The fracture site will swell rapidly after the accident as the bone and muscle bleeds into the tissues. Even a small laceration in the presence of a fracture should raise suspicion of an open fracture. If there is an open fracture the wound is usually obvious and the bone ends may be seen. There may be deformity of the upper arm with an obvious bend in the bone. The pain is made worse by attempting to move the arm or by passive movements of the lower arm. It is common for the patient to hold the elbow or forearm still, splinting it against the body. This may cause a lot of pain at the fracture site when it moves. The lower part of the arm will go limp because the lower part of the arm is uncontrollable. Sudden severe pain following an accident or a sudden force on the upper arm is characteristic of a fracture. What symptoms do humerus fractures cause? Other nerves and major blood vessels are more rarely damaged but may be injured as part of a gunshot wound or a major laceration. The radial nerve that supplies the muscles that straighten the wrist and fingers runs next to the shaft of the humerus. After the bone breaks the sharp ends tear through nearby structures such as muscle and even nerves or blood vessels. The soft tissue injured around a humerus fracture may be considerable. Throwing grenades during military training has a particularly high incidence of spiral fracture of the humerus! ![]() Direct twisting forces as in arm wrestling have been known to cause spiral fractures as has throwing. This can happen when the lower arm is locked or trapped in machinery and the body rotates. Twisting injuries result in a spiral fracture pattern in the shaft of the humerus. The fracture pattern is often transverse. This is a rare event but may be the first sign of the cancer in some people.įractures of the shaft of the humerus that occur from bending forces may have a short oblique pattern or may have multiple fragments.Ĭompression fractures happen when the force is primarily along the line of the bone. Pathological fractures through abnormal bone occur frequently in osteoporosis and may also happen if there is a deposit of cancer in the shaft of the humerus. Open fractures occur with high-energy impact injuries and with gunshot wounds but are much less common with lower energy events such as falls and throwing injuries. Related Document: Advanced Sports Therapy's Guide to Shoulder Anatomyīecause of the thick layers of muscle around the shaft of the humerus, open fractures are uncommon. You cannot lift up or rotate the arm below the break. This is significant because it means that any break of the humerus interrupts the function of the arm. In adults it is virtually impossible to break the tube on one side only. There are different patterns of fracture depending on the mechanism of injury, but all involve a complete break around the entire circumference of the tubular bone. The shaft of the humerus can be broken almost anywhere along its length, although a fracture is more common at the middle of the shaft and below. In this guide we are concerned with injuries to the tubular shaft of the humerus. The upper arm is so muscular that it is quite difficult to feel the actual bone. Most of the shaft of the bone is tubular but it flattens out at the lower end. ![]() It is joined to the shaft of the bone by a region called the neck of the humerus. What structures are most commonly injured?Īt the shoulder the humerus has a rounded end (the humeral head) that forms part of the shoulder joint.
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