Tel: 01 283 4303I recently treated a 17 year old rugby player who suffered a rare sporting injury following a tackle - a fracture of the end of the collar bone which sits nearest the breast bone. A colleague of mine made the initial assessment and made a good judgment call that further help was needed.
By insisting further medical investigation, including a CT scan, the fracture was confirmed and surgically repaired by an orthopaedic surgeon shortly after.
The displaced piece of bone could have potentially shifted backwards and apply pressure to the wind pipe or delicate nerves. If not detected early due to an incomplete diagnosis, further complications seemed highly likely.
Following surgery the teenager returned to our clinic and we are now well into the rehabilitation phase of physiotherapy. Great progress is being made in terms of restoring movement to the shoulder and neck, keeping pain under control and most importantly restoring strength and stability. All of which is essential if a return to contact rugby is to be considered.
It is a pleasure to be working with a fit and motivated client and his family who have been able to put the trauma of the initail injury to one side and get fully focussed on his rehab and moving forwards.
A Chartered Physiotherapist's ability to conduct a thorough medical diagnosis prevented in this case more serious complications developing.
