Most broken collarbones heal WITHOUT surgery, in a simple sling, in about 6 to 12 weeks in adults. Children often heal in 3 to 4 weeks.
Surgery with a plate and screws is kept mainly for breaks where the ends are badly out of place. It makes the bone far more likely to join, but for most people it doesn’t make the shoulder work any better a year later.
With or without surgery, most people are back to their regular activities within about 3 months. Contact sport waits at least 12 weeks. Your surgeon’s or fracture clinic’s plan comes first, and the ranges below are typical, not rules.
Sling or surgery?
- Sling: the standard treatment for most breaks, especially when the broken ends still line up or are only slightly out of place
- Surgery: considered when the ends are far apart or overlapping, when bone is pressing up against the skin or has come through it, or when you have several injuries at once
- The trade-off: for badly displaced breaks in the middle of the collarbone, about 1 in 7 or 8 treated in a sling don’t join properly, against about 1 in 100 after a plate. Function a year later comes out about the same
- Surgery has its own costs: infection, numbness below the scar, and a plate that can rub. You are swapping one set of risks for another
If the break is at the top of the arm bone instead, just below the shoulder, see broken shoulder recovery.
A plate makes the bone more likely to join. It doesn’t make most shoulders work better a year later.
Week by week without surgery
- Weeks 0 to 3: sling for comfort, usually for 2 to 3 weeks. You can take it off to wash, dress and do your exercises. Keep the arm below shoulder height
- Weeks 3 to 6: out of the sling. Gentle shoulder movement, gradually lifting higher as pain allows. Still no lifting heavier than a cup of tea
- Weeks 6 to 12: the bone is joining. Heavier lifting and overhead reaching come back step by step
- Months 3 to 6: the bone has usually healed, but some aching can carry on for 3 to 6 months
Week by week after plate surgery
- Weeks 0 to 2: sling for comfort. Keep the dressing dry and follow your team’s wound advice. Ice and simple painkillers are often enough
- Weeks 2 to 6: gentle shoulder movement as your surgeon allows. No heavy lifting
- Weeks 6 to 12: strengthening once your surgeon is happy with the X-ray
- After that: the plate usually stays in for life. If it rubs under a seatbelt or bag strap, it can be removed once the bone has fully healed
The NHS has a short guide to a broken collarbone, including the warning signs that need urgent care.
What’s normal
- A bump over the break. This is new bone forming. It usually shrinks over months, and a small bump often stays for good
- Bruising that spreads across the chest or down the arm
- Grinding or crackling when you move the shoulder in the early weeks
- Numbness near the scar after surgery. The skin on your chest just below the scar often feels numb
- A stiff shoulder once the sling comes off. It loosens with daily movement. See stiff shoulder after surgery
What helps
- Sleep propped up on pillows if lying flat hurts. See sleeping after shoulder surgery for set-ups that also work here
- Take the sling off when your team says you can. The sling is for comfort. Keeping it on longer than needed makes the shoulder stiffer
- Stop smoking. Smokers heal more slowly, and so do people with diabetes
- Pain relief: acetaminophen (paracetamol) or anti-inflammatories if they are safe for you. Check with your pharmacist
When can I…
- Drive: not while you’re in the sling. Once it’s off, you can move the shoulder comfortably and you can control the car in an emergency. Check with your insurer
- Go back to a desk job: as soon as you’re comfortable and can get there safely
- Lift heavy or work overhead: not for the first 6 weeks. Build up gradually after that
- Cycle: not while you’re in the sling. A fall onto the same shoulder is the last thing you need
- Play contact sport: at least 12 weeks, possibly longer, and only once the bone has fully healed. Rebuild shoulder strength first, then return in stages
Go to the emergency department if
- You have difficulty breathing, chest pain or you cough up blood
- Bone is sticking out, or the skin over the break is tight, pale and pushed up
- The arm turns cold, pale or blue, or goes numb
Call your surgeon or fracture clinic today if
- The wound is red, swollen, hot or leaking
- You have a fever or feel unwell
- Pain is getting WORSE after the first week instead of easing
Mention it at your next review if
- The break still hurts, or you can still feel the ends moving, after about 3 months
- The plate rubs under straps or seatbelts
- The shoulder is still very stiff several weeks after the sling comes off
The sling comes off in weeks. The bone takes months. Contact sport waits for the X-ray, not the calendar.