Dislocated Elbow (Slipped Elbow) Topic Guide

A broken elbow injury can be caused by a variety of factors. Falls, trauma, direct blow to the elbow, or direct injury to the elbow, wrist, hand, or shoulder. Symptoms of a broken elbow are swelling, deformity, bruising, discoloration, difficulty moving the elbow, numbness, cuts, wounds, and severe pain. Treatment for a broken elbow depends on the type of fracture.

Elbow pain has many causes and risk factors, such as joint overuse and placing too much stress on the joint at any given time. Diagnosis may require X-rays, bone scans, MRIs, angiograms, and/or joint aspiration. Treatment of elbow pain depends upon the cause.

Fractures are breaks in bone and are classified according to several different categories. Compound fractures are the most dangerous; the bone is broken into fragments that come through the skin. Treatment includes setting the broken bone and splinting the injury, among other steps. Steps are taken to prevent infection if the skin is broken.

Nursemaid elbow (or radial head subluxation) is a common injury in children. Causes of this injury include lifting the child by the hand or wrist, swinging the child by the hands or wrists, pulling arms through the sleeves of jackets, pulling a child along when in a hurry, and catching a child by the hand to prevent a fall. Symptoms include refusal to use the injured arm, crying in pain, holding the arm against the body in a slightly bent position. Acetaminophen or ibuprofen may be given for pain, and a bag of ice applied to the injury may also provide some relief. The doctor will need to perform a subluxation to move the bones back into place.

X-Rays are a form of radiation used to image solid forms inside the body. X-rays are administered by radiologists for many different routine tests, such as mammograms, checking for broken bones, upper GI series, and dental exams, among others. Radiologists carefully monitor the X-ray equipment to make sure the patient receives the smallest dose of radiation possible.