7-10 days from the injury but the condition may be more acute than one expects. There are common situations when patients need further surgery, radiographic changes happen and the arm is painful. Unfortunately, frequent injuries may lead to articular degeneration, especially in people who stress their shoulders every day. When it comes to the acute AC injuries, the same complications may happen. These patients need to have appropriate treatment conducted.
Causes
When a person falls down and the force pushes the shoulder down, the clavicle stays in the same position whereas the rest of the shoulder goes down which makes ligaments damaged and bones fractured. In severe cases ligaments are torn, not only sprained.
Treatment
Treatment of a shoulder injury include several things: first aid actions, physical therapy, medicine, or even surgery. Treatment depends on such factors as: the location and severity of the injury, age, health conditions and occupation. Type I and II are treated non operatively, the most difficult treatment is required for type III of the injury. This type can be treated operatively and non operatively
Added by:
mary
not connected with health care system
Added on:
2008-07-30 12:47:25 ,
Updated:
2008-07-30 13:26:30
Bibliography:
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