Acromioclavicular Joint Pain
in Wrestlers
Ross Hauser, M.D. Marion Hauser, M.S.,R.D.

The acromioclavicular (AC) joint is one of the unsung heroes of the body. It is a diarthrodial joint formed by the distal clavicle and medial facet of the acromion. (The end of the collar bone and that portion of the shoulder blade that meets to form the point of the shoulder).

Interposed in the joint is a fibrocartilaginous disc, and the joint is covered by a capsule. The coracoclavicular and acromioclavicular ligaments reinforce the AC capsule.

The primary functions of the AC joint are to transmit force from the appendicular skeleton (upper extremity) to the axial skeleton (trunk) and to suspend the upper extremity.

(Lemos, M. The evaluation and treatment of the injured acromioclavicular joint in athletes. American Journal of Sports Medicine. 1998; 26:137-144.)

The acromioclavicular joint becomes injured or dislocated when a large force is applied to the acromion when the arm is in an adducted position, for example, during a wrestling takedown or a tackle in football.

The AC joint's job is to distribute the weight of the arm to the rest of the body. It is therefore not surprising that weight lifters and wrestlers who frequently lift large amounts of weights have significant incidences of AC joint sprains.

(Lemos, M. The evaluation and treatment of the injured acromioclavicular joint in athletes. American Journal of Sports Medicine. 1998; 26:137-144.)

Tremendous forces not only injure the AC joint, but are transmitted down the clavicle to the sternoclavicular (SC) joint, which can also be sprained or dislocated. There is a direct correlation between the amount of weight lifted and the weight that is transmitted throughout the AC and SC joints. The greater the weight lifted, the greater the impact throughout the AC joint and, ultimately, the SC joint. (See Figure 30-108 above).

Wrestling Injuries 1 2 3