Worried about lack of movement after elbow fracture

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11 year old ds got his full arm cast off 10 days ago after fracturing his elbow.

He is using it fine, but he can't straighten it at all. Is this normal?

His first physio appointment isn't until the end of the month. Is it worth paying for a private physio? He is a sporty child and is getting frustrated!

My son broke his arm at the elbow when he was 4. He is now nearly 13 and it has never straightened fully. He can actually bend it the other way and uses it as a party trick! We were told we would have to wait until he was fully grown and then look into an op to straighten it with pins I think they said. It doesn't bother him however. If your son is bothered by it you should go back to the doctor maybe.

Not really what I wanted to hear but thank you

The doctor said say there was an issue with the alignment so he has an appointment for November.

Somebody on here gave me some exercises he could do which I hope will help.

Ah sorry I didn't mean to make you feel like that. I really hope you get it sorted!

No worries! Was hoping for some "stiff for a couple of weeks then fine" stories!

I have phoned and left a message with a private physio.

I knew a younger child where it was stiff but then fine. She looked like she had a prosthesis on for those times as she held her arm completely rigid. After a couple of weeks she started to use it and you'd not have known anything had been the matter 6 months later.

Thanks 😊 He has a physio appointment for next week.
Maybe I'm worrying unnecessarily but the poor boy needs to get back doing his sport!

I know I'm a grown up but I couldn't straighten mine after elbow fracture. Was told by the dr just to "push through" so I could straighten it. I think he said it was because of the bruise that forms in the joint that restricts the movement.

I declined physio because I felt it was a waste of NHS time and did some exercises I got from YouTube so if you see a private physio IME they will make the magic happen as long as DS does the exercises.

For what's essentially a fairly small fracture (when compared to a fractured femur for example) it does still get quite sore. Particularly if I leave it outside the duvet on a cold night. Maybe because I'm an old gimmer and young healthy DS will be fine.

My dd broke her elbow. It took 3-4 weeks before she had her normal range of movement back. She also had some nerve damage to her thumb and I think that took about 2 months before it recovered.