SHOULDER, ARM & ELBOW Flashcards
Describe what could occur for fracture at the surgical neck of the humerus.
These common fractures of the upper limb can lead to loss of innervation to the deltoid and teres minor. This can also be life-threatening as the posterior humeral circumflex artery can rupture.
Describe the Sternoclavicular joint.
Responsible for abduction/adduction of the upper limb and rotates the clavicle about the joint. Fractures near this area are along the shaft of the clavicle.
Describe the Acromioclavicular Joint.
Abducts and elevates the arm. Strengthened by the coracoclavicular ligament. Shoulder separation occurs if the ACJ ligament(s) tear, which results in the distal end of the clavicle protruding upward.
Describe the Glenohumeral Joint.
The most mobile “Ball and socket” joint known to flex/extend, abduct/adduct, medial/lateral rotation of the arm. Shoulder dislocation here occurs if the glenoid labrum tears and the humerus pops out.
Define the Glenoid Labrum
Extra cartilage that works to deepen the socket and strengthen the glenohumeral joint. Maintains this joint during abduction.
Define the coracohumeral ligament.
Fixes tendons of the rotator cuff around the humeral head. Strengthens the glenohumeral joint.
Define the rotator cuff and the 4 muscles that compose it.
Rotates the shoulder about the GHJ. Consists of Supraspinatus, Infraspinatus, Teres Minor and Subscapularis.
Describe what happens in a Rotator Cuff Tear.
A patient may have trouble abducting the first 15 degrees of his upper limb. Patient attempts to pull the humerus upward but has to lean to abduct the arm.
Define Impingement Syndrome.
Describes when the acromial process grows like teeth and cuts the supraspinatus tendon.
Describe the four muscles involved in the scapulohumeral rhythm.
The superior trapezius pulls up/towards the the midline. The inferior trapezius pulls down/towards the midline. The serratus anterior pulls down/away from the midline. The deltoid pulls up/away from the midline.
What is shoulder separation and how does it differ from shoulder dislocation?
Shoulder separation is caused by tears at the acromioclavicular joint. The clinical finding is that the distal end of the clavicle protrudes. Shoulder dislocation is cause when the labrum of the glenohumeral joint tears and the humerus pops out of the ball-and-socket joint.
What upper limb actions cause a Glenohumeral dislocation?
When the arm is abducted, extended and laterally rotated to an uncomfortable point a shoulder dislocation can occur. Common occurrences include serving a fast baseball pitch, trauma from the back shoulder or when the arm stays static and the trunk jolts forward.
What are you physically doing when performing the scapulohumeral rhythm?
Raising arm overhead by abducting and externally rotating the arm, then bringing it back down like a windmill and repeating.
What muscles work to rotate the scapula during the Scapulohumeral rhythm?
Superior fibers of trapezius and serratus anterior upwardly rotate the scapula
