Shoulder pain. Me for further treatment!

Consult me search browse on goggle practo website Dr Rajinder sharma senior Orthopaedic neurospine joint Replace surgeon ,42 years expertise chandigarh health Department Govt Multispeciality Hospital retired Chandigarh(U.T)

May be hair line chip fracture at greater tubercle.. xray is in rotation.. not true ap view Treatment is shoulder immobilizer and medicine No surgery

Hello and good evening. There is an almost undisplaced fracture of the greater tubercle of humerus. One Xray shows the fracture clearly, the other one doesn't show it because of a different angle. Such fractures are very commonly missed. To explain in simpler terms, there is a crack in the bone, but the bone piece is not moved from it's place. If you wish to confirm the presence of a fracture, please do a CT Scan of the shoulder with 3D reconstruction, it will clearly show the fracture line, the size of the broken bone piece and how much it has moved from it's original place. Although, in my opinion it is not needed at this stage as it will not change the course of treatment.

Please avoid any kind of movement at the shoulder. Keep the arm immobilised in a sling pouch. Recovery can take 3 to 6 weeks. Since the piece of bone appears to not have moved from it's place, an operation to fix the bone piece is not currently necessary. Every one week for 4 weeks, you should repeat the Xray. If any Xray shows that the bone piece has moved, a surgery could be needed or else her shoulder function may be affected permanently. For pain, you can take any commonly prescribed painkiller at the recommended dosage but please be sure that she doesn't have any kidney ailment before that. Ice packs can be applied for pain relief. If a surgery is planned later due to the displacement of the bone piece, she will certainly require a CT scan or an MRI based on the treating doctors preference. In short, the current plan of treatment is going to be non operative, with regular Xray follow up. If any stage it appears that the bone piece is not in place, surgery will be needed.

Shoulder injuries have to be handled very carefully and patiently, by both, the doctor and the patient. Shoulder is a joint that is very prone to stiffness and chronic pain. Please understand that after 3 to 6 weeks of immobilization, the shoulder will be stiff, and will require proper incremental exercises and physiotherapy to regain function, and it will be a slow process. If handled well, the outcome is usually very good. Take care, and get well soon.