To think his arm shouldn’t still look broken?

[Gigglemousey]

DS broke his elbow and had it put in a cast 5 weeks ago. Today cast was removed but he’s still holding his arm (crooked- bent at the elbow) as if it’s broken. Doctor just said to come back in 6 weeks if arm still stiff & won’t bend. I broke my arm as a child and can’t remember it looking like that after cast removed.

Hi my DS broke his arm at the elbow when He was 4 and he is now 15. It has always looked 'wonky'. Apparently elbows are difficult. The doc said we should wait til he was an adult to sort It out as otherwise he would need numerous ops as he grew. It was his party trick when he was little as he could turn his arm so it looked the wrong way round. It has on occasion made him self conscious but it is less obvious as he's got bigger. I hope he decides not to have it put right as it does not inhibit him and would be for aesthetic purposes only. I hope your DS is ok.

I broke my arm falling off my pony when I was six. Even now it's still slightly bent and I'm 50. Works fine just looks a little bit funky if you concentrate on it too hard, like it's double jointed. They only way they can fix it is to rebreak it and reset it in surgery. Never seemed worth it to me when it still functions normally.

It will definitely still be stiff and not open or close properly the first few weeks after being in a cast. That's the lack of use rather than the break itself. Encourage him to use it normally, and occasionally stretch arms straight up as high as possible, then try to touch shoulders (don't push or force it though!!) and movement will gradually come back.

There may also be a residual 'kink' in the arm, if it didn't set quite straight (likely unless it was serious enough to be operated on) but as pp have said that should hopefully be cosmetic rather than affect function.

Hope he feels better soon (and you too!).

I also broke my elbow falling off a pony and had a collar and cuff not a cast. My arm was bent for some weeks after and I had physio exercises to straighten it. What actually worked was going on a swing so my elbow is straight but doesn't "lock" like my other arm. Hasn't caused any problems.

DH broke his elbow about 20 years ago and it has never completely straightened.Your kids prob won't either

elbows bend
Common injury in kids and its not a break as you know it the plates are soft and fracture hell be fine.

Totally normal after being in a cast, muscles waste away etc.

Swimming is good exercise to strengthen the arm muscles and extend the elbow. Basically after being in the cast it will feel odd to bend it again, possibly sore.

If he doesn't get a full range of movement back, see a physio.

Me and my bro have both broken both elbows - two are straight, two are wonky. Doing the physio will help though

DD broke her arm when she was 4, it was a bad fracture on her forearm and needed surgery. I was shocked at the state of her arm when they removed the cast but after a few weeks it settled down.

You wouldn't notice now unless you really looked.

When I broke my elbow some years ago, it was gentle physiotherapy that got it straight and functioning properly again. Also make sure he has got his wrist and finger fine control back fully, I found therapeutic putty helped a great deal with that.
Elbows can take a long time to heal, and shouldn't be over worked at first.

Try and stretch and straighten it as much as possible. It will be very stiff and it's expected for it to be hard to bend. Takes a couple of weeks to get full movement back. Hurts a bit to try and bend it but it's for the best, just obviously don't push it too much.

Ok thanks. He seems scared to try and move it, thinks it’s still broken. Will keep trying to get him to gently stretch/ straighten it.

Yeah, it's going to be really stiff after spending time in a cast, even if there was no fracture. Get him to start moving it himself, bending and straightening it regularly. Children do tend to recover easier than adults. It's normal for them to be really scared of moving it to start with

I used to sleep with my arm straight on a pillow beside me, which I found helped me a lot. That would be impossible for a child, but perhaps if he's sitting watching TV you might try it.
You do have to be slow and cautious with elbows though, or the surrounding muscle can be affected, so take it very easily.

Has he not got a physio follow up appt? We’ve had a few broken bones this year and have had a routine physio appointment after the cast has come off where they’ve assessed muscle wastage/movement etc.

Another one who broke mine at 14 and now at 34 it’s still bent.

No physio appointment booked, just a follow up in the hospital in 6 weeks time. I’ve got him to do some “reach up and touch the stars” exercise with that arm but he can’t really straighten it.

I broke my elbow when I was 5/6 years old. (Or rather it was broken for me by a friend tackling me in the playground at school!) I remember it being really difficult to get back to moving it properly after losing the strap thing, I think mainly through worry that it would hurt or break again. I still have (at 25) a bone that sort of sticks out at my elbow and can't fully stretch that arm (barely noticeable) but it doesn't really affect my day to day life it's just something I've gotten used to over the years.

Been though two broken elbows with dc. It will be really sore and stiff for first week at least. Dc wore sling and there was no way he could straighten it without pain as muscles were so tight for thenforst week. We just gentle encouraged him to keep trying to straighten it when he could

I broke my elbow in my 30s and had the same experience. An unsympathetic doctor friend looked at it for me and recommended carrying heavy buckets to stretch out the muscles.

Thanks everyone. It’s weird I remember my arm being normal again straight away. It was 15 years ago so obviously am misremembering some what. At least now I know it’s normal & will just keep getting him to stretch/ carry things.

Swimming is really good for it too.