Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2013 Nov-Dec;48(6):859-63.
doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-48.3.07. Epub 2013 Apr 5.

An abnormal bone lesion of the scapula in a collegiate basketball player: a case report

Matthew S O'Brien  1 , Allison Donnell, Jason Miller, Val Gene Iven, Mark Pascale
Affiliations
Case Reports

An abnormal bone lesion of the scapula in a collegiate basketball player: a case report

Matthew S O'Brien et al. J Athl Train. 2013 Nov-Dec.

Abstract

Objective: To present the case of a bone lesion of the scapula in a collegiate basketball player.

Background: A 19-year-old National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I male basketball player presented with pain in the posterior region of the right shoulder. During practice, he was performing a layup when his arm was forced into hyperflexion by a defender. Evaluation revealed a bone lesion involving the scapular spine and base of the acromion.

Differential diagnosis: Acromioclavicular joint sprain, subacromial bursitis, subscapular bursitis, humeral head contusion, acromial fracture.

Treatment: The patient was treated for 2 months with therapeutic modalities and rehabilitation exercises. Because of persistent pain and the risk of a pathologic fracture, open surgical biopsy and bone grafting were then undertaken.

Uniqueness: Most simple bone cysts affect the proximal humerus and femur, whereas our patient's lesion was in the acromial complex.

Conclusions: Athletic trainers should be alert to the unusual possibility of bone cysts, which are usually identified incidentally when radiographs are obtained for other reasons. Most simple bone cysts are asymptomatic, but a pathologic fracture can occur with trauma.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Radiograph of bone lesion in acromial complex.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Radiograph of unaffected scapula.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Computed tomography image of bone lesion in acromial complex. A, Coronal view. B, Axial view.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Baig R, Eady JL. Unicameral (simple) bone cysts. South Med J. 2006;99(9):966–976. - PubMed
    1. Zehetgruber H, Bittner B, Gruber D, et al. Prevalence of aneurysmal and solitary bone cyst in young patients. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2005;439:136–143. - PubMed
    1. Hagmann S, Eichhorn F, Moradi B, et al. Mid- and long-term clinical results of surgical therapy in unicameral bone cysts. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2011;12:281. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lee SB, Harryman DT., 2nd Local arthroscopic bone grafting of a juxta-articular glenoid bone cyst. Arthroscopy. 1997;13(4):502–506. - PubMed
    1. Freundlich BD, Pascal PE. Juxta-articular bone cyst of the glenoid: case report. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 1984;188:196–198. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms