My shoulder broke, and it hurts...

[mroek]

One week ago, I had the misfortune of breaking both my collar bone (clavicle) and my shoulder blade (scapula). I was given a figure-of-eight sling, and a prescription for painkillers (Paracet and Voltaren). For the most part, I have decided against taking the pills, since I have been able to live with the pain. I am under the impression that the pills have no other function than to relieve pain, right? I am also afraid that if I take the pills, I might strain the shoulder too much, with possible adverse effects on healing. I was told to keep the shoulder mobilized, and that I couldn't raise my arm over shoulder height for 6 weeks, at which time I will have to get a new x-ray.

However, I still have lots of unanswered questions, for instance I haven't been given any classification of the fracture(s) (how bad of a fracture is it?), and no prognosis of whether I will recover fully or not. I am afraid that my shoulder will not function as well as before, since the clavicle seems pretty dislocated to me. The scapula fracture I am unable to see in the x-rays, but the doctor said that the fracture was in the "collum scapulae".

If there are any MDs here, perhaps you could tell me more by looking at the x-rays (it's the right-hand shoulder), front and back:

http://personal.dynator.no/clavicula.jpg
http://personal.dynator.no/clavicula_b.jpg

To any mod: If this is the wrong forum (perhaps it belongs in Community?), just move the post as you find appropriate.

[El Greco]

Paracet (I suppose this is just paracetamol) is just for the pain but Voltaren is also antiinflammatory. Perhaps you should not stop Voltaren at least for 2-3 days.

I suspect that the prognosis of recovery will depend on the extent of the damage the surrounding muscles have sustained, which can't be seen from the X-Rays.

I don't know about the severity of the fractures, but a radiologist friend will probably come by tonight so if you don't have any answers by then...

Best wishes for recovery.

[Medb]

However, I still have lots of unanswered questions . . .

My only advice is to find a new doctor who makes you feel comfortable enough to ask the most basic questions about your injury, your treatment, and your future health.

Feel better!

[Peter@Beoworld]

The clavicle almost invariably heals very well and rarely needs any more than the treatment you have been given. Obviously the younger you are, the better! I have seen some much more alarming X-rays which, only a short time later, have shown excellent healing and new bone production before finally healing in such a way that it is tricky to tell that they have been broken. I would however take the painkillers! You don't get a medal for being brave in this situation!

[TruthSeeker]

Take your pain medicine! There is evidence that one of the predictors of ongoing pain after an injury is inadequate pain management (and accompanying severe pain) in the acute period right after the injury. We think this is related to changes throughout the peripheral and central nervous systems that are triggered by the injury and pain. Try googling "central sensitization" and pain for more info.


Take your medicine!!!!

[T'ai Chi]

One week ago, I had the misfortune of breaking both my collar bone (clavicle) and my shoulder blade (scapula).

Oh man, that sucks!

Do you mind relating how it occured?
(so we can all learn to avoid that situation)

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Why would you not do what your doctor prescribes (taking your medication), and then go on the Internet looking for advice? :confused:

[Amapola]

Well, since you did come to the internet looking for advice, here it is: TAKE YOUR MEDICINE.

"Living with the pain" isn't the point. The point is to heal. You will heal better and faster if there is less pain. (I was just told this by 2 vets, 2 doctors and a paramedic. Apparently your body will carry on better if it is not in constant pain, and will get on with the job of healing.) Also of course what El Greco said about anti-inflammatory medicine should be considered. He is a pharmacist and is giving you good advice. Take it.

[Pyrrho]

The Internet is full of free medical advice, most of it wrong.

Talk to your doctors. Period.

[NeilC]

Voltarol is an effective NSAID and will relieve the pain a lot as well as stem inflammation. Taken with paracetamol it's a pretty effective combination - short of going down the opiates route it's about as effective as you are gonna get.

Clearly you need to speak to you do and ask him the questions. There is no point in getting expert advice and then ignoring it unless you have good reason to do so.

[mroek]

Thanks, everyone!

I am not trying to be brave, I just thought that if the pain wasn't too bad, then it would be ok not to take the painkillers. As I also said, I was afraid that hiding the pain with painkillers might cause me to move in ways that could have adverse effects on the healing. Now it's been a week, and I have no pain while being still, and not too much pain when moving carefully. Should I still start taking the pain medication now?

I googled a bit, and there seems to be some evidence that NSAIDs (like Voltaren) can to a slight degree inhibit bone healing. That's not good if true.

Here's how it happened:

I live in Norway, and my brother-in-law wanted me to come with him to a skiing centre where you could rent sleds (the kind with a steering wheel), and take the ski tow to the top, and slide down at high speed. Well, the fifth run ended not-so-well. My brother-in-law had been there a few times before, and I though he knew the downhill routes well. Turns out he didn't... We went down the wrong route, and at the bottom there was a large, nice empty area. No problem, I thought, but suddenly there was this large ditch in front of the nice empty area (turns out it was a parking lot without any cars). Too late to brake, and I flew in the air, then landed in the ditch at high speed. My upper torso probably hit my right knee, and bones broke. The speed was probably around 60 miles/h, so inevitably something had to give. Unfortunately, that was me...

[LibraryLady]

I will echo the others and say,

LISTEN TO YOUR DOCTORS

Yeesh.

[logical muse]

Forget your doctor, ask Drs. MAS...

[kittynh]

Living up North here it's amazing how many serious injuries happen with sledding! People think skiing, or snowboarding, but sledding is considered "safe". Tell that to the tree you hit.

[mroek]

Of course I am listening to the doctors, it's just that I was under the impression that taking the painkillers had no purpose other than to keep some of the discomfort away. I may have been wrong, just don't cut my head off for it... :o

[LordoftheLeftHand]

Forget your doctor, ask Drs. MAS...

Good idea. If like cures like, then the cure for the breaking of some big bones would be to break some smaller ones. Your little fingers and toes should be a good start.

LLH

[jj]

And if you can't get a straight answer from your doctor, INSIST THAT YOU GET ONE.
Oh, and yes, LISTEN TO THE DOCTOR, DADGUMIT.

[El Greco]

I googled a bit, and there seems to be some evidence that NSAIDs (like Voltaren) can to a slight degree inhibit bone healing. That's not good if true.

That's correct, because to a certain degree the inflammation promotes healing. Ask your doctor what he thinks about it. If you can get a few different opinions and get several doctors to disagree with each other, that's great fun as well. :D

[Dogdoctor]

I am not a human doctor but my understanding is that the clavicle is not a weight bearing bone so it should heal with immobilization and work reasonably well after healing. I am sure your doctor could tell you the correct answer to that question. If you are worried that the pain meds will kill the pain enough that you will use you arm when you shouldn't, I don't think they work that well but certainly your doctor would have a better answer for that. I can tell you that is they make you feel drugged out and more likely to fall then they may do that. I rarely take pain meds from doctors and mostly they tell me to take them for pain so if there is no significant pain I don't take them which is most of the time. I end up tossing them in the trash after I am all better.

[Amapola]

Of course I am listening to the doctors, it's just that I was under the impression that taking the painkillers had no purpose other than to keep some of the discomfort away. I may have been wrong, just don't cut my head off for it... :o

Hey Mroek, not cutting your head off! :)

One of your unanswered questions was how it would heal up. I had a broken collar bone too (not the broken shoulder blade though) and mine actually had bone that went through the skin. However it is just fine, healed up great. I do have a "weather ache" in it, and can tell when the weather is going to change! ;) Pretty useful for a person like you who likes to sled!!! :D

[Zep]

Talk to Truthseeker - she is a recognised expert on the subject of pain, and pain management. Value and heed her advice.

[Hydrogen Cyanide]

Living up North here it's amazing how many serious injuries happen with sledding! People think skiing, or snowboarding, but sledding is considered "safe". Tell that to the tree you hit.

Every ski season there is usually at least one person killed hitting a tree, or falling off a cliff or getting lost in the back country. Helmets are becoming more common... there should be no delusion about it being "safe" (though some may think cross-country skiing is "safe"... but my dad as a doozy of tale of ending up skiing down a small avalanche while cross country skiing).

Broken bones hurt... and if it does not hurt much now, it will later.

[logical muse]

I am not a human doctor...
The aliens are among us.

[Dogdoctor]

The aliens are among us.
shhhh don't tell anyone

[Hellbound]

His real name is Dr. Zoidberg :)

[mroek]

Now it's been two weeks, and I am getting better, but I can still feel the bone ends as they rub against each other. It is not all that painful, but it is an eerie feeling, and now I am getting a bit worried about it. At two weeks, I would have expected that some tissue would have formed at the fracture site to keep the bones from moving, right?

Not being able to do what I am used to is really getting frustrating... :mad:

Other than that, thanks for the support, I appreciate it!

[bruto]

Now it's been two weeks, and I am getting better, but I can still feel the bone ends as they rub against each other. It is not all that painful, but it is an eerie feeling, and now I am getting a bit worried about it. At two weeks, I would have expected that some tissue would have formed at the fracture site to keep the bones from moving, right?

Not being able to do what I am used to is really getting frustrating... :mad:

Other than that, thanks for the support, I appreciate it!

I think you need to talk to another doctor or a good physical therapist about this, to see if it would help to keep the bones from moving around so much. Claivicles are said to heal by themselves usually, but I know from second-hand experience, and first-hand out-of-pocket expense, that they do not always. My daughter broke her clavicle, and it didn't heal, and required rather expensive surgery to insert a plate.

[rjh01]

What can you do if 5 minutes after seeing your doctor you think of some question to ask? Like what are the benefits of taking painkillers apart from killing pain? You may not be scheduled to see the doctor again for weeks if at all. If only there was a quick and reliable way to get these questions answered preferably by your own doctor.

[mroek]

I'll give it a few more days before taking any action. If the bones seems stabilized within a week from now, I'll probably just wait for my scheduled visit to the hospital the 23. of March (with new x-rays and a medical check).

However, if the bones refuse to stabilize, I'll call the hospital for an early check.

Since I live in Norway, I won't have to pay much for surgery, but I hope I won't need it.

To bruto: How many weeks did your daugher wait for natural healing before the fracture was surgically corrected?

[bruto]

I'll give it a few more days before taking any action. If the bones seems stabilized within a week from now, I'll probably just wait for my scheduled visit to the hospital the 23. of March (with new x-rays and a medical check).

However, if the bones refuse to stabilize, I'll call the hospital for an early check.

Since I live in Norway, I won't have to pay much for surgery, but I hope I won't need it.

To bruto: How many weeks did your daugher wait for natural healing before the fracture was surgically corrected?

She waited many months. Way too long. Living in Boston and going to the kind of clinics poor students and low income people go to.... Doctors kept saying "it ought to get better," and she's kind of stoical about things, and got some contradictory opinions. We finally took her to a good orthopedist elsewhere whom we trusted. It's fixed now. I'm not sure just how long is advisable to wait for natural healing, but don't wait for nearly a year!

[CurtC]

I broke my clavicle two or three years ago (mountain bike jump gone bad) at the age of 41 or 42, and my x-ray looked just like yours. It healed up fine, with the bone still askew, like your x-ray. It's pretty fun to gross people out by showing it to them, and even letting them touch the pointy end of the bone just beneath the thin skin.

I also didn't take any pain medication, only because it would make me feel drunk. But if the pain is making it difficult for you to sleep, that can't be good for you. You need restful sleep, so take it if you need it.

[CurtC]

In fact, I found my x-ray. It's from 2003, when I was 41...

[mroek]

@CurtC: So the bump you can feel is from the misalignment of the bones, not from new bone material than has formed? A colleague of mine broke his collarbone last year, and he got a pretty large bump from the new bone material that formed. How long did it take to heal in your case?

In my case, I can feel the pointy end of the bone, and it still feels pretty much the same as it did right after it happened nearly three weeks ago. It does seem as if the bone ends has stabilized now, but I am a little wary that I cannot feel much difference by now. I would have expected to perhaps feel some of the callus that should form just below the pointy end of the bone, perhaps to smoothen the bump a little.

My arm isn't of much use, and I can feel strain in the fracture area with many movements of my arm. I'm getting worried that my shoulder joint will stiffen if I don't move my arm more, but at the same time I am afraid to do anything bad to the (hopefully) healing bone. I am able to let the arm swing like a circular pendulum, but not in very large circles, so only a limited range of motion is put on the shoulder joint.

I read somewhere that taking Calcium pills could have positive effects on bone healing, but I was unable to find any scientific proof of this. Does anyone know anything about that?

Man, this sucks...

[John Bentley]

@CurtC: So the bump you can feel is from the misalignment of the bones, not from new bone material than has formed? A colleague of mine broke his collarbone last year, and he got a pretty large bump from the new bone material that formed. How long did it take to heal in your case?

In my case, I can feel the pointy end of the bone, and it still feels pretty much the same as it did right after it happened nearly three weeks ago. It does seem as if the bone ends has stabilized now, but I am a little wary that I cannot feel much difference by now. I would have expected to perhaps feel some of the callus that should form just below the pointy end of the bone, perhaps to smoothen the bump a little.

The lump around a fracture is caused both by the ends of the fractured bones and by the callus. The callus is formed initially by the bleeding around the fracture. The more bleeding, the bigger the callus. Along with the blood cells, a type of cell called a fibroblast enters the area and lays down scar tissure. Soon after that (about 2 to 3 weeks), the blood callus has been replaced with a fibrous callus that stabilizes the bone reasonably well. The majority of the fibroblasts are transformed into cells called chondroblasts (they make cartilage) and osteoblasts (they make bone) by various chemical gradients (such as oxygen content in the tissues) and chemicals released by the broken bone. This takes another week or two. The fibrous callus is then replaced with cartilage and bone. After the body has completely stabilized the fracture with fibrous tissue, cartilage, and bone, (this takes about 2 to 3 months, depending on lots of things that I won't go into here) remodelling occurs. That's the process whereby bone is taken away from some areas and laid down in other areas. Areas that receive pressure when you use the bone get more bone laid down, and areas that receive less pressure get bone removed. This process is ongoing and can take months to years before the normal contour of the bone is restored. In some cases, the new shape of the bone causes abnormal stresses to form along the bone and the remodelling process causes an abnormal shape of the bone.

ETA: I've oversimplified the process of bone healing here. I have described an ideal situation. Your actual bone healing rate may vary. :)

Bottom line, you may always have a lump where the fracture occurred. If the fracture ends are reasonably well aligned, the bone will eventually achieve the original shape after many months to years. If the bone ends are grossly misaligned, you will end up with a close approximation of the original shape, but not perfect.

My arm isn't of much use, and I can feel strain in the fracture area with many movements of my arm. I'm getting worried that my shoulder joint will stiffen if I don't move my arm more, but at the same time I am afraid to do anything bad to the (hopefully) healing bone. I am able to let the arm swing like a circular pendulum, but not in very large circles, so only a limited range of motion is put on the shoulder joint.

You REALLY need to ask your orthopedic doctor about getting physical therapy. Sounds like it's a little early yet. Movement at the fracture site slows healing considerably, so the fracture needs to be stable before moving it much. However, you are correct in thinking that shoulder motion will be limited if you don't get the proper physical therapy after such an injury.

I read somewhere that taking Calcium pills could have positive effects on bone healing, but I was unable to find any scientific proof of this. Does anyone know anything about that?

This is pure BS. Unless you have a life threatening calcium deficiency which is causing your other bones to be soft, or you have osteoporosis, the calcium supplementation will only give you expensive feces. Your body's calcium balance is amazingly well regulated by the thyroid and parathyroid glands, mainly. If your broken bone needs more calcium, your body will absorb more from the gut and "borrow" some from your other bones.

[mroek]

John, thank you very much for a comprehensive answer! I did suspect that the calcium pill stuff was BS, but now I know. Your explanation makes perfect sense.

I couldn't care less if there is a bump on the bone after healing, the only thing I care about is a full recovery. If I need physical therapy, I will of course get it, but it is still a bit early. I will however try to excercise the shoulder as much as I can without causing pain, as the doctor said.

[CurtC]

Mine happened three years ago, and I still feel the pointy end of the bone just beneath my skin, pretty much as it was right after it happened. The lump is from the fact that the two halves of the bone are no longer aligned. Maybe it has rounded off slightly due to the new bone buildup, but not enough for me to notice. It's pretty much the same as it was right after it happened, except now it's fixed in place.

Here's a picture of it now, taken right here in my hotel room in California with my crappy little Palm camera:
http://ccdominoes.com/pics/Pic_36.jpg

[mroek]

That's really pointy! :jaw-dropp

Seriously, my injury looks pretty much the same, but probably a little less pointy than yours.

However, this morning before I was getting out of bed, the pointy end was seemingly gone, I couldn't feel it with my fingers. After I got in an upright position it was back to being pointy. This worries me a little, as it must mean that the bone ends are still moving around, and that can't be good for healing. I cannot actually feel the bones moving, but they obviously must have done.

So today I'm kind of depressed. I really hate this!

Edit to reiterate: CurtC, how long did it take to heal in your case?

[Nero]

mroek,

My sympathies, I've broken my collar bone a couple of times over the years (playing rugby), I remember the pain well.

Similar to yourself after the first few days I stopped taking the pain killers, by that stage the pain was manageable and I reasoned that feeling it would alert me to the fact that I was doing something I shouldn’t.

The last time I broke my collar bone, the break looked very similar to the ones you show in your x-ray and I remember the bone ends being quite mobile for a good few weeks, but it all healed well in the end. As other posters have pointed out you will most certainly be left with a lump of some sort. But eh, we can't all be perfect.

One last point, if you're a smoker stop now. Smoking seriously inhibits bone re-growth.

As an aside, this is my first post to this forum - hello all.

[John Bentley]

Mine happened three years ago, and I still feel the pointy end of the bone just beneath my skin, pretty much as it was right after it happened. The lump is from the fact that the two halves of the bone are no longer aligned. Maybe it has rounded off slightly due to the new bone buildup, but not enough for me to notice. It's pretty much the same as it was right after it happened, except now it's fixed in place.

CurtC,

That's pretty interesting, actually. I would have expected more extensive remodelling after 3 years. I would guess that the reason for this is that the collarbone is not a weight bearing bone, and therefore has very few stresses applied to it to induce remodelling. Dogs and cats have no collarbones, so I've never seen how they heal over long periods of time. I have seen skull fractures in animals do the same thing, however, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

Bone remodelling is an interesting phenomenon. Nobody knows exactly how it works. The current theory is that the piezoelectric nature of bone causes minute electrical potentials when stressed, and it is these potentials that somehow guide the osteoblasts and osteoclasts in remodeling the bone.

[Blue Bubble]

Mine happened three years ago, and I still feel the pointy end of the bone just beneath my skin, pretty much as it was right after it happened. The lump is from the fact that the two halves of the bone are no longer aligned. Maybe it has rounded off slightly due to the new bone buildup, but not enough for me to notice. It's pretty much the same as it was right after it happened, except now it's fixed in place.


Curt's picture is almost identical to mine. I broke mine 38 years ago.

[Mephisto]

Now it's been two weeks, and I am getting better, but I can still feel the bone ends as they rub against each other. It is not all that painful, but it is an eerie feeling, and now I am getting a bit worried about it. At two weeks, I would have expected that some tissue would have formed at the fracture site to keep the bones from moving, right?

Not being able to do what I am used to is really getting frustrating... :mad:

Other than that, thanks for the support, I appreciate it!

I had the misfortune of suffering the same type of injury (a BMX wreck) a few years back. I sympathize with you completely, but urge you to remain patient (no pun intended) as these injuries take awhile to heal. I also urge you not to move it so that you feel the bone ends rub together, get in a place that's comfortable and keep it immobilized! It's never going to heal if you don't.

The bad news is; you're going to have a big bump on your shoulder and a lot of pain when the weather is bad. My range of motion after the accident is pretty good, but there have been instances where moving a certain way will send a sharp pain up my shoulder.

As for the medication - I was prescribed Vicodin which I quit taking within a week because it constipated me terribly. I can't believe that Vicodin is one of TWO more commonly abused drugs in the U.S. Who would want to feel groggy, punch-drunk AND constipated recreationally? I'm sure if you consult with your physician, he'll agree to letting you use the pain killers only as needed.

If you have any other questions, just raise your hand. ;)

[mroek]

I cannot actually feel the bone ends rubbing any more, but I still believe they are moving due to the fact that I can feel (with my finger) almost no bump after sleeping, but when I am out of bed, the bump is back.

Another concern is that my fractured shoulder blade is visibly different from the healthy one. The lower part of it protrudes more under the skin than the other one. How much more is difficult to say, but it is plainly visible. I sure hope this isn't going to bother me much later on, for instance when carrying a backpack. I can of course hope that some remodelling will occur over time, but I don't have high expectations. I find it strange that there has been no pain in the shoulder blade area, not even when I lie in bed. No skin discoloration on the back, either. The collarbone area has had lots of nice colors, though... :)

I went to the hospital on Tuesday (almost a week ago), but the attending nurse said that there was no point in doing any check before the check that is scheduled March 23. The reason was that nothing would be done anyway, so waiting was the only option.

[CurtC]

mroek, to answer your earlier question, I think I wore the "figure of eight" brace for six weeks.

Are you sure that your collar bone is moving still, or could it simply be that it's more prominent when you're standing than lying down? Mine is healed and solid, but it shows more or less depending on the position of my shoulder. For my photo earlier I pulled my shoulder back to highlight it more.

By the way, pain from a broken bone is due to damage to the surrounding soft tissues. Bones themselves don't have nerves. If your shoulder blade broke in such a way that the surrounding tissue wasn't damaged, I wouldn't expect much pain there.

[mroek]

About the "figure of eight"-brace, the nurse at the hospital said that they (the hospital here in Haugesund) didn't use those any more, so I could just take it off if I wanted. It wouldn't make any difference. I've chosen to keep it on for comfort for now.

It is possible that the "bump" is more prominent when I'm upright, but in that case it should disappear as soon as I lie down again. That doesn't happen. It seems that I have to lie down for quite some time for it to go away. I am of course hoping that I'm fooled by something else, and that the bones aren't moving, but I have no other explanation for this.

What you say about pain being due to damaged surrounding tissue makes sense, especially since I didn't get any blow to my back, the bones that broke did so because of a frontside blow to the shoulder.

[John Bentley]

By the way, pain from a broken bone is due to damage to the surrounding soft tissues. Bones themselves don't have nerves. If your shoulder blade broke in such a way that the surrounding tissue wasn't damaged, I wouldn't expect much pain there.

CurtC,

I think you are confusing cartilage with bone. Cartilage does not have any nerves or blood vessels present. However, bone has both nerves and blood vessels. In compact bone, they run in Haversian canals within the bone layers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haversian_canals) and in cancellous bone, they ramify more freely within the matrix.

Broken and damaged cartilage causes pain by inflaming surrounding tissue. Broken bones can hurt all by themselves, although the damage to surrounding tissue can be much more severe.

[mroek]

I went to the followup x-ray and medical examination today. I was a bit disappointed at first when I saw the new x-rays, as the bone still looks pretty much broken. However, the doctor said that it was healing quite ok. I am doing better, but my arm is still pretty useless. Trying to lift it is painful, but for the most part it is muscular pain. Probably natural, as the arm has been pretty much immobilized for a long time. The doctor said that I should start training, but that I should avoid lifting anything heavy. He said that most likely I would recover fully, but that I should expect at least two more months until functioning normally. That's not too shabby, although I was hoping for a more speedy recovery. :)

The clavicle has clearly moved in a favourable direction, as you can see from the x-ray:

http://personal.dynator.no/clavicula_before_after.jpg

The doctor said that no more x-rays would be necessary unless I didn't get well in the next couple of months. I'm crossing my fingers..

Oh and BTW, the shoulder blade also seemed to be healing according to the doctor.

-Øyvind

[Amapola]

Excellent! That is great to hear you are making progress.

For some reason, when a part of the body is immobilized like that, you will have a hard time moving it afterwards. That's why humans came up with physical therapy! It hurts, and it is a pain to go and do it, but it really works - honest! :D One tip I learned is to use heat while doing your exercises. Sometimes that is not possible, but you may be able to do some of your exercises in the shower, for example. It can help your muscles to stretch a little more. I had a torn tendon and broken bones in my hand, so I did stretching exercises to get back my range of motion, while washing dishes! Good luck, if you work at the exercises you will probably never even notice this in a year or two - except when the weather changes! ;)

[Nero]

Great to hear that you're making progress.

After my breaks I found that recovering full movement took time and was painful but wasn't too onerous. What was more surprising was the muscle loss, took quite a while to get back to full strength. But do persevere you'll be fighting fit soon enough.

Listen to your physiotherapist and do your exercises like a good boy.

[bruto]

That looks good.

[sickstan]

Mroek, thanks for sharing and glad you're feeling better.

Hey do you have any views of the scapular fracture as well?. Did you get a lateral view of the scapula? Interesting injury type. Can you describe the mechanism of injury? e.g. "A bouncer threw me off the stage at the strip bar, and I hit a edge of a table with the top of my shoulder."

[mroek]

Hey do you have any views of the scapular fracture as well?. Did you get a lateral view of the scapula? Interesting injury type. Can you describe the mechanism of injury? e.g. "A bouncer threw me off the stage at the strip bar, and I hit a edge of a table with the top of my shoulder."
Thanks for the kind words to all of you!

Yes, sure I have some more x-rays, although I am not able to analyze them properly myself, so you can have a go if you like. The scapula fracture is clearly visible in some of the images, not so easy to see in others.

I've described how the injury happened elsewhere in this thread, but it was over very quickly, and I am not absolutely sure which mechanism broke which bones. Scapular fractures are rare, so I guess I was just lucky.. :boggled:

Anyway, here's the images that shows the shoulder/scapula:

http://personal.dynator.no/x-rays_shoulder.jpg

Regards
-Øyvind