Isolated periosteal avulsion fracture of the teres major in a rugby player

Abstract

We describe a case of an isolated periosteal avulsion fracture of the teres major tendon. A 29-year-old rugby player presented following a direct hit with his opponent followed by a fall on the ground. Clinical examination showed a limited and painful abduction of his left arm. MR-arthrography showed no capsulolabral lesions but revealed an extra-articular lesion at the origin of the teres major tendon. Follow-up radiography and CT showed progressive ossification of the lesion. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of a distal avulsion fracture of the teres major tendon reported in the imaging literature.