Anyone had a toddler with a broken collarbone?

[sewingmama]

So as you probably guessed my 3yo broke his collarbone -snapped right through from falling off a chair. :crying:

 

The doctor said it's realigned itself ok and since a 3yo is not going to happily wear a brace or sling to just leave it as is to heal.

 

So am I supposed to be doing anything with him - as in restricting play or use of his arm or something?

 

Yesterday he was trying to turn somersaults and jumping on the bed:001_huh:

 

He has also been asking to go to the park.

 

Do I just let him use that arm as normal so long as it isn't causing pain or do I need to do more to restrict his activity?

 

Also - I'm curious if anyone has had any other type of treatment for a broken collarbone other then - just leave it be? Is that the standard treatment for kids?

 

I don't have a lot of confidence in my doctors. The first time I took him in straight after the accident the doctor barely looked at his shoulder and just asked him to move it around and since my DS didn't complain he said it wasn't broken. A week later I finally got a doctor to take xrays and yes indeed we were right - the big lump on his collarbone should have given it away don't you think :glare:

 

Just looking for some shared experiences to make sure I'm managing it right.

 

:001_smile:

[Just Another Jen]

My daughter broke her collarbone when she was 2. She wore a sling for about a month. I was told to keep her as quiet as possible. No parks or jumping around. It was January (she actually broke it while sledding) so it was easy to keep her inside. As I remember now I introduced her to nick jr. And she watched a lot of cartoons.

[desiraejb]

Our 5yo broke his collarbone last year, too. We did restrict him and try to make him take it easy for a week or so. He had a figure8 brace he had to wear. We also made him sleep on his back as much as we could. They said a collarbone would grow back together no matter what, really. I think we had his arm on that side in a sling for a few days, too.

[Chris in VA]

I broke my collarbone as a 4yo--I remember it pretty well!

I know I had a sling, and I couldn't do much. I had to sleep on my back and couldn't bring by left hand to my mouth (I was a thumbsucker and couldn't for a while! Didn't break me of the habit, tho...).

 

That was back when they used to tape ribs, too--things have changed!

 

I just would be a little quiet with your dc for a while. :grouphug:

[Mommyfaithe]

My dd broke her collarbone flipping off the bed. I didn't know for 10 days because she just kept on keeping on....:confused: I felt like worst mom ever. She healed without any restriction.....because, well, We didn't know. We found out because the bone calcified, and made a lump....since the bone was in a perfect position, nothing had to be done. She is now 14, and never had another issue with it.

[Jpoy85]

No wisdom--but ouch! :grouphug:

 

:iagree:

[sewingmama]

My dd broke her collarbone flipping off the bed. I didn't know for 10 days because she just kept on keeping on....:confused: I felt like worst mom ever. She healed without any restriction.....because, well, We didn't know. We found out because the bone calcified, and made a lump....since the bone was in a perfect position, nothing had to be done. She is now 14, and never had another issue with it.

 

That's pretty much what happened with my DS. I did take him in to get it checked right after he did it but since the doctor said it was fine I let him do whatever he wanted. DH kept insisting that something wasn't right and I should take him back but because I had already had it looked at I kept telling DH he was seeing things :o

 

I felt really bad when I saw the xray. I knew it had been hurting him but he really only complained when I dressed him or put his seatbelt on -I thought he had just bruised himself badly. DS's has calcified as well - the doctor said it should disappear in 2 years :001_huh:

 

Anyway - I will avoid the park and try to keep him quiet. He is active as 3 yo boys tend to be so it's not easy. He's a climber and the thing I'm most worried about is not that it won't heal but that he will rebreak it if he falls again.

 

DS has his sights set on being a firefighter when he grows up - I want to make sure all his parts work properly by the time he gets there so he can fulfil his dream :lol:

Edited September 18, 2012 by sewingmama

[tex-mex]

Back in 1965, my husband was 3 and broke his collarbone by trying to do a backflip off the fireplace mantel. :D MIL says he was in a sling for 2-3 weeks but was such a ball of energy he got out of the sling by week 4. She had a tough time keeping him still. He had numerous ER visits as a child and teen thanks to sports. LOL Good luck.:lol:

[fairfarmhand]

My dd broke hers TWICE, once when she was 3 and another time at age 8.

 

They did put her in a figure 8 brace at age 3 (It was such a pain to find one that fit her correctly) but basically said to let her do what she felt like doing. The pain would stop her from getting too rowdy.

[Parrothead]

I broke mine when I was four. I wore the sling for 2 days. It was such a pain in the patootie at night I took it off. I don't remember wearing it much after that.

[TeenagerMom]

DD broke her's at 2 years old. She wore a figure eight brace for 2 weeks and was not restricted in her activity. Small children heal VERY fast with broken bones. Chances are since it had already been a week, the healing process is well under way, hence no brace. The first sign of healing is a knot of new bone over the break. If that knot had already formed, the brace is kind of pointless.

 

My niece had a severe break and displacement of her arm last year at 5 years old. She had to be put under to set the arm and had healed completely to get out of the cast in 4 weeks.

[armymomma]

I don't think there is much you can do...the ortho told us as long as the two pieces of bone are in the same body they will heal just fine. We have had several clavicle breaks. No braces, no restrictions. Now, a teen or an adult is a different story. Good luck!