Separated Shoulder Treatment & Information
Overview
Your shoulders are essential parts of your body. They allow you to have wide arm motions, lift objects, and perform almost every activity involving your upper body.
The pressure your shoulders carry increases their risk for developing various injuries. One common injury is called a shoulder separation.
Anatomy
The shoulder is made up of many bones, muscles, and soft tissues like ligaments. These solid and flexible materials connect your shoulder to other important nearby parts.

Description
One adjacent part of your shoulder anatomy is the collarbone. Ligaments connect your shoulder blade (the scapula) to the collarbone. The connection of parts plays a significant role in helping you move your arm.
Shoulder separations happen when these ligaments become damaged. These injuries are graded based on their severity:
- Grade One – Grade One events are considered the most minor and occur when ligaments are stretched but not torn. These do not involve any movement or damage to the collarbone.
- Grade Two – Grade Two events involve slight ligament tears. In these injuries, the collarbone may experience minor movement shifts.
- Grade Three – Grade Three tears are the most serious. Ligaments suffer severe, quite possibly complete tears, and the collarbone experiences a noticeable position shift.

Causes
Shoulder separations can result from several causes.
The most common cause of an immediate and acute injury is a severe fall or accident where significant pressure is placed on the shoulder and its neighboring parts.
Shoulder injuries may also occur gradually from repeated shoulder-stressing actions in professional or recreational settings.
Risk Factors
Your chances of developing a non-traumatic shoulder separation increase with:
- Playing physical, contact sports (football, rugby, or hockey).
- Activities where falls are more likely to occur (skiing, gymnastics, and cycling).
- Age. Researchers have discovered that shoulder sprains occur more frequently in teens and young adults.
- Having a previous or pre-existing shoulder problem.
Gender can also be a factor as men seem to stand at greater risk than women.

Symptoms
The symptoms you experience can vary depending on the separation’s severity. Most produce common symptoms like:
- Bruising or inflammation on or around the shoulder.
- Pain in the shoulder and upper arm.
- Visible lumps on the shoulder or near the collarbone.
- Mobility issues.
More severe cases could lead to a popping sound or sensation when moving the affected shoulder and numbness in the hand or fingers.

Complications
If not properly diagnosed and treated, shoulder separations can worsen and result in more problems. Some of these complications include damage to nerves, the need for more aggressive treatment, the development of diseases like arthritis, and permanent disability.
Diagnosis
Your doctor will first conduct a thorough examination of your shoulder and look for any obvious visual abnormalities. Afterward, you may be requested to perform various exercises designed to measure your pain threshold and range of movement.
Unsurprisingly, a diagnosis is easier to confirm when the injury is more advanced. This is because moderate to severe separations produce obvious signs like deformities. X-rays and MRI scans are used to help determine treatment options.
Mild separations often need imaging scans because they typically do not produce many outward signs. Doctors sometimes ask patients with suspected Grade One separations to hold heavy objects in their hand during shoulder X-rays. This technique may increase shoulder instability, which often appears on imaging scans.
Treatment Overview
The severity of the separation is the most significant deciding factor when considering shoulder separation treatment. Your doctor will also weigh other issues, including your:
- Age.
- Fitness level.
- General health.
- Shoulder’s structural makeup.
- Weight.
In many instances, mild to moderate injuries improve over time without aggressive treatment. Severe damage may need surgery.
Non-Surgical Options
The pain associated with mild injuries may be relieved using home therapies, such as ice packs, over-the-counter pain-reducing medications, or putting the injured shoulder and arm into a sling. Avoid any heavy lifting until significant healing has taken place.
More moderate separations may also benefit from a period of physical therapy. In your treatment plan, you will carry out specially designed exercises geared towards helping your shoulder regain any lost strength or motion range.
Uncomplicated injuries should heal completely within two to 12 weeks.
Surgical Procedures
You may benefit from surgery if you have severe injuries involving:
- Major ligament damage.
- Collarbone shifting.
- Potentially disabling symptoms (hand or finger numbness).
- Major mobility limitations.
- Damage to nerves or other neighboring body parts.
One commonly performed procedure includes the trimming of the collarbone. This operation prevents the collarbone from coming into contact with the shoulder blade. In another procedure, doctors reattach damaged ligaments to the collarbone. Most surgeries will likely be followed by several weeks of physical therapy.
Post-surgical recovery time frames vary because every patient heals at their own pace.
Next Steps
Talk to your Florida Orthopaedic Institute physician to learn more about shoulder separations.
Areas of Focus
- Shoulder
- AC Joint Injuries
- Atraumatic Shoulder Instability
- Bankart Repair
- Bicep Tendon Tear
- Bicep Tenodesis
- Broken Collarbone
- Bursitis of the Shoulder (Subacromial Bursitis)
- Calcific Tendinitis of the Shoulder
- Clavicle Fractures
- Dislocated Shoulder
- Fractures Of The Shoulder Blade (Scapula)
- Glenoid Labrum Tear
- Impingement Syndrome of the Shoulder
- Little League Shoulder
- Reverse Total Shoulder Replacement
- Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) of the Shoulder
- Rotator Cuff Tears
- Shoulder Arthritis
- Shoulder Arthroscopy
- Shoulder Injury: Pain In The Overhead Athlete
- Shoulder Replacement
- Shoulder Separations
- Shoulder Socket Fracture (Glenoid Fracture)
- SLAP Tears & Repairs
- Subacromial Decompression
- Trapezius Strain (Muscle Strain of The Upper Back)
- Traumatic Shoulder Instability
The following Florida Orthopaedic Institute physicians specialize in Shoulder Separations:
Specialties
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- Achilles Tendinitis - Achilles Insertional Calcific Tendinopathy (ACIT)
- Achilles Tendon Rupture
- Achilles Tendonitis
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- Artificial Disk Replacement (ADR)
- Aspiration of the Olecranon Bursa
- Atraumatic Shoulder Instability
- Avascular Necrosis (Osteonecrosis)
- Bankart Repair
- Basal Joint Surgery
- Bicep Tendon Tear
- Bicep Tenodesis
- Bone Cement Injection
- Bone Growth Stimulation
- Bone Health Clinic
- Broken Collarbone
- Bunions
- Bursitis of the Shoulder (Subacromial Bursitis)
- Calcific Tendinitis of the Shoulder
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Charcot Joint
- Chiropractic
- Clavicle Fractures
- Colles’ Fractures (Broken Wrist)
- Common Foot Fractures in Athletes
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- Fractures Of The Shoulder Blade (Scapula)
- Fractures Of The Tibial Spine
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- Ganglion Cysts
- General Orthopedics
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- Golfer's Elbow
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- Hand, Wrist, Elbow & Shoulder
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- Hip & Thigh
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- Hip Dislocation
- Hip Flexor Strains
- Hip Fractures
- Hip Hemiarthroplasty
- Hip Impingement Labral Tears
- Hip Muscle Strains
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- Iliopsoas Tenotomy
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- Impingement Syndrome of the Shoulder
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- Laminectomy: Decompression Surgery
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- Little League Shoulder
- LITTLE LEAGUER'S ELBOW (MEDIAL APOPHYSITIS)
- Lumbar Epidural Steroid Injection
- Lumbar Interbody Fusion (IBF)
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- Orthopaedic Total Wellness
- Orthopedic Physician Or A Podiatrist?
- Orthopedic Trauma
- Osteoarthritis of the Hip
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- Pelvic Ring Fractures
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- Pinched Nerve
- Piriformis Syndrome
- Piriformis Syndrome
- Plantar Fasciitis
- Podiatry
- Primary Care Sports Medicine
- Quadriceps Tendon Tear
- Radial Tunnel Syndrome (Entrapment of the Radial Nerve)
- Revascularization of the Hand
- Reverse Total Shoulder Replacement
- Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) of the Shoulder
- Rheumatoid Arthritis Of The Hand
- Robotics
- Rotator Cuff Tears
- Runner's Knee
- Sacroiliac Joint Pain
- Sciatica
- Scoliosis
- Shin Splints
- Shoulder
- Shoulder Arthritis
- Shoulder Arthroscopy
- Shoulder Injury: Pain In The Overhead Athlete
- Shoulder Replacement
- Shoulder Separations
- Shoulder Socket Fracture (Glenoid Fracture)
- SLAP Tears & Repairs
- Spinal Fusion
- Spine
- Spondylolisthesis and Spondylolysis
- Sports Foot Injuries
- Sports Hernias (Athletic Pubalgia)
- Sports Medicine
- Sports Wrist and Hand Injuries
- Sprained Ankle
- Sprained Wrist Symptoms and Treatment
- Subacromial Decompression
- Sudden (Acute) Finger, Hand & Wrist Injuries
- Targeted Muscle Reinnervation (TMR)
- Tendon Transfers of The Hand
- Tennis Elbow
- Thigh Fractures
- Thigh Muscle Strains
- Thumb Ulnar Collateral Ligament Injuries
- Total Ankle Replacement
- Total Hip Arthroplasty
- Total Hip Replacement - Anterior Approach
- Total Knee Replacement Surgery
- Trapezius Strain (Muscle Strain of The Upper Back)
- Traumatic Shoulder Instability
- Triceps Tendonitis
- Trigger Finger
- Turf Toe
- UCL (Ulnar Collateral Ligament) Injuries
- Ulnar Neuritis
- Valgus Extension Overload
- Vertebroplasty
- WALANT (Wide Awake Local Anesthesia No Tourniquet)
- Whiplash and Whiplash Associated Disorder (WAD)
- Wound Care
- Wrist Arthroscopy
- Wrist Fractures
- Wrist Tendonitis
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