Ds hurt arm on thurs, xray showed nothing but it is still very painful

[MeanwhileHighAboveTheField]

He jumped down in the park, stumbled and put his hand down awkwardly.

He cried a lot which is not like him and immediately stopped using his arm.

He says the pain is in his elbow (or forearm) and it is very sore if he tries to move it, especially rotating his forearm.

A&E suspected broken wrist or elbow but nothing showed up in the xray. Told to bring him back in 10 days unless he recovers.

What I forgot to ask is if it isn't broken what has he done to it?

How old is he? If it is still very painful I'd take him back to be seen again and have his X-ray reviewed. Some fractures at the elbow can be very subtle in children and pain on rotation would be in keeping with a fracture.

Thanks. He is 5. Yes very painful - we are alternating the ibuprofen and paracetamol and he is ok with it in the sling unless it gets bumped or he tries to move it.

Sounds exactly like what my DD did. We went to A&E 3 times in one weekend with it.

They couldn't see a fracture in the X-ray. I can't recall the exact details, but I think she had over-extended the joint in her elbow and it had sort of dislocated out of place. The A&E doctor manipulated it back into place. It took only a second. He said it was very common. Before he did this, it was extremely painful and she wouldn't use her arm at all. After it was manipulated, it was still a little sore and she was nervous about using it, but there was no need to be as it was completely fixed. It took her about a day or two before she started using it again

Go back to A & E - first thing in morning if you can make it through the night. I mean first thing - less queues !

That said, we were also advised that fractures are very difficult to see at this age. My DD's X-ray was sent for review too.
She had a plaster cast for 12 hours while we waited for confirmation, in case it was broken but this was a shame in a way, because her arm swelled up and the cast became too tight (that was an ordeal I don't want to re-experience!!).

Yes, go back to A&E

Thank you. He is in bed now and asleep so unless he makes a miraculous recovery overnight we will go tomorrow.

Any idea why they said come back in 10 days - seems sad to leave a small child in pain for that long.

How is he today OP?

It can take a few days for a child's break to show up, especially if it is a greenstick fracture (not broken all the way through)

It is actually the periosteal reaction in the bone, or the start of callus formation (healing) that tells you there was a break all along.

By 10 days it should be settling if there is no bony injury. Get him seen though if you are worried.

He started to move the arm a bit yesterday and by the end of the day he could get a sweet in his mouth using his sore arm.

Eased off on the pain killers a bit yesterday and he seems ok, though he did wake in the night sore.

He still finds it painful to rotate his forearm and to grip firmly with his hand.

Thanks for asking

Haha the little sod came out of school without a care in the world and started doing cartwheels

So relieved!

Well that is good news but for anyone who comes to this thread in the future AnyFucker's advice is spot on. As always.

< secret shifty eyed handshake >