Epidemiology of scapular fractures. Incidence and classification of 338 fractures.

We have studied scapular fractures, with special reference to intraarticular glenoid fractures, during a 10-year period in 2 Swedish counties. There were 338 scapular fractures in 322 patients. The annual incidence was 10/10(5) inhabitants, of which 30 percent affected the glenoid cavity. Out of 100 intraarticular glenoid fractures, 55 occurred in men and 45 in women. The mean age of the women at the time of fracture (64 years) was significantly higher than the mean age of men (49 years). The most common intraarticular glenoid fracture type was the anterior chip fragment fracture which, in about two-thirds of the cases, was associated with shoulder dislocation.