Stress injury of the acromion: case report and literature review

Bilateral acromial stress fractures in a patient with a massive rotator cuff tear

Stress fractures of the acromion and scapular spine are well-known complications following reverse total shoulder arthroplasty. However, these fractures in patients with massive rotator cuff tear or cuff tear arthropathy are extremely rare, and the pathogenesis, clinical features, diagnosis, and treatment of these fractures are poorly understood. We report a case of bilateral stress fracture of the posterior angle of the acromion in a patient with massive rotator cuff tear and discuss the pathogenesis, clinical manifestation, and treatment with a review of the literature.

An unusual mechanism of coracoid fracture in a beginner golfer

Golfers may injure themselves as a result of repetitive asymmetrical loads exerted on the body by poor swing mechanics. If the repetitive sub-maximal loading is not removed, this repetitive loading will exceed the adaptive capacity of bone, eventually resulting in a stress fracture. Stress fracture of the scapula due to golfing is extremely rare. Only two cases of acromion fracture have been reported. A rare case of nontraumatic coracoid fracture in a 50-year-old female beginner golfer is reported here. The mechanism of injury is also discussed. Level of evidence Level IV.

A stress fracture of the base of the acromion: a case report

Background

Stress fractures of the base of the acromion are rare and tend to progress well when conservatively treated. The need for surgery due to this type of fracture has only been reported in two case reports.

Case presentation

A 39-year-old patient, manual laborer, with a stress fracture at the base of the acromion that required surgical treatment due to persistent symptoms and consolidation failure.

Conclusion

We described a new mechanism of injury for stress fractures of the base of the acromion. After the failure of conservative treatment, the patient exhibited good results with osteosynthesis with a plate and screws, with no need for a bone graft.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2474-15-302) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.