About this topic
Your shoulder joint has many muscles. The shoulder has three bones: your upper arm bone, the shoulder blade, and the collarbone. A shoulder fracture can involve any of the bones in your shoulder. You may also have damage to the nerves and blood vessels in the shoulder. The way the doctor treats your shoulder fracture depends on where it is in your shoulder and how bad the break is. Your doctor may treat the fracture by limiting your arm movement or with surgery. ‚
What care is needed at home?
- Ask your doctor what you need to do when you go home. Make sure you ask questions if you do not understand what the doctor says. This way you will know what you need to do.
- Rest your shoulder. Do not move the arm in ways that cause pain in the shoulder.
- Place an ice pack or a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a towel over the painful part. Never put ice right on the skin. Do not leave the ice on more than 10 to 15 minutes at a time.
- Prop your arm on pillows to help with swelling. The arm should be raised so your hand is higher than your heart.
- Wear your sling or shoulder immobilizer as ordered. You may need to wear it for 6 to 8 weeks. Your shoulder may feel stiff when the sling is removed. Follow your doctors orders about exercises to help with stiffness.
- If you had surgery, talk to your doctor about how to care for your cut site. Ask your doctor about:
- When you should change your bandages
- When you may take a bath or shower
- If you need to be careful with lifting, pulling, or pushing things over 10 pounds
- When you may go back to your normal activities like work or driving
- Be sure to wash your hands before and after touching your wound.
What follow-up care is needed?
- Your doctor may ask you to make visits to the office to check on your progress. Be sure to keep these visits.
- Stretching and strengthening exercises may be needed until shoulder motion returns.
- Your doctor may send you to physical therapy or an occupational therapist to help you with exercises to improve movement and use of your shoulder.
- Your doctor may send you to a specialist called an orthopedic surgeon if there is a lot of damage.
What drugs may be needed?
The doctor may order drugs to: ‚
- Prevent infection
- Help with pain and swelling
What problems could happen?
- Infection
- Nerve or blood vessel damage
- Slow bone healing
- Frozen shoulder
- Arthritis in the shoulder
When do I need to call the doctor?
- Signs of infection. These include a fever of 100.4 ‚ °F (38 ‚ °C) or higher; chills; red, warm, or painful skin.
- Numbness in the hand
- Hand feels cold
- Pain gets worse, or pain drugs do not help the pain
- You are not feeling better in 2 or 3 days or you are feeling worse
Teach Back: Helping You Understand
The Teach Back Method helps you understand the information we are giving you. The idea is simple. After talking with the staff, tell them in your own words what you were just told. This helps to make sure the staff has covered each thing clearly. It also helps to explain things that may have been a bit confusing. Before going home, make sure you are able to do these: ‚
- I can tell you about my fracture.
- I can tell you how to care for my shoulder.
- I can tell you how to care for my cut site if I have one.
- I can tell you what I will do if my hand is cold or numb.
Where can I learn more?
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons ‚
http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/PDFs/A00065.pdf ‚
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons ‚
http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00072 ‚
American Society for Surgery of the Hand ‚
http://handcare.assh.org/Portals/1/ShoulderFractures.pdf ‚
Last Reviewed Date
2015-03-31 ‚
List_set bdysylist
- Neuromuscular and Skeletal
- Therapy (Occupational, Physical, Speech, etc)
Consumer Information Use and Disclaimer
This information is not specific medical advice and does not replace information you receive from your health care provider. This is only a brief summary of general information. It does NOT include all information about conditions, illnesses, injuries, tests, procedures, treatments, therapies, discharge instructions or life-style choices that may apply to you. You must talk with your health care provider for complete information about your health and treatment options. This information should not be used to decide whether or not to accept your health care provider 's advice, instructions or recommendations. Only your health care provider has the knowledge and training to provide advice that is right for you. ‚
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Copyright ‚ © 2016 Wolters Kluwer Clinical Drug Information, Inc. and its affiliates and/or licensors. All rights reserved. ‚