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The human body consists of hundreds of joints that work together to form the body as a whole. The joints in your body help your body move by attaching bones to each other. As part of your shoulder, you have four joints, including the sternoclavicular joint. A sternoclavicular joint injury can cause difficulties and pain in performing everyday tasks. It is important to consider sternoclavicular arthritis as part of the differential diagnosis of chest wall pain, given that it occurs in 90% of people over the age of 60.

As a result of the wrong functioning of one of the bones in the shoulder joint, sternoclavicular joint pain appears. Symptoms of SC joint disorders include pain in the clavicle-sternum area. Sprains will cause pain, but dislocation and fractures will cause increased discomfort, particularly when moving the arm. Before it is too late, you should go to the pain doctor in Dallas.

Symptoms of Sternoclavicular Joint Pain

Moving your fractured or dislocated arm may cause discomfort or sharp pain. Other symptoms of joint disorders include:

• Bruising

• Swelling

• Tenderness around the joint

• Arms with a limited range of motion

• Crunching or grinding or sound on arm movement

• Fever

• Chills

• Or night sweats

• Infection-Related redness over the joint inflammatory conditions may cause pain To radiate simultaneously to other joints

Causes Of Sternoclavicular Joint Disorders

The most common disorders affecting the sternoclavicular joint are: As a result of an injury or osteoarthritis:

• Injuries – Typically, sprains stretch the surrounding ligaments, while fractures break the collarbone itself. A dislocation of the shoulder joint may occur in some accidents. The majority of these injuries happen as a result of collisions, such as those in car accidents.

• Osteoarthritis – Osteoarthritis occurs when the articular cartilage that covers the SC joint deteriorates over time. A woman over the age of 50 or a woman who has gone through menopause is more likely to have this condition.

Other Conditions

Gout, rheumatoid arthritis, atraumatic, subluxation, Freidrich's disease, or seronegative spondyloarthritis may also affect it. Types of SC Joint Injuries While not very common, injuries to the sternoclavicular joint can cause problems. It's generally the case that injuries come from strong forces. A collision usually occurs in sports involving contact, such as football, when a player is subject to strong forces. Three types of injuries can occur to the sternoclavicular joint:

Type 1: Subluxation

Type 2: Sprain

Type 3: Dislocation Sprain

1- Sprains

As ligaments bond together, they stretch or tear, causing a sprain. They're the tissues that keep bones and organs in place. Contact sports, car accidents, strong forces, or falls can injure many ligaments supporting your SC joint. Sprains fall into three categories:

• Grade 1: Overstretched ligaments cause mild sprains.

• Grade 2: Partial ligament tears result in a moderate sprain.

• Grade 3: Torn ligaments cause sprains, which are severe injuries. Surgery may be the only choice for this type of treatment. At the time of injury, you may feel a "pop" sound.

A sprain of the SC joint may also cause the following symptoms:

• Bruising

• Swelling

• Limited mobility of the shoulders

2- Pain Subluxation

In sternoclavicular subluxation, there is a tear in the sternoclavicular ligament, but the costoclavicular ligament is intact. These ligaments connect the sternum to the clavicle along the length of the first rib. They are part of the ligamentous system of the body.

3- Dislocation

A dislocation occurs when two bones in a joint, in this case, the sternum and clavicle separate. As a result of the direction of the collarbone's displacement, there are two different types of sternoclavicular dislocation.

• Anterior Dislocation

A dislocated SC joint moves the clavicle in front of the sternum, causing the clavicle to shift forward. An outstretched hand, such as tripping and falling, can cause a severe blow to the front of the shoulder. Compared to posterior sternoclavicular dislocations, anterior sternoclavicular dislocations are more common.

• Posterior Dislocation

Direct blows to the front of the clavicle can dislocate the clavicle behind the sternum. A posterior dislocation does not occur as often as an anterior dislocation, but they are a more serious medical emergency.

4- Brachial Plexus Injury

As you may know, your brachial plexus is a group of nerves that direct messages from your spinal cord to your shoulders, arms, and hands. A brachial plexus injury can cause weakness, numbness, tingling, pain, and even loss of movement in the arm concerned.

5- Pneumothorax

A pneumothorax is the collapse of a lung. The clavicle can cause this kind of injury if it pierces one of the lungs. This condition can cause pain and difficulty breathing. Immediately treat a pneumothorax as a medical emergency.

6- Bruising of the Throat

It is possible to become hoarse or have difficulty swallowing when your clavicle presses into your throat.

7- Vascular Injury

Vascular injuries can cause damage to the veins and arteries. This may include stretching, crushing, twisting, pinching, or piercing an artery or vein. There can be pain, bleeding, bruising, swelling, and a lump under the skin as well as other symptoms.

Diagnosis For Sternoclavicular Joint Disorders

A specialist will examine any swelling, redness, or bruising around the joint, as well as the range of motion of the arm. Doctors check the pulse at the wrists and elbows to make sure the hands have enough blood circulation. A CT scan or radiograph can confirm the diagnosis. Pain physicians in Dallas specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of the condition, aiming to reduce or even eliminate the associated pain. Treatment For Sternoclavicular Joint:

Surgical and non-surgical treatments are available for disorders of the sternoclavicular joint. One such development is the use of genicular nerve block and Mako Robot-assisted surgery for the treatment of sternoclavicular joint pain.

The majority of cases of SC joint disorders can be treated without surgery.

Non-Surgical Treatment

Non-surgical treatment for sternoclavicular joint pain is given below:

• Medications

A non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug or NSAID such as ibuprofen or naproxen can be used to relieve joint swelling and pain in the SC joint.

• Immobilization

A shoulder sling can assist in the healing of a damaged or fractured arm.

• Activity Modification

Osteoarthritis of the SC joint requires patients to avoid activities likely to aggravate the condition.

• Injections

Doctors will prescribe corticosteroid injections when joint osteoarthritis or inflammation causes joint pain or swelling.

• Closed Reduction

Basically, in this procedure, the doctor, without cutting your skin, manipulates the clavicle back into its place. Surgical treatment may be necessary if non-surgery treatment fails.

Surgical Procedures

The surgical procedure for Sternoclavicular joint pain is as below:

• An Open Reduction And Internal Fixation

Your surgeon will use metal plates, wires, screws, or pins to realign the fractured bone fragments. correctly. Then secure them together. A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), such as ibuprofen or naproxen can reduce swelling or joint pain.

Sprains of the SC joints are most commonly caused by a direct or indirect impact to the chest, such as a collision with a steering wheel while driving or a tackle while playing football. Doctors will use antibiotics to prevent a recurrence of an infection.

There are also a variety of other conditions that can affect the spine, including gout, rheumatoid arthritis, traumas, subluxations, inflections, Freidrich's disease, and seronegative spondyloarthropathies.