Dealing With A Shoulder Sprain
A shoulder sprain occurs when ligaments in the shoulder for one reason or another become torn. Ligaments are fibrous tissues which connect bone to bone in and around joints. Ligaments are quite strong and tough, and are normally not easily injured, but that does not mean they cannot be. A sudden or awkward movement of the bones connected at the shoulder may be all that it will take to injure one or more of the ligaments.
The four bones coming together at the shoulder are the breastbone or sternum, the collarbone, also referred to as the clavicle, the shoulder blade (scapula), and the acromion, which rests atop the shoulder blade. A frequent athletic injury occurs when the acromion and the clavicle are forcibly pulled apart. The affected joint is the acromioclavicular joint, and the resulting injury and is commonly known as a shoulder separation. Other joints within the shoulder, such as the sternoclavicular joint, can suffer injury as well. Whatever joint is involved, if ligaments are torn, a shoulder sprain results.
Since these ligaments essentially hold the shoulder together, it's easy to see that if a sprain is serious, the shoulder may be put out of action for a time, as the healing process for a torn ligament can be slow. Shoulder sprains are a somewhat common injury in football, although shoulder pads make this type of an injury far less common than it otherwise would be. It is usually the shoulder forcibly colliding with something that results in a shoulder separation or a torn ligament.
Acromioclavicular Joint Sprains - Sprains, whether they occur in the shoulder or elsewhere in the body, are generally placed in one of three categories or grades. A Grade I sprain occurs when one ligament is injured, but a companion ligament is not, and the joint the ligaments serve is still functional. If one of the ligaments is completely torn however, the joint will usually cease to function correctly, and when one ligament is completely torn, a companion ligament is usually at least partially torn. This would be a Grade II sprain. The worst condition is the Grade III sprain, where two ligaments are completely torn, rendering the joint completely useless. When this occurs the collarbone can be come completely detached from the shoulder, a situation far worse than a fractured collarbone would present. The most common of the shoulder sprains usually involve the joint and ligaments holding the collarbone and shoulder blade together, the acromioclavicular joint.
Sternoclavicular Joint Sprains - Injuries to another major joint, the sternoclavicular joint, which binds the breastbone to the collarbone, are far less frequent, as these bones are tightly bound together by very strong ligaments. When a sternoclavicular joint sprain does occur, it is usually the result of an auto accident, although this type of a shoulder sprain does occur from time to time on the football field. The three grades of sprain yield about the same results as was the case for the acromioclavicular joint, although the bones are held together so tightly that the shoulder usually remains functional for Grade I and Grade II sprains.
When a shoulder sprain occurs, the usual symptom is pain, often accompanied by swelling around the shoulder area. The severity of the sprain is most often indicated by the person's ability or inability to move the shoulder as well as the range of motion it can be moved without experiencing severe pain.
Recovering From A Shoulder Sprain - The time to recover from a shoulder sprain will of course vary, depending partially upon which joint is affected, though mainly on the severity of the sprain. A Grade I shoulder sprain, where ligament tearing is not total, and may have occurred at a microscopic level, often takes a couple of weeks to heal, but recovery is generally complete after that time. A Grade II shoulder sprain may take a month or more to heal, and require an additional month or two of rehabilitation to restore total range of motion and strength. A Grade III sprain can take up to 6 months, and sometimes even longer to heal, and in the athletic world is at times a career-ending injury.