Case Report: An isolated medial condylar fracture of the distal humerus in an adolescent baseball pitcher.

BACKGROUND

Thrower's fracture, a non-traumatic humerus fracture related to the throwing motion, has been reported in a few studies in the literature. To the authors' knowledge, there has been no report on an isolated medial condylar fracture of the distal humerus induced by the throwing motion to date. In this study, we provide a potential explanation to the pathomechanism of such a rare type of thrower's fracture.

CASE PRESENTATION: We present a rare case of a 17-year-old Asian adolescent male who suffered an isolated medial condylar fracture of the distal humerus after baseball pitching. A right elbow X-ray showed a displaced fracture of the right medial humeral condyle running through the trochlear groove. Open reduction and internal fixation with plating were performed smoothly and the patient was discharged in a stable condition. The range of motion of the elbow was intact and the boy returned to sports activities without any complications.

CONCLUSIONS

This was the first study that showed the throwing motion may induce isolated medial condylar fractures of the distal humerus. The potential pathomechanism of this injury was elucidated by drawing upon the current understanding of the mechanisms involved in various components of complex injuries.