SummaryDislocation of the acromioclavicular joint is a common joint injury in sport, especially those in which there is the risk of falling on to the point of the shoulder. There is controversy regarding the early management of such a dislocation but recent literature strongly favours a conservative approach, because no single surgical procedure has produced results which are consistently better than those achieved following conservative management. In addition the few studies which document late results suggest that in most instances the outcome following conservative treatment is very satisfactory with good power and movement of the shoulder.