Luxatio erecta humeri: Report of a swimming injury with analysis of the mechanism of the injury and associated injuries in literature

Abstract

Inferior shoulder dislocation also referred to as luxatio erecta is an unusual and rare type of shoulder dislocation. Its incidence is about 0.5% among all shoulder dislocations. After an exhaustive search of all the available literature we were unable to find a swimming accident case that did not have other associated injuries and an uneventful reduction. The mechanism of the injury was mostly related to direct axial loading and indirect hyperabduction lever arm. We would like to emphasize the importance of this being a swimming accident, a type of accident that requires awareness of the possibility of dangerous asphyxia injuries caused by panic in the water (swimming pool, river, lake, sea, etc.). We described the nature of the injury and review the literature concerning the mechanism of the injury and associated neurovascular impairment at admission time. We also presented a supplemental video to contribute to the education of young residents and orthopedic surgeons.

An Unusual Traumatic Presentation: Luxatio Erecta Humeri and Concomitant Hip Dislocation

“…The authors reported that the most frequent mechanism was falling [3]. However, our patient was a construction worker who was rescued from a collapsed building; no other cases have been associated with the same mechanism, in either the review of Gökkuş et al or the other studies.…”

“…This rare dislocation may occur from a direct or indirect mechanism, the majority of which result from falling accidents [2, 3]. The first and most common mechanism is a direct loading force on a fully abducted arm, as seen on our case.…”

“…The first and most common mechanism is a direct loading force on a fully abducted arm, as seen on our case. The second mechanism is an indirect sudden forceful hyperabduction of an abducted upper extremity [2, 3]. …”

Luxación erecta expuesta de hombro en un niño

“…La luxación de hombro en niños es una entidad infrecuente, siendo sumamente rara la luxación erecta o glenohumeral inferior, se desconocen cifras certeras de su incidencia (1)(8) (10) .…”

Luxatio erecta humeri in the swimmer's shoulder: A combination of ligamentous laxity and motion dyskinesis

“…on their insightful and unique description of luxatio erecta humeri as a result of a swimming injury. [ 1 ] This is a quite rare but fascinating pathologic condition which can present physicians with a significant treatment challenge. I applaud the authors for publishing their report in a journal with open access so that all physicians who may encounter this injury can easily access the information required to effectively render treatment for these patients.…”