Is it allowed to drive a car with a broken collarbone? | Collarbone fracture

Is it allowed to drive a car with a broken collarbone?

When driving a car it must be ensured that the vehicle can be operated with both hands and that a certain degree of mobility is available. When wearing a backpack bandage, mobility is not given and therefore driving is prohibited. Driving is not prohibited per se during the subsequent healing phase. In the individual situation it must be decided in consultation with the doctor whether driving a car can be driven without danger. This depends mainly on the mobility and the pain associated with it.

Special features of a collarbone fracture in a child

Collarbone fractures are a particularly common form of bone fracture in children. The bones are still very fragile in infancy and the collarbone is the weakest point in the connection between the shoulder and the chest. Due to falls, which are very common in childhood, the collarbone can give way and break in one or more places.

In children, there are three particularities of collarbone fracture that make the collarbone fracture more complicated. First of all, there is the pain, which can be very severe with this type of fracture. Especially in infancy, children are not yet able to express their pain exactly, but this does not make the pain any less severe than in adults.

It is extremely important to provide a child with good and adequate pain therapy. Children cannot guarantee complete immobilization of the shoulder either, which is why the pain is in many cases additionally increased by movement. This results in the second characteristic of a collarbone fracture in children.

Therapy is much more difficult to perform than in an adult. As a rule, a fracture that has just been straightened can be treated well by immobilization and waiting. In order for the bone to heal well and quickly, the bone must not be moved or displaced.

This type of therapy is hardly ever performed on children. Further falls can also stop the healing process. It is not uncommon for a collarbone fracture to require surgery in childhood.

If healing cannot take place in the best possible way, a third characteristic of the collarbone fracture in children results. Incomplete healing can have serious consequences, especially if the bones are still growing. The bone grows together crookedly and forms a so-called false joint at the fracture site. A restriction of growth in the bone can also be the result. In small children, this can lead to asymmetrical growth of the shoulders and chest with long-term malpositioning.