Acromioclavicular Joint Pain

The acromioclavicular joint is the joint between the collar bone and the shoulder blade. Often the name of the acromioclavicular joint is shortened simply to the "AC" joint.

In many of us we can see the joint as a prominent bump on top of the front of the shoulder. The AC joint can be injured by direct trauma or by a fall onto an outstretched arm. Sometimes degenerate arthritis can affect it but this too is often the long term end result of an injury.

Acromioclavicular joint pain is nearly always felt in a small area over the joint near to the tip of the shoulder. There is rarely any spread or radiation of the pain and most patients with AC joint pain will point specifically to the area of the joint as the site of their symptoms.