Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

General health

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

pulled elbow in a toddler?

19 replies

Danae · 21/11/2008 20:09

Message withdrawn

OP posts:
AmIWhatAndWhy · 21/11/2008 20:11

A%E for sure, could be a dislocated shoulder?

BoysAreLikeDogs · 21/11/2008 20:13

Elbow may have popped out.

My friend (the surgery nurse ) did this to her daughter hauling her around tesco during a tantrum.

A and e asap, poor little thing.

bythepowerofgreyskull · 21/11/2008 20:13

A&E my friend dislocated her 2 year old daughters shoulder because her daughter was having a tantrum and decided to sit down suddenly in the street my friend didn't let go quickly enough.

trip to A&E they popped it back in - it hurt for a couple of days but the more long lasting was my friends feeling of guilt... could have happened so easily to me many times

suncream · 21/11/2008 20:15

Aw bless her. Has she had some paracetamol?
Sounds like a pulled elbow, which is where one of the forearm bones (the radius) comes out of its loop of ligament that is holding it in place near the elbow.
I'd take her to A&E tonight (I know, easily said when I'm sat in a nice warm house with dd asleep), they might want to xray it then they may be able to put it back tonight (simple twist on the forearm by doc can sometimes do it).

littleducks · 21/11/2008 20:15

might be worth giving her a dose of calpol so when they examine her it is less painful

(only useful thing nhs direct ever suggested)

bambi06 · 21/11/2008 20:16

im afraid i would take her straight to A&E..my ds pulled my dds arm when she was little and she cried and wouldnt move it..at the hospital they said shed dislocated it and it was very common in young toddlers because theyre joints are very loose still

gigglewitch · 21/11/2008 20:18

two of my dc have had the thing medics called a 'pulled elbow'. Basically a ligament twangs round the bone. not far off a dislocation, and obv very painful. Drs at a&e can put it back.
The child is likely to hold their arm in to their body, perhaps protecting with their other arm. Defo A&E, x-rays and treatment asap.

EffiePerine · 21/11/2008 20:19

A&E. Happened to DS, they just popped it back in. It's really common in young children, so don't feel bad

EffiePerine · 21/11/2008 20:20

sounds like this (which is what DS had)

adam.about.com/encyclopedia/infectiousdiseases/Nursemaids-elbow.htm

PortAndLemon · 21/11/2008 20:21

A&E. Not uncommon at this age and a trained professional can pop it straight back in, but it REALLY hurts until they do.

emma1977 · 21/11/2008 20:35

A&E

Easy to pop back in.

Danae · 21/11/2008 22:26

Message withdrawn

OP posts:
Danae · 21/11/2008 22:29

Message withdrawn

OP posts:
Amapoleon · 21/11/2008 22:31

This used to happen to my dd quite often. The docor said that she would grow out of it.

castille · 21/11/2008 22:37

DH is an A&E doc and says pulling a small child up by its arm(s) alone is a huge no-no, and this includes swinging a child between 2 adults. Pulled elbow is extremely common in toddlers, because people don't know how fragile their little elbows are

Glad your DD is ok

jollyholly · 21/11/2008 22:44

Glad she's OK. Happened to my dd2 - swinging her between my dad and me, as I had done to me a million times as a child... the guilt's the worst!

gigglewitch · 22/11/2008 22:44

just popped back in to get an update. Glad she is ok. don't be surprised if she complains of aching in the arm for a couple of days, a bit of baby nurofen should keep her comfortable

chipmonkey · 22/11/2008 23:36

ds1 got this a load of times! I think he must have had particularly loose elbows as we're not all that rough as a family! And > at BIL's wedding I popped it back in myself as I coudln't drive him to A + E as had drunk too much! I had watched the doctor and just copies what she did It worked though!

Indigochild · 29/12/2012 16:20

My little girl, now 19 months old, has had pulled elbow twice, and the elbow now seems to be a very weak spot. The first time it happened was when I was playing with her and swinging her around, as you do with children, and an ambulance got her to A&E within 40 minutes and they popped it right back with one motion and sent us home. The second time (two days ago) she pulled it out herself trying to climb over the stairgate! I rang for an ambulance and they said it wasn't an emergency (!?)....I was told it would take up to 3 hours to get someone out to us, which is ridiculous! So I ended up googling the procedure and put it back myself. Incredibly scary, and I was in floods of tears the whole time. Thankfully she is okay now! No thanks to the 'emergency' services, which I then had to ring and tell them to forget about the ambulance!. What I want to know, is there anything my child can wear to perhaps prevent this happening again? Maybe to give extra support to the joint?

Also, as Pulled elbow happens because the joint is immature, I'm guessing this is something the child grows out of??

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread