Fractures that occur at the upper end of the humerus near
the shoulder (called humeral neck fractures) are common. They are often treated
with surgery despite a lack of supporting evidence for this, particularly in
older, osteoporotic patients. Now, thanks to a recent study from the UK, it is
possible that most of these fractures don’t need surgery, even in young
patients. This is big news, but will this research jump the gap from research into
practice and influence the decision making of the end users – the patient and
their surgeon?