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Deltoid Muscle Injury

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Orthopaedic Sports Medicine

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Abstract

Deltoid muscle ruptures are uncommon injuries, generally occurring secondary to massive rotator cuff tears (due to proximal migration of the humeral head, leading to compression of the undersurface of the deltoid by the greater tuberosity), repeated corticosteroid injections within the muscle or subacromial space, acute trauma or after open rotator cuff repair.

The diagnosis is usually made clinically with deformity in the contour of the deltoid, a subcutaneous bruise and upper arm swelling. Common imaging modalities are; plain radiographs, to evaluate proximal humeral head migration in case of rotator cuff tear arthropathy; Ultrasound showing a gap within the muscle fibers; and above all magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), evaluating both potential deltoid muscle tears and associated rotator cuff pathology.

Treatment is either nonoperative (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, rest, and physical therapy) especially in elderly patients with chronic injuries or operative with early surgical repair indicated for complete rupture in young patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IULS-Institut Universitaire Locomoteur et Sports, Pasteur 2 Hospital, CHU, Nice, France

    Edoardo Giovannetti de Sanctis

  2. Department of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery, San Pietro Fatebenefratelli Hospital, Rome, Italy

    Francesco Franceschi

  3. UniCamillus-Saint Camillus International University of Health Sciences, Rome, Italy

    Francesco Franceschi

Authors
  1. Edoardo Giovannetti de Sanctis
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  2. Francesco Franceschi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Francesco Franceschi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence, Clínica Espregueira, Porto, Portugal

    João Espregueira-Mendes

  2. Dept. Orthopaedics, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal, Sweden

    Jón Karlsson

  3. UPMC Freddie Fu SportsMed Ctr, Orth Surg, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Volker Musahl

  4. McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Olufemi R. Ayeni

Section Editor information

  1. Laboratory of Applied Biomechanics, Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy

    Pietro S. Randelli

  2. 1st Department Orthopaedics, ASST Centro Specialistico Ortopedico Traumatologico Gaetano Pini-CTO, Milan, Italy

    Pietro S. Randelli

  3. Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, REsearch Center for Adult and Pediatric Rheumatic Diseases (RECAP-RD), Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy

    Pietro S. Randelli

  4. Universidade Federal de São Paulo- Centro de Traumatologia do Esporte, São Paulo - SP, Brasil

    Carina Cohen

  5. Universidad Autónoma, Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Emilio Calvo

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Giovannetti de Sanctis, E., Franceschi, F. (2024). Deltoid Muscle Injury. In: Espregueira-Mendes, J., Karlsson, J., Musahl, V., Ayeni, O.R. (eds) Orthopaedic Sports Medicine. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65430-6_11-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65430-6_11-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-65430-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-65430-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

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