Low-intensity extracorporeal shock wave therapy for midshaft clavicular delayed union: A case report and review of literature

BACKGROUND One of the most common complications following surgery for midshaft clavicle fracture is nonunion/delayed union.Extracorporeal shock wave therapy(ESWT)is an alternative to promote new bone formation without surgical complications.To date,no literature has reported low-intensity ESWT(LI-ESWT)in delayed union of midshaft clavicle fracture.CASE SUMMARY We reported a 66-year-old Chinese amateur cyclist with clavicle delayed union treated with 10 sessions of LI-ESWT(radial,0.057 mJ/mm^(2),3 Hz,3000 shocks).No anesthetics were applied,and no side effects occurred.At the 4 mo and 7 mo follow-ups,the patient achieved clinical and radiographical recovery,respectively.CONCLUSION In conclusion,our findings indicated that LI-ESWT could be a good option for treating midshaft clavicular delayed union.