Case reportAtraumatic scapular fractures in the setting of chronic rotator cuff tear arthropathy: A report of two cases
Section snippets
Patient 1
An 80-year-old, right-hand-dominant woman, with a history of polymyalgia rheumatica and breast cancer treated with lumpectomy and radiation therapy in 1999, was diagnosed with a right rotator cuff tear that was confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging in 2003. Approximately 1 year after the onset of shoulder pain, the pain worsened. She described the pain as worse with activity and located over the posterior aspect of her right scapula. She denied any trauma.
Physical examination revealed no
Discussion
Rotator cuff tears alter the forces that compress the humeral head toward the glenoid and result in altered kinematics of the glenohumeral joint.11 In 1983, Neer et al6 introduced the term rotator cuff tear arthropathy and described the mechanism of how a large cuff tear could lead to violation of the coracoacromial arch. The abnormally directed forces on the glenoid lead to altered loading of the bone, and the stress can lead to subsequent fracture.
The load transfer between the humeral head
References (11)
- et al.
Differential patterns of muscle activation in patients with symptomatic and asymptomatic rotator cuff tears
J Shoulder Elbow Surg
(2005) - et al.
Biomechanics of the rotator cuff
Orthop Clin North Am
(1997) - et al.
Glenohumeral motion in patients with rotator cuff tears: A comparison of asymptomatic and symptomatic shoulders
J Shoulder Elbow Surg
(2000) - et al.
Scapular fractures. Analysis of 113 cases
Clin Orthop
(1991) - et al.
Acromial stress fractures associated with cuff-tear arthropathy. A report of three cases
J Bone Joint Surg Am
(1986)
Cited by (11)
Acromion stress fracture in an elderly cane walker with Parkinson's disease: a case report
2021, JSES Reviews, Reports, and TechniquesStress fracture of the scapular spine associated with rotator cuff dysfunction: Report of 3 cases and review of the literature
2014, Revista Espanola de Cirugia Ortopedica y TraumatologiaThe study of screw placement parameters for Ogawa type I acromial fractures by 3D simulation
2021, Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and ResearchScapular fractures
2016, Musculoskeletal Trauma in the ElderlyScapular fractures
2014, Rockwood, Green, and Wilkins Fractures in Adults and Children: Eighth EditionScapular spine stress fractures: To fix or not to fix, our experience in a patient with bilateral fractures and review of the literature
2014, International Journal of Shoulder Surgery