A shoulder fracture happens when a bone breaks any of the three bones in your shoulder joint. It’s usually caused by traumas like car accidents, sports injuries, or falling onto the ground. You’ll have to wear a sling for several weeks following surgery to repair your bone. It usually takes a few months to recover fully from a fracture around the shoulder.
How long it takes to recover fully depends on which of your bones are fractured, the type of fracture is suffered, and what caused it.
There are 3 bones of the shoulder that can be fractured. The humerus (upper arm bone), clavicle (collar bone), and scapula (shoulder blade).
Your surgeon will realign (set) your bones to their correct position and then secure them in place so they can heal and grow back together. They usually perform what’s called an internal fixation, which means your surgeon inserts metal plates, screws or pins into your bone to hold it in place while it heals.
You might live with these pieces inserted in your bone forever.
Orthopaedic Surgeons are experts in this field. They assess the sort of fracture that has occurred and make a choice on the best approach to recovering from a fracture.
Arthroplasty is joint replacement surgery. If a fracture severely damages your shoulder joint, you may need replacement surgery. Your surgeon will remove the damaged joint and replace it with an artificial joint (a prosthesis).
Sometimes orthopaedic surgeons decide that shoulder arthroplasty is needed for severe osteoarthritis in the shoulder. In more extreme situations, they decide to insert a reverse shoulder replacement. Instead of the normal situation where the socket of the shoulder is on top of the ball, the ball is placed above, and the socket of the joint is inserted into the top of the humerus.
At Melbourne Shoulder Therapy, we work closely with many surgeons who specialise in shoulder fractures. We assist in the process of rehabilitation following surgery for fractures around the shoulder.
Immediately following shoulder surgery, the bones need time to heal. It’s important that excessive stress is not placed on the fracture site. The arm must be held in a sling and active movement by the muscles of the arm might be counterproductive. This naturally has a stiffening effect on the shoulder. It’s important that this does not develop into a frozen shoulder. It takes care to maintain fracture healing while allowing mobilisation of the shoulder joint. The physiotherapists at Melbourne Shoulder Therapy have this critical capacity.
It’s important that the physiotherapist has a detailed understanding of the different surgeries that take place around shoulder fractures and the reasons that important protocols are followed for recovery.
At Melbourne Shoulder Therapy, we have a deep understanding of shoulder surgery and the reasons for the standards we have. It’s critical that the physiotherapist educates and reassures our patients why we have our protocols and answer their questions. We will work together with our patients, and with the surgeons. We all work together, as a team, for the very best outcome.