Comparison of simple arm sling and figure of eight clavicular bandage for midshaft clavicular fractures: a randomised controlled study

This report has been verified by one or more authors of the original publication.

60 patients with a mid-shaft clavicle fracture were randomly assigned to different methods of conservative management. Patients received either a broad arm sling or figure-eight bandage for 3 weeks in order to evaluate potential differences in pain and time to union. Outcomes of interest were evaluated over a mean follow-up time of 8.3 months. The broad arm sling was found to provide significant short-term (day 1) pain benefits in comparison to the figure-eight bandage; however, both treatment methods were found to produce comparable results in terms of pain at all other time points (days 3, 7, 14 and 21). Additionally, no significant differences in patient satisfaction, time to union/return to work, or function were observed between groups.