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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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How To Check For Elbow Fracture?

I slipped and fell on the ice last night. My left arm took the brunt of the fall, elbow and mid upper arm hitting two protruding brick steps. I had immediate pain in my shoulder, mid arm and elbow which turned into only moderate discomfort. However, there is pain in all three areas when I try to externally rotate my arm, try to pick up something as light as an iPad and lift my arm up,. Is there a possibility it could be broken? I don't see any bruising and only minimal swelling.


posted on Fri, 14 Mar 2014
Twitter Fri, 20 Jan 2017 Answered on
Twitter Fri, 20 Jan 2017 Last reviewed on
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Orthopaedic Surgeon,  's  Response
Hi,

In my opinion i don't think you need to worry any minor fissures or fracture in the elbow will cause bruising and a recognisable kind of swelling with inability to flex or extend or supinate or pronate your elbow joint some sort of movements will be extremely painful and sometimes cant be done.

For my patients I recommend icing for the first 48 hrs, NSAIDS, arm sling, anti edematous (swelling) drugs are effective. I think your elbow joint mobility will increase as much as your swelling decreases thus the joint will have more space to freely mobile otherwise I recommend x-rays and MRI to exclude any bone injuries. Please consider a 5 star rating with some positive feedback if the information was helpful.

Hope the above information helps you. Any further clarifications feel free to ask.

Regards,
Dr. Ahmed Aly Hassan
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How To Check For Elbow Fracture?

Hi, In my opinion i don t think you need to worry any minor fissures or fracture in the elbow will cause bruising and a recognisable kind of swelling with inability to flex or extend or supinate or pronate your elbow joint some sort of movements will be extremely painful and sometimes cant be done. For my patients I recommend icing for the first 48 hrs, NSAIDS, arm sling, anti edematous (swelling) drugs are effective. I think your elbow joint mobility will increase as much as your swelling decreases thus the joint will have more space to freely mobile otherwise I recommend x-rays and MRI to exclude any bone injuries. Please consider a 5 star rating with some positive feedback if the information was helpful. Hope the above information helps you. Any further clarifications feel free to ask. Regards, Dr. Ahmed Aly Hassan