Fractured humerus! (Upper arm)

fleur84 started this discussion · 1/14/2013

Hi, been poling now since October 2012 and was progressing quite well until (!!!) I fractured my humerus doing a reverse shoulder mount in my first class of the new year, ouch! It literally snapped in midair (shudder) luckily my feet were almost to the ground so didn't hurt anything else. I had had a dull ache in my bicep for most of December, but put it down to over-use and cut my classes down and wore a support. Then I took two weeks off over Christmas which I thought would do the trick in letting my arm heal. So, I guess it could have been a stress fracture all along due to the aching that led up to the break, OR my bones must be pretty weak! :( Wondering if anyone else has had, or know of someone that had had a similar fracture, and how long should I take off from pole... above the regular 6-12 week healing time for a broken bone?? Thanks xx

16 replies

Mary Ellyn · 1/14/2013
Wow!! OMG...so sorry to hear this! I have never heard of anyone hurting their arm in this way. To my understanding it's not that easy to break the humerus outside of falling or getting your arm caught in some way. It seems like you have had a stress fracture but from what? You need to see what your doctor says about returning to pole. An orthopedic specialist will be your best resource to determine when you can resume activity. Keep us posted on follow up.
Mary Ellyn · 1/14/2013
Just re-reading your post and though I still don't see how it would occur, if you've only been poling since 10/12 I think it's a bit too soon to be doing shoulder dismounts.
fleur84 · 1/14/2013
Yes, that's what my instructor thought too, but the consultant at the hospital said that the type of break I have is normally due to pressure on the bone whilst there is some rotation, and that they typically see these kind of fractures in guys that have been arm wrestling! Lol. And yeah, is a little quick to be doing an advanced moves but I was pretty strong and fit even before pole doing regular cardio, pilates, ballet, kettlebells, swimming and gymnastics when I was young, so Id like to think I know my body's limits... But obviously not hey! :(
Mary Ellyn · 1/14/2013
So this was a spiral fracture???? Or did they say?
Veena · 1/14/2013
Ouch! I have never heard of this happening either! What grip were you using?
fleur84 · 1/14/2013
Double cup, I think it's called
Mary Ellyn · 1/14/2013
I remember learning/seeing spiral fractures from wrestling in nursing but I never really learned the pathology of it. Looking it up now it seems it's from improper shoulder alignment - the shoulder is twisted back while you are pushing the hand/forearm forward. In other words, the shoulder is not kept in line with the same plane as the wrist/hand/elbow. I just can't figure out if this applies to a "correctly" positioned shoulder dismount or if there was some incorrect alignment of the arms/shoulders?
Veena · 1/14/2013
Hmm I can't figure it out either..... Maybe the hand placement was switched (normally the lower hand is on the same side as the shoulder your mounting on) causing things to twist? Or maybe the pole was not close enough to the neck, this would put more pressure on the shoulder girdle. It's common for new dancers to place the pole too far off towards the shoulder. Do you remember was it your top hand or bottom hand arm the was fractured? I hope you don't mind all the questions, it's just good to know so we can prevent this from happening to someone else.
Dancing Paws · 1/14/2013
You might want to see if you can get your bone density checked.
Fleur · 1/14/2013
Spiral fractures usually occur when a torsional force is applied to the humerus but it can also occur as a result of an extreme muscle contraction. If it was one of your first times performing the move, it's quite possible your hand grip was off in some way and caused a bending force in an unexpected direction. Aerial Gypsy is right on point, go get your bone mineral density tested, I wouldn't expect a fit woman in perfect health to sustain a fracture in an atraumatic way. A general bit of information: You can only increase the calcium stores in your body until age 35, it's all downhill after that, so it's especially important for women to take their daily calcium!!! Also, your body can only absorb a certain amount of calcium at a time so you MUST space out your calcium supplementation throughout the day. Your body will also absorb calcium better from natural food than it will from pills, but if you know you don't eat enough dairy products, take the pills! As far as recovery, I always tell patients "if you're going to injure something, make it a bone" because they heal exceptionally well when compared to other tissues. Your bone will heal in 8-12 weeks IF it heals normally, I would definitely follow-up with your doctor to make sure you don't have a non-union. However, the ligaments, tendons, and muscles around the humerus will become weaker from immobilization and/or disuse so your complete recovery can take much longer than it takes for the bone itself to heal. I would seek the advice of a physician and ask for physical therapy to help guide your rehab. Hope that helps! Amber (Fleur) Richard
malia5 · 1/15/2013
I broke my elbow this past summer (unrelated to pole). I strongly advise you do a lot of physical therapy once you're out of the cast and stay off the pole for at least 4 months. It'll go by faster than you think. Work on regaining strength and DEFINITELY get approval from your docs (beef on
malia5 · 1/15/2013
Oops, hit the post button by accident. Supposed to say: (basedon xrays and progress in therapy) before you return to pole. A lot of docs don't know how demanding pole dancing really is so make sure they understand what you'd be doing. Bones "heal" to functionality in 6-12 weeks but it takes a lot longer for them to get full density. Like, years.
malia5 · 1/15/2013
Oh and my condolences on the broken arm - I know how severely it SUCKS. :( I hope you have a fast recovery.
Casey Kill · 1/15/2013
Good God!!!! Wishes for a speedy recovery!
minanur19987604 · 1/26/2022
Hello, ı was just searching ıf does anybody's humerus fractured like me;((( .My humerus broken 4 days ago and ı was advanced student on pole . I can't beleive still ;(( Does any recommend toback pole again easily?? Or ı am wondering how was your recovery progress?🙏🏻
Veena · 1/27/2022
I've not experienced this before, hopefully someone will have some insight. The best thing is to talk with a physical therapist then I'd suggest approaching pole as a beginner. Once you're feeling strong enough move on.