Parents Elbow dislocated with fracture

[Jenny Ng]

My dd slipped off the high bar and got her right elbow dislocated and with small fracture end of April. Unfortunately, surgery had to be done to fix the small fracture with pins. Ortho Dr doesn't let her to go back to the gym due to the pins are very closed to her nerves. He afraid she might be having a negative impacts if she falls during conditioning or stretching.

Also, she doesn't want to go back to the gym because she feels sad that she won't be able to do whatever her teammates are doing.

For those who have experienced elbow dislocated with fracture, do you have any ideas how long it takes to heal completely?

Since she can't do much at the gym, do you think is a good idea to let her stop for a couple months before fully recover? (otherwise, I have to pay $200+ monthly fee if she is still not going)

For your information, she had completed level 3 last year and is going to be level 4 this year

Please advice!!!

 

[Azgymmiemom]

Well...not quite same situation, but my ds, training level 10, was.diagnosed with osteochondritis dissecans (elbow) in late January. Had surgery early March. He's doing great, but still no weight bearing until June. He's gone in at least twice a week to strength train with his team and he's doing physical therapy. They aren't charging me, bc he can't train anything, but the gym thought it was important for him to stay connected to his team.

At your dd's level, I'd talk to the gym. I don't think it will hurt her to stay out until she's ready to come back. But I'd be okay with her going in to strength train. Keeps her connected. It's really just what you decide. I hope she heals fast!!!

 

[raenndrops]

My dd slipped off the high bar and got her right elbow dislocated and with small fracture end of April. Unfortunately, surgery had to be done to fix the small fracture with pins. Ortho Dr doesn't let her to go back to the gym due to the pins are very closed to her nerves. He afraid she might be having a negative impacts if she falls during conditioning or stretching.

Also, she doesn't want to go back to the gym because she feels sad that she won't be able to do whatever her teammates are doing.

For those who have experienced elbow dislocated with fracture, do you have any ideas how long it takes to heal completely?

Since she can't do much at the gym, do you think is a good idea to let her stop for a couple months before fully recover? (otherwise, I have to pay $200+ monthly fee if she is still not going)

For your information, she had completed level 3 last year and is going to be level 4 this year

Please advice!!!

We had a similar situation with a girl on our team. She had just competed L3 and was set to compete L4. She was out of the gym completely for 4 months.
In the end, she repeated L3. It was the best thing for her. This past season, she competed L4 and is preparing to compete L5.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

She needs to get into PT and do extra. She should also be in the gym for an hour and a half each day doing legs and core conditioning and watching.

 

[wallinbl]

For those who have experienced elbow dislocated with fracture, do you have any ideas how long it takes to heal completely?

In DD's case, it was 6 weeks, I believe, but the fracture wasn't terrible - just an avulsion. She continued to go to gym and worked core and legs. Was there for about half of each practice.

Note that the "healing" and getting the cast off is step one. Step two is getting mobility back to the elbow. After being in a cast for so long, it'll be probably 2-3 weeks before full range of motion is available to that arm without pain. Just something to keep in mind so there isn't an emotional/mental let down when the cast comes off and everything's not 100%.

 

[RAMS]

My dd slipped off the high bar and got her right elbow dislocated and with small fracture end of April. Unfortunately, surgery had to be done to fix the small fracture with pins. Ortho Dr doesn't let her to go back to the gym due to the pins are very closed to her nerves. He afraid she might be having a negative impacts if she falls during conditioning or stretching.

Also, she doesn't want to go back to the gym because she feels sad that she won't be able to do whatever her teammates are doing.

For those who have experienced elbow dislocated with fracture, do you have any ideas how long it takes to heal completely?

Since she can't do much at the gym, do you think is a good idea to let her stop for a couple months before fully recover? (otherwise, I have to pay $200+ monthly fee if she is still not going)

For your information, she had completed level 3 last year and is going to be level 4 this year

Please advice!!!

My dd fell off of low bar doing a half pirouette at the end of february. She had a severe dislocation and fracture that required surgery and pin and a anchor screw. She got the pin taken out 4 weeks post surgery and cast removed. Her arm was still swollen and severely bruised. She has not been allowed any weight bearing at all and we are going back tomorrow which will be 6 weeks post pin removed and cast off. I asked about surgeon about PT and she said "For the first 6 weeks after cast removal I prefer not to do therapy as aggressive therapy can pull the bone apart when it is not completely healed. If she is still stiff when you come in for follow-up, we can start therapy then. Swimming is a good way to get the arm moving gently, or carrying something like a 1/2 gallon of milk (no heavier) in that hand and letting the arm swing as she walks. I just dont want anyone else pushing on it yet. Getting the elbow straight is the usually the most difficult after this type of injury, but she will get there."
I don't know how severe your dd's injury was my my dd's was really bad and she had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital. She tore every ligament around the elbow. It happened Feb. 28 and she has done some lower body conditioning and recently started doing leaps and turns on floor and leaps and turns on floor beam. She was competing level 8 when it happened. Tomorrow we find out if she can start weight bearing. But she still can't straighten her arm at yet. Hoping she can hang on bars this week to help with that. Another girl I know who had an elbow injury hung on bars after cast came off and it helped straighten her arm. I trust our dr. Her daughter was a level 10 gymnast. she it first happened she said no gymnastics for 3 months. We are at 2.5 months since injury.

Hope this helps.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

My dd fell off of low bar doing a half pirouette at the end of february. She had a severe dislocation and fracture that required surgery and pin and a anchor screw. She got the pin taken out 4 weeks post surgery and cast removed. Her arm was still swollen and severely bruised. She has not been allowed any weight bearing at all and we are going back tomorrow which will be 6 weeks post pin removed and cast off. I asked about surgeon about PT and she said "For the first 6 weeks after cast removal I prefer not to do therapy as aggressive therapy can pull the bone apart when it is not completely healed. If she is still stiff when you come in for follow-up, we can start therapy then. Swimming is a good way to get the arm moving gently, or carrying something like a 1/2 gallon of milk (no heavier) in that hand and letting the arm swing as she walks. I just dont want anyone else pushing on it yet. Getting the elbow straight is the usually the most difficult after this type of injury, but she will get there."
I don't know how severe your dd's injury was my my dd's was really bad and she had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital. She tore every ligament around the elbow. It happened Feb. 28 and she has done some lower body conditioning and recently started doing leaps and turns on floor and leaps and turns on floor beam. She was competing level 8 when it happened. Tomorrow we find out if she can start weight bearing. But she still can't straighten her arm at yet. Hoping she can hang on bars this week to help with that. Another girl I know who had an elbow injury hung on bars after cast came off and it helped straighten her arm. I trust our dr. Her daughter was a level 10 gymnast. she it first happened she said no gymnastics for 3 months. We are at 2.5 months since injury.

Hope this helps.

Sorry to jump in, but be 10 weeks total no PT? not sure about that.... There is plenty that can be done in PT that is not aggressive. I suggest consulting a really good PT about that and obviously emphasizing non aggressive.

 

[RAMS]

Sorry to jump in, but be 10 weeks total no PT? not sure about that.... There is plenty that can be done in PT that is not aggressive. I suggest consulting a really good PT about that and obviously emphasizing non aggressive.

Well its 10 weeks since injury but only 6 since the cast came off. We have a really good PT that works with our gymnasts once a week at the the gym, she was surprised no pt yet as well. She has given dd exercises to do at the gym. Just swimming and and doing conditioning at the gym and carrying her water bottle and stuff have started getting her arm straighter. Tomorrow surgeon will assess range of motion and then order PT if needed. My dd has tried to straighten her arm but can't, its slightly past 90 degrees. That is why I am hoping she is approved for weight bearing on her elbow which will help a lot.

 

[LJL07]

She needs to get into PT and do extra. She should also be in the gym for an hour and a half each day doing legs and core conditioning and watching.

This is what my daughter is currently doing. Very similar injury. Also was moving to level 4. We were told 10 weeks but when second cast is off she will be fully cleared. Ortho did not say PT is necessary but I would imagine her elbow will be very stiff when her first cast comes off.

 

[NY Dad]

First of all, I'm really sorry to hear about the injury, injuries suck.

Not a doctor but I was told by my daughters ortho that her bone would be healed 100% in 12 weeks. I don't know what variables are at play so I'm just passing along the info I was give.

My dd7 JO2 broke her elbow first week in Jan. She had a closed reduction (no pins), they adjusted then X-rayed to "make sure" it was properly set. Cast was removed a month later. We went right from getting cast removed to her first PT appointment. She might have skipped gym twice the whole time. Week 1 I think they wanted her off her feet (worried bone would slip). Once she was back on her feet she never missed gym.

At first when I mentioned "gym" the ortho said to stay away I think for 12 weeks. Then when I listed specific conditioning and exercises I was able to better ascertain what she could and couldn't do. The gym was very helpful and making sure that she was only doing what she was cleared by ortho.

She could only do light conditioning at first. Each of the appointments with ortho (7 of them) I got a list of what she could and couldn't do and I updated the gym when anything changed. I think it was very helpful for her to stay connected to the team and gymnastics (and keep her busy)

By the end of March she had most of her mobility back (if you're interested I posted a thread about this, her bone wasn't aligned properly when she was in the ER after the accident so I'm told the mobility she had now is as good as it's going to get for her.
https://chalkbucket.com/forums/threads/injury-update.59398/

I think it's only been about a month that I feel like she's got her full strength back and only within the last few weeks that progressed skill wise beyond where she had been. (She's overcoming fear issues now)

 

[profmom]

My daughter did not dislocate her elbow, but did fracture and displace her humerus and had significant nerve damage as well. For her, PT was essential, and she started on regaining her elbow mobility the day after the surgery to remove the pins. No resistance at all for the first bit, but gentle exercises to start the process of "unfreezing" the joint. Arm broken in mid-April, PT started in May, and she still had a few appointments left in September.

I think it's a LOT easier for injured gymnasts to maintain motivation and get through conditioning if they do it in the gym around their teammates. And as CoachP suggests, they do learn by watching, even if they're not trying actively to learn. Both of mine have continued to go to gym about half time to condition when off with upper extremity injuries that prevented pretty much all event work. It has also really helped them to maintain their mental health.

 

[NY Dad]

Both of mine have continued to go to gym about half time to condition when off with upper extremity injuries that prevented pretty much all event work. It has also really helped them to maintain their mental health.

I 100% agree with this too. It was great advice that I got on CB.

 

[Jules]

So sorry to hear this. My daughter did the same this time last year, slipping from high bar; dislocation but needed surgery to fix the fracture, which was fixed with wire. Consultant told her to stay out of gym until the wound had healed but could go in after 2 weeks to condition. She reduced her hours but going in and being with her team mates really helped her. Cast off after 4 weeks & wire removed 2 weeks after that and then straight to physio to work on straightening the arm and building up strength. By work closely with physio her recovery was reasonably straightforward but, as she got stronger she started to get increasingly anxious about going back on bars, don't underestimate the mental anguish of an injury like this. She got over it, but there were a lot of tears along the way.
For her, continuing to go to gym helped keep the rest of her body strong & fit and kept her motivated to get back; accident was in April & back swinging giants on wood in August. Good luck!

 

[pinklemonadeliz]

My kiddo a then L7 over-rotated on a back tuck on tramp, bailed, put her arm out and did the same thing almost two years ago. They popped her elbow back into place in the ER & she had surgery a week later to re-attach the medial epichondryle with a screw. She only missed gym the actual day of surgery - insisted on going and conditioning the whole time which I think was good for her to keep her morale up.

That nerve bundle that runs on the inside of the elbow is tricky, and since your kiddo got pins & not a screw I can understand the concern - we have only recently learned of all the things that could go wrong when that nerve bundle gets wonky (and believe me, none of them are things you want happening). Your kiddo is lucky that she got pins because that means they will come out in the future - my kiddos screw is there to stay, because at 2 years later they're worried they'll shatter the elbow trying to remove it :-(

As far as healing, my kiddos' elbow was completely healed in less than 6 weeks - she had her splint removed two weeks after surgery and started physical therapy right away - constantly "pushing the envelope" as her PT put it (hanging from the bar to help straighten the elbow, etc). One thing that she never did achieve though, is getting the elbow completely straight which has caused issues w/ tendonitis and the like so do your best to make sure that elbow gets completely straight to keep there from being issues in the future.

My kiddo was injured end of August and was competing beginning of January - she ended up having to compete L6 instead of the planned on 7 because she couldn't train bars very well, but she got to compete and was happy.

Your gym should be willing to work something out for you $$-wise, at our gym, they will glady put a kiddo who cannot come because of injury on a medical hold and not charge them until they return, they also quite commonly will reduce the tuition to less than half price if the kiddo is only able to come in and condition, not actually train.

 

[NY Dad]

quite commonly will reduce the tuition to less than half price if the kiddo is only able to come in and condition, not actually train.

I'm just curious is that something you requested or it was offered? Too late for me now since my dd is training again. Also not sure if it's different since my dd is just level 2.

BTW, for OP my DD did not always want to go to gym after her injury. It made her sad that she couldn't work on skills but I'm very glad she did. Definitely helped with the slow transition for when she was finally able to work on skills again.

 

[RAMS]

My kiddo a then L7 over-rotated on a back tuck on tramp, bailed, put her arm out and did the same thing almost two years ago. They popped her elbow back into place in the ER & she had surgery a week later to re-attach the medial epichondryle with a screw. She only missed gym the actual day of surgery - insisted on going and conditioning the whole time which I think was good for her to keep her morale up.

That nerve bundle that runs on the inside of the elbow is tricky, and since your kiddo got pins & not a screw I can understand the concern - we have only recently learned of all the things that could go wrong when that nerve bundle gets wonky (and believe me, none of them are things you want happening). Your kiddo is lucky that she got pins because that means they will come out in the future - my kiddos screw is there to stay, because at 2 years later they're worried they'll shatter the elbow trying to remove it :-(

As far as healing, my kiddos' elbow was completely healed in less than 6 weeks - she had her splint removed two weeks after surgery and started physical therapy right away - constantly "pushing the envelope" as her PT put it (hanging from the bar to help straighten the elbow, etc). One thing that she never did achieve though, is getting the elbow completely straight which has caused issues w/ tendonitis and the like so do your best to make sure that elbow gets completely straight to keep there from being issues in the future.

My kiddo was injured end of August and was competing beginning of January - she ended up having to compete L6 instead of the planned on 7 because she couldn't train bars very well, but she got to compete and was happy.

Your gym should be willing to work something out for you $$-wise, at our gym, they will glady put a kiddo who cannot come because of injury on a medical hold and not charge them until they return, they also quite commonly will reduce the tuition to less than half price if the kiddo is only able to come in and condition, not actually train.

So my dd had a pin and a screw. She just was cleared yesterday to use the elbow for weight bearing and hang from bars and PT was ordered. She was not allowed to start PT until 6 weeks post cast removal. She had her cast on for 4 weeks post surgery but surgeon would not allow PT because she wanted bone to be completely healed (it was a severe dislocation and break). She was a level 8 when it happened and so she desperately wants to make 9 this season. I think it is a stretch considering a release move on bars and getting back to flipping a vault. How long did it take before your dd's elbow was straight enough for her to tumble/vault. My dd is doing some tumbling with a one handed round off into full off tumble track but nothing else but tucks and front lay outs.

 

[Gemma jones]

My dd slipped off the high bar and got her right elbow dislocated and with small fracture end of April. Unfortunately, surgery had to be done to fix the small fracture with pins. Ortho Dr doesn't let her to go back to the gym due to the pins are very closed to her nerves. He afraid she might be having a negative impacts if she falls during conditioning or stretching.

Also, she doesn't want to go back to the gym because she feels sad that she won't be able to do whatever her teammates are doing.

For those who have experienced elbow dislocated with fracture, do you have any ideas how long it takes to heal completely?

Since she can't do much at the gym, do you think is a good idea to let her stop for a couple months before fully recover? (otherwise, I have to pay $200+ monthly fee if she is still not going)

For your information, she had completed level 3 last year and is going to be level 4 this year

Please advice!!!

 

[Gemma jones]

Hi, I live in the U.K. And my 7 year old daughter fully dislocated her right elbow and small fracture back in February falling off a bar in gym.She was in a cast for 4 weeks, came out of the cast and had to have an MRI scan on it as they needed an in depth look at all of the soft tissue.They said the soft tissue was very badly torn etc but the fracture seems fine so they were happy not to operate.She then had to strictly rest her arm for another 6 weeks so the soft tissue could heal.She did however continue to go to gym as she just hates being away but just did lots of conditioning , this was 10 hours per week.Now nearly 4 months on she is doing amazing , she can fully straighten her arm but is finding the flex motion a lot more difficult to achieve.This is fustrating as because of her age she needs this to achieve a chin up to complete her grades so with physio she is working hard to achieve this.
When she did it because of the extent of her injury the doctors said it was highly unlikely she would ever straighten her arm again, but I think a gymnasts attitude and age helps

 

[Gemma jones]

Hi, I live in the U.K. And my 7 year old daughter fully dislocated her right elbow and small fracture back in February falling off a bar in gym.She was in a cast for 4 weeks, came out of the cast and had to have an MRI scan on it as they needed an in depth look at all of the soft tissue.They said the soft tissue was very badly torn etc but the fracture seems fine so they were happy not to operate.She then had to strictly rest her arm for another 6 weeks so the soft tissue could heal.She did however continue to go to gym as she just hates being away but just did lots of conditioning , this was 10 hours per week.Now nearly 4 months on she is doing amazing , she can fully straighten her arm but is finding the flex motion a lot more difficult to achieve.This is fustrating as because of her age she needs this to achieve a chin up to complete her grades so with physio she is working hard to achieve this.
When she did it because of the extent of her injury the doctors said it was highly unlikely she would ever straighten her arm again, but I think a gymnasts attitude and age helps