Introduction

The management of clavicle fractures should be guided by fracture location (middle-third/lateral/medial) and fracture configuration (undisplaced/displaced/comminuted).1–5 Current management guidelines recommend surgical management for middle-third fractures, which are completely displaced, shortened by 2 cm or comminuted, as this can facilitate an earlier return to sport and improve final shoulder function.2 3 5

Our systematic review assessed all clavicle fracture studies that recorded return to sport, to determine the effect of different treatment methods on return rates and times to sport.6 Twenty-three studies were included: 8 were prospective cohort studies, 15 were retrospective cohort studies.6

Here we summarise the results from that systematic review, to determine the optimal management of middle-third clavicle fractures. Such information provides sport physicians and surgeons with an evidence-based treatment algorithm for these injuries, allowing optimisation of return rates and times to sport for affected athletes.