Humerus Fracture
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Basics
Description
- Proximal humeral fractures:
- Typically described as nondisplaced, displaced, or fracture/dislocation
- Increased incidence with age
- Female to male predominance
- Third most common osteoporotic fracture, after hip and distal radius fractures
- Neer classification: A system that identifies the location, number of fragments, displacement, and angulation of the fracture or fracture/dislocation
- Humeral shaft fractures:
- Account for <3% of fractures
- May be spiral, oblique, or transverse
- Bimodal age distribution
- Humeral shaft fractures (AO classification):
- Simple
- Wedge
- Comminuted (complex)
Etiology
- Proximal humerus fractures:
- Most often a history of a fall (low energy)
- Most common is fall on outstretched hand
- Less common is violent muscle contraction from shock or seizure or higher-energy injury
- Humeral shaft fractures:
- High-energy direct trauma (penetrating or blunt) or bending force
- Less common from fall
- Stress fractures from throwing injury
-- To view the remaining sections of this topic, please log in or purchase a subscription --
Basics
Description
- Proximal humeral fractures:
- Typically described as nondisplaced, displaced, or fracture/dislocation
- Increased incidence with age
- Female to male predominance
- Third most common osteoporotic fracture, after hip and distal radius fractures
- Neer classification: A system that identifies the location, number of fragments, displacement, and angulation of the fracture or fracture/dislocation
- Humeral shaft fractures:
- Account for <3% of fractures
- May be spiral, oblique, or transverse
- Bimodal age distribution
- Humeral shaft fractures (AO classification):
- Simple
- Wedge
- Comminuted (complex)
Etiology
- Proximal humerus fractures:
- Most often a history of a fall (low energy)
- Most common is fall on outstretched hand
- Less common is violent muscle contraction from shock or seizure or higher-energy injury
- Humeral shaft fractures:
- High-energy direct trauma (penetrating or blunt) or bending force
- Less common from fall
- Stress fractures from throwing injury
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