Time-sensitive injuries for the sports medicine surgeon - "Sports Medicine Trauma", Part 1: Upper Extremity

Skeletal fractures are traumatic injuries that are widely accepted as requiring acute treatment to avoid long-term disability and dysfunction. There are a number of soft-tissue injuries or non-traditional fractures, frequently treated by sports medicine surgeons, which additionally require treatment in an expedited fashion in order to optimize healing and function. Sports medicine injuries of the lower extremity requiring acute treatment include, but are not limited to, irreducible shoulder dislocations, acute traumatic rotator cuff tears, posterior sternoclavicular joint dislocations, high grade acromioclavicular joint dislocations, pectoralis major tendon ruptures, distal biceps tendon ruptures, and triceps tendon ruptures. The purpose of this manuscript is to review the sports medicine injuries of the upper extremity which require acute/urgent management to facilitate optimal treatment.