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[/one_half]Humerus fractures usually occur with a fall onto the outstretched hand or elbow. Depending on the injury, the fracture can be transverse (straight across) or spiral (diagonal) or there may be more than one simple fracture (comminuted). With high-energy injuries, for example in a road traffic accident, the amount of associated soft-tissue trauma is likely to be higher and may complicate the treatment of this fracture. Occasionally the fracture may break through the surface of the skin (open), exposing the bone to a possible infection. The fracture can also affect the radial nerve which runs along the back of the bone, causing weakness of certain wrist movements. The associated ‘wrist drop’ may slowly recover over a period of 6-12 months and occasionally, if the nerve was severed during the injury, full wrist function may not recover at all.
