Occipital condyle fracture as a rare cause of shoulder pain

Abstract

Occipital condyle fractures (OCFs) usually occur due to high energy trauma and are often associated with serious injuries, particularly in the brain. Because it is difficult to determine this fracture on plain radiographs, it can easily be misdiagnosed. In this report, we present a patient admitted to our emergency department with one and only complaint of shoulder pain following a motor vehicle accident. We aimed to underline the importance of physician’s elaboration and attention in the diagnosis of this rare entity.

Keywords

• Emergency department
• Fracture
• Shoulder pain