A direct and forceful traumatic injury like in a motor vehicle collision or a fall from a great height can cause a fracture in your shoulder blade. You will feel swelling, intense pain in your scapular region and inability to move your arm when any part of your scapula undergoes a fracture.

Shoulder Joint Anatomy

Your shoulder is made up of three bones i.e. humerus, scapula, and clavicle. Scapula i.e. the shoulder blade is a triangle-shaped bone protected by a network of tendons and muscles. You can feel your shoulder blade bone at the back of your shoulder. It falls between your shoulder and your spine.

Explanation

Scapula fractures are not very common, and rarely seen in children. They constitute only 1% of the total fractures. Scapula fractures are classified according to the part of scapula, they happen in.

The following types of scapula fractures include- scapular body fractures (these fractures constitute almost 50-60% of scapula fractures), scapular neck fractures (one-fourth of scapula fractures occur in the scapula neck region), glenoid fractures, acromion fractures, or coracoid fractures.

Usually, these fractures are accompanied by another shoulder, spinal cord, head, lungs or ribs injuries.

Causes

The causes of fracture in your scapula may include-

• A direct blow to the shoulder blade
• Traumatic injury sustained in a motor vehicle collision
• Falling from a considerable height

Symptoms

The symptoms that indicate that you may have a scapula fracture are-

• You will feel pain when you try to move your arm
• You will have an underlying pain even when your arm is at rest
• Grazing around your shoulder blade
• Swelling on your shoulder blade

Diagnosis

The diagnosis of your shoulder blade fractures may be carried out in two parts i.e. doctor’s examination and imaging tests.

Doctor’s examination- If there are other injuries in your shoulder with scapula fractures, your doctor may not be able to assess your shoulder in detail. He will observe the posture of your shoulder and check the position of the pain in it. To get better insight he may ask you to undergo some imaging tests.

Imaging tests- To observe the extent of injury to your scapula and to find out if there are any other simultaneous injuries your doctor may advise you to undergo a few tests. They may include-

X-ray- It presents clear images of dense bone structures. Your doctor will assess the severity, and the part of scapula you may have sustained a fracture in.

CT scan- To get a more detailed picture of the injury, your doctor may also recommend you to undergo a computed tomography.

Treatment

Scapula fractures are treated non-surgically unless you have experienced a displaced fracture and your bones have been forced out of their normal place.

Non-Surgical Treatment Techniques

The non-surgical techniques for scapula fractures include-

Immobilizing the shoulder- Your shoulder will be immobilized with a sling. This is important for the bone to heal. Your shoulder will remain in the sling until your pain reduces.

NSAIDs- Sometimes there is excessive pain after a fracture. You may be prescribed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications to diminish your pain simultaneously to immobilizing your shoulder.

Strengthening Exercises- Shoulder and elbow tends to become extremely stiff after the fracture. Your shoulder doctor may recommend some shoulder movement exercises to reduce the stiffness and some stretching exercises may continue for a period of several months to bring back complete movement in your shoulder.

Surgical Treatment Techniques

In some cases, your fracture may have to be repaired with surgery. The cases when it is recommended are-

• You have also sustained a fracture in your collarbone i.e. clavicle
• You have sustained a displaced fracture in your glenoid socket
• The angle of your scapula bone has become deformed

Your shoulder surgeon will reposition the displaced bones into their normal alignment, and then fix them with metal screws and plates. The surgical procedure to repair the fracture can be carried out either arthroscopically or under open surgery, depending on the severity of your fracture.