Fractured elbow still not right 3 months on - experience?

[Hugo Stiglitz]

I fractured my radial head at the end of November. Its still not 100%

If I try cycling for more than 5 mins the elbow itself aches throughout. A sort of pain that you get when you over extend a joint.


If I try doing pressure the joint clicks.


I've got another appointment follow up however any experiences?

Recuperation etc.

[cavok]

I broke my elbow more than a decade ago. I've been unable to fully straighten my arm since and attempting to do so still causes pain/discomfort.

[fredd1e]

Depending on the fracture ie did it raise a lump up in the flat head of the bone? these can be troublesome for some time. It may be possible to get corrective surgery for radius heads left with protruding bone but I hear the surgery is not without its risk. I've fractured both of mine , not at the same time and one gave me grief for years 1st is from my pre-teens and 2nd was in my mid twenties (the troublesome one) , I was just sent home with an arm sling and left to get on with it for both. There may be better physio /post injury care available these days ? I don't notice either as much these days except if I'm surfin web or reading books on a tablet where I end up with arm in a 90deg bend for a while.

[Hugo Stiglitz]

Ah yes the sling. They gave me that too and the time I broke my arm clean through (upper near socket fracture) years ago

That was fun

[anonymous-user]

I had a minor fractured wrist at age 18 after coming off a motorbike. It was at least 20 years before I could do any heavy work with that wrist without it twinging sharply. No problems now though. Doesn't help you but no idea why mine was an issue so long when it was only minor.

[fredd1e]

MikeStroud said:

I had a minor fractured wrist at age 18 after coming off a motorbike. It was at least 20 years before I could do any heavy work with that wrist without it twinging sharply. No problems now though. Doesn't help you but no idea why mine was an issue so long when it was only minor.

I suspect you fractured your scaphoid , they can be slow to heal and often missed , I've also done both of mine, again not at the same time but I did do my right scaphoid at the same time I did my left radius in my 20s t& it took a couple of weeks before they spotted it on the X-Rays. I was wondering why I couldnt push open a door with my right arm without sharp pain, so I ended up in a scaphoid cast on my right and a sling on my left arm which made it a bit of a challenge for trips to the loo. Could be yours didnt set properly & was missed in the follow up ,

[JapanRed]

Sounds like it’s intra-articular OP. Only your orthopaedic surgeon can advise you, comments on here are pretty much useless without seeing the images and assessing you in person.

[easy_rider33]

Try to keep regular physio sessions, I broke my ulna and had to have it pinned. 6 years on its loads better and i don’t get pain, however I can’t fully straighten it still. I had a number of physio sessions for months after and have kept the exercises going and kept active. It’s the best it will ever get now I reckon so keep up with the exercise and do physio and it will get better. The physiotherapists can be hard on you and it may hurt but they know what they are doing to get you the best results.