The collarbone often fractures from a fall onto an outstretched hand. Traditionally the majority of these fractures were treated without surgery but there is now evidence in journals to show that significant shortening of the bone may result and this can affect the function of the whole shoulder and so fixation with plates and screws is becoming more common. Fixation is necessary in fractures with shortening of more than 1.5 cm, or where the bone is broken in several places. It takes generally 6 to 12 weeks for the fracture to fully heal.

Forearm fractures in children are common and often result from fall from monkey bars onto an outstretched hand. If the alignment of the bones is good these can be treated non-operatively via placement in a cast. If the position of the bones is not ideal then manipulation of the bone into a better position and holding in either a cast or with wires or plates may be necessary. Growth plate fractures are common in the upper limb of the child, particularly at the wrist and generally do not cause any abnormality in the growth of the limb. Fractures in the middle of the bone need to be aligned properly and held for 6 weeks. Whilst healing the child needs to refrain from contact sport or falls for a couple of months.

Given the shoulder blade is encased in muscle, scapula fractures are usually high-energy impact.. Most of these fractures are treated non-operatively and heal well, but occasionally those around the socket of the shoulder joint itself may require fixation with screws and plates to hold their position. Patients with these fractures may feel a bit of crepitus or roughness of their scapula on their rib cage after the fracture but this is generally not severe.

Olecranon fractures refer to the point of the elbow, where the triceps muscles, the main muscles on the back of the arm attach to straighten the arm out. To put the bone back into the correct position and hold treatment is usually a combination of wires, or a plate and screws. Sometimes these plates and screws can bother people and require removal 6 to 12 months after the surgery as they are prominent with very little soft tissue cover. The functional outcomes following an elbow fracture is generally excellent.

The radial head is the head of the radius bone of the forearm. It can be fractured if somebody falls directly onto their outstretched hand and the bone is pushed into the elbow and cracks. Non-displaced or minimally displaced fractures are generally treated non-surgically. Fractures which are broken into several pieces (comminuted) or those with unacceptable position are treated with plates and screws or even with replacement of the radial head itself. The outcomes for radial head fractures is generally excellent.

Shoulder trauma can occur from a fall in an elderly person, an awkward tackle in sport, or from high-energy injuries such as a motor vehicle accident. The shoulder is a complicated joint with several levels of muscles and tendons that move over each other and stiffness after shoulder injury is common. The treatment depends on the degree of displacement of the bone, whether it has angulated significantly, and the relationship of the tendons to the fracture fragments. Non-operative treatment consists of being placed in a sling and having a graduated range of motion program organised with help from the physiotherapist. Fixation of the fracture is usually performed through an incision to the front of the shoulder and fixed with either plates and screws or an intra-medullary rod down the inside of the bone. It is common for people to have significant stiffness after their shoulder fractures, and people may lose a significant amount of the range of motion of the shoulder particularly after more severe fractures.