A crunching tackle, flying headfirst off the bike onto your shoulder, or falling onto an elbow will often be enough to injure an acromio-clavicular joint (ACJ). When your patient walks in supporting their arm, or wearing a collar-and-cuff to offload their ACJ, how will you accurately assess and grade their injury? What will you include in your ACJ patient rehab to help them get back to full shoulder function and return to sport?

In Physio Edge podcast episode 87 with Dr Ian Horsley, Physio with English Rugby, English Institute of Sport and Olympic Team GB, we explore ACJ and clavicular injuries, including:

• ACJ anatomy, and which ligaments are commonly injured
• How to grade an ACJ injury
• When to request imaging
• Clavicular osteolysis
• How to identify SLAP lesions that occur with ACJ injuries
• How to assess patients with ACJ injury
• Objective assessment tests to help your diagnosis
• The role of the scapula in ACJ rehab
• Common exercises you can use in rehab
• Progressing ACJ rehab to prepare for return to sport
• How to include return to contact in your rehab eg for rugby players
• How much pain is ok during rehabilitation
• Return to play timeframes with common
• What do do when rehab is not progressing to plan
• Clavicular fractures - conservative or surgical management
• Ways to stimulate osteoblastic activity post fracture

Links associated with this episode:

• Download and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes

• Download the podcast now using my favourite podcast app - Overcast

• Listen to the podcast on Spotify

• Improve your confidence and patient results with a free trial Clinical Edge membership

• Online course - Shoulder rehabilitation for contact sports and the rugby shoulder with Dr Ian Horsley

• Let David know what you liked about this podcast on Twitter

• Review the podcast on iTunes

• Like the podcast on Facebook

• Infographics by Clinical Edge

• Dr Ian Horsley on Twitter - @Back_in_action

• Back in Action Physiotherapy

• You Tube - Back in Action

• Facebook - Back in Action

• Research Gate - Dr Ian Horsley

Resources associated with this episode:

Jacob et al. 2017. Classifications in Brief: Rockwood Classification of Acromioclavicular Joint Separations.

Robertson et al. 2016. Return to sport following clavicle factors: a systemic review.

Other Episodes of Interest:

PE 077 - Anterior shoulder pain, long head of biceps tendon pathology and SLAP tears with Jo Gibson

PE 067 - Shoulder special tests and the rotator cuff with Dr Chris Littlewood

PE 043 - Sporting Shoulder with Jo Gibson

PE 040 - Shoulder Simplified With Adam Meakins

PE 021 - Shoulder Pain With Dr Jeremy Lewis