What is a Fracture of the Proximal Humerus?
The humerus is the long bone in the arm that attaches to the shoulder joint at one end and the elbow at the other. It can be fractured in the lower portion, the mid portion and the upper portion, where it connects to the shoulder joint. The third scenario is what is typically referred to as a fracture of the proximal humerus. The shoulder blade and humerus form the glenohumeral joint. This is what you would normally think of as your “shoulder joint”. The glenohumeral joint is a ball-and-socket joint, consisting of the head of the humerus and the glenoid fossa, which is formed by a slightly hollowed portion of the end of the shoulder blade. The area of bone between the head and the shaft of the humerus is called the neck. Fractures of the proximal humerus (“humeral head fracture” or “surgical neck fracture”) frequently occur in elderly women with osteoporosis, a condition of brittle, fragile bones. These fractures can vary in severity but 80 percent of them are minimally displaced and c
