joyota

Hey all,

I went OTB in a rock garden about 2 weeks ago. Landed with my left arm fully extended and evidently got a very minor radial head fracture (can't even see it in the x-rays) and a significant elbow contusion.

I told my orthopedist about a few situations where I felt like the radial head popped out of joint and a sharp pain shoots through my elbow. Specifically around the Lateral Epicondyle.


Imagine trying to open a pickle jar with your left hand while pressing the elbow/forearm firmly into your side. Also, imagine trying to pop a balloon by squeezing it against your chest with your forearms. Those are approximately the same movements that have caused my elbow to pop on two occasions. My orthopedist didn't seem to directly address my concern about the elbow popping and just repeated that rehab will take 6-8 weeks and that I should take it easy and use pain as a gauge for whether or not I'm overdoing it.

Has anyone else experienced this or something similar? Did this subside?

Retro Grouch 

Yup, I've got the T-shirt for that.

I went over the bars while riding with my grandson and broke BOTH radial heads. Had to have a personal attendant for two weeks while my wife was at work because (among other things) I couldn't feed myself. I think it was 6 weeks before I could drive a car and 9 weeks before I could operate the hand brake on my school bus so I could go back to work. 5 or 6 months to get back on a bicycle.

My orthopod basically didn't do anything. No cast, no rehab, nothing. During our office visits he had me wave my arms to test my range of motion and said I was healing fine - just be as active as I could tolerate and my body would heal itself.

hueyhoolihan

so it sounds like treatment for this malady takes a page from the Henny Youngman school of medicine...

Patient demonstrates raising arm and says: "Doc, it hurts when i do this".

Doctor: "Don't do that".

linnefaulk

Heal well.