Child broken arm - ideas please

[PinkRose14]

My 5 year old broke his arm. It’s just come out of the cast and is fixed. I’ve been told for 6 weeks he has to stay absolutely grounded. No running, jumping, not allowed out in the playground, basically no movement whatsoever other than walking.

These 6 weeks are going to be so much harder than when it was in a cast!

He’s a lively energetic boy and I don’t want these 6 weeks of being completely inactive to dampen his spirit.

Any ideas how I can keep his spirits up/use up his huge amounts of energy, all whilst basically keeping him still?

Thank you xx

Huh? It’s out of the cast and they’ve told him all the above?

Are you sure? HCP here

So during playtime in the summer term your son will have to sit inside the classroom?

Most children with their arm in a cast are back to normal play and activities after a week or two.

This sounds unusual. Was it a particularly bad break - did it require surgery/fixation?

Indeed

and if this level of care was advised for a young child, it would remain in the cast

very odd

Hello, thank you all.

yes, it’s out of the cast (was in cast for 4 weeks). The doctor told me, “he must stay grounded. No running, no football, no jumping, no playtime. Anything he asks you he can do, you must say no. For 6 weeks”

yes, he’ll have 6 weeks of staying in at playtime. I nearly cried when they said it.

no surgery. It was a break to the elbow. The summary was “if he falls on the elbow again any time, it will break, and you will be back here”

I would appreciate any thoughts. I came away from hospital quite stressed at the thought of him being contained for 6 weeks and keeping his spirits up.

Anything he asks you he can do, you must say no. For 6 weeks

op, it might be worth getting a second opinion because this doctor sounds very… peculiar

Are you in the Uk?

Thank you so much, I really appreciate your time this morning.

Yes, in the uk.

I’ll call the hospital on Monday I think. Ask for a second doctor to speak with, see if they say the same thing after reading his notes.

thank you, it’s felt like a really stressful prospect and unfair on him, but I thought it was just me!

Could he swim?

But there are loads of things to do that don’t involve running and jumping!

Doesn’t sound realistic at all. Even if he managed children run around and they and adults are clumsy and easily bang into him.

If correct what happens after that to strengthen the arm?
if you do have to can he wear a sling some of the time as a reminder to him and others?

This

he doesn’t need to run or jump all the time; he can play with toys, Lego, arts, reading , even screen time..

i d follow doctor’s advice and be super cautious (i broke my finger and took ages to recover, let alone an elbow). Not worth messing up for the sake of 6 weeks

My son broke his arm when he was 8 I think, we were told just to be more careful for a few weeks after the cast was removed. It seems a bit extreme to not be able to do anything, it's very hard to keep an active kids still!

I wonder if they’re being extra cautious as the original fracture is near the growth plate?

My son has broken both(!) of his arms just above the elbow, that’s naturally a really weak point on small children when they fall.
I remember the lovely orthopaedic consultant telling us to avoid monkey bars if possible as they cause him the most work as a surgeon, but otherwise to get back out there and enjoy being a child.
The advice that you’ve been given seems like a recipe for parental anxiety!

Hi, one of my twin boys broke his elbow (humerus bone) end of February - he was 6 at the time - and was in full cast until Easter holidays so 6 weeks. The first week or so after removal, he was quite stiff anyway but soon he was back on his bike and doing everything else he loved. We aimed to be more cautious but he’s a very outdoorsy boy. The hospital called me again two weeks after removal to see how he was getting on and encouraged back to normal activity. Yes the bone is still healing and becoming firm after cast removal but you simply can’t wrap them in cotton wool and I also didn’t want him to become nervous about doing his usual activities.

Thank you all so much for the conversation. I absolutely don’t want him to become nervous. He’s naturally so outgoing. And yes it’s a recipe for parental anxiety indeed - I haven’t stopped thinking about it! I also want to do the right thing by him so I think I need to call the hospital and just speak with a doctor about this. Run through it with them again and just gauge if maybe this doctor was being overly cautious, or is there is a specific reason about his break that led the doctor to tell me all this.
thank you all. It’s so much nicer to have this than to be sat alone with my thoughts in my head. I was in so deep, it hadn’t even occurred to me to actually call in and double check it all.

Please get another opinion. That poor little boy. It’s not realistic at all and he needs to strengthen his arm muscles after the cast.