Humph - dislocated elbow

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Lucy_Ally

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So after a particularly eventful hack yesterday, which inluded coming off the elephant twice, a ride in an ambulance and an afternoon in A&E, it turns out I have a dislocated elbow. :(

Has anyone else dislocated their elbow? How long in a sling and did you need physio etc? How long till you could ride again? The docs in A&E didn't really know and just wanted rid of me as I was pretty wimpy when they put it back together!

Any stories or advice appreciated.

Also, this is the first bad fall i have had, so not sure how my confidence will be getting back on - any tips?

Thanks Lucy
 
If the dislocation was put back quickly and there was no fracture you should be OK within about three - four weeks. Rest it for a couple of weeks, using it very gently. After that use it for most normal activities. Sorry to hear you were fobbed off in |A and E. A visit to your own GP would probably be helpful.
 
Thanks for your reply. It was very busy in casualty and I was pretty wimpy! The nurses were very good, but the doc didn't recommend any follow up or give me time scales for healing. My father-in-law is a GP so will get som advice from him.

Thanks again.
 
It depends on the person but 2weeks-2months, as long as everything seems ok though and theres no complications you'll probly be more towards the 2week mark. My brother in law dislocates his knee ALOT- has now has surgery but he used to pop it back in himself and carry on with his day :rolleyes: hopefully you wont lose to much confidence i had a bad fall a few months ago and was lucky to come away with just bruises-after one lesson i suprisingly felt i lost no confidence :) good luck
 
Thanks :)

It was a complete dislocation but put back after only a couple of hours and feels much better today just on ibuprofen and paracetamol.

My confidence has always come in ups and downs on this horse, 99% of the time she is brilliant, but she has a huge buck in her. I have managed to sit her big bucks before, but she slipped as well as bucking so I just had no chance. Fingers crossed we can get going again soon.
 
I did the same as you in September, just schooling when donkey did a massive spook and I landed awkwardly. Mine popped back in of it's own accord because I'm hypermobile. Hurt like a BEAST tho.

Do you have any movement in your elbow joint? Don't panic if you don't. Mine was stuck at a right angle. The ligaments/tendons get torn and stretched by the dislocation because the only thing holding your radius in place is ligament. So I would go back to hospital and DEMAND a splint of some kind. Because mine re-dislocated itself while I was sat marking my register (I'm a teacher) and scared the children!
Went to a&e and they said it was a fractured radial head and they put it in a pot/sling. Apparently they always suspect this when you dislocate your elbow, because the fracture is very hard to find on an xray. But normally they have to manipulate it for you. Then I had an appointment with a consultant at my own hospital who said "I have looked at your xrays and there's no break, get that pot off and get on with it." I think he didn;t believe I had dislocated it, no mention of me being hypermobile.
He took off my pot and left me with a horrendously swollen , black and blue arm. After 3-4 sleepless nights due to the pain (despite cocodamol) and the elbow 'popping' back out a couple of times I kicked up such a fuss my OH took me back to a&e where they made me an appointment with a different consultant.
He made me a removable elbow splint from fibreglass which wrapped round my elbow joint. You can't wear a pot because you need to move the joint a few times a day.
I wore this for 3 weeks - NO driving OR riding, couldn't even lunge! My arm was stuck at a right angle and was pretty useless. I couldn't touch my face or write.
Then it took 3 months of physio once a fortnight to get my elbow moving again. It's now just about straight, though not quite!

I was riding 6 weeks after the accident but just hacking at walk. I am now riding as normal, jumping etc and my confidence is now actually BETTER than it was before the accident (I have been having real confidence issues since I got my horse). I think because the worst happened and I have recovered? My legs were like jelly the day I got back but I soon remembered how much I love riding.

Top tips for remobilising your arm - hang buckets of water off it, pull on heavy gates.

I found Boots own glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM made a HUGE difference to recovery. If I stop taking them now my arm seizes up, so get yourself down to Boots.
 
I think knees and elbows are different types of joint so I don't think they behave in the same way? I am not sure if there are different 'ways' of dislocating your elbow - when I fell off I landed on mine and it bent completely the wrong way if that's any help to you. And I have freaky jelly joints so that might be why mine took so long to get better?
It was the being stuck bit that bothered me the most about mine! I had an arm like Barbie for months! Yours might not do that.
 
Thanks for your reply - it's good to hear someone else's story - even if you did have a rough time!
They did about 100 x-rays yesterday (or that's what it felt like!) and they are happy that there are no fractures. The pain is a lot less today with only regular ibuprofen and paracetamol, so hopefully it was just a simple dislocation. I have got some movement in the elbow, can rotate my hand pretty much as normal with only a bit of discomfort. Will straighten but only to about 75-80 degrees at the moment and is most comfy at 90 degrees in the sling. Still feels a bit like a dead weight and my shoulder and upper arm are pretty sore. Think I'll pop in to see my GP next week and try and get a better sling/splint and referral for physio.

I hope my confidence isn't too badly knocked - not sure how I'll feel hacking for a while, but determined to get back in the saddle and enjoy it!

Thanks again for sharing your experience.
Lucy
 
I dislocated mine some years ago, not nice. I wasn't allowed to drive for six weeks and when I did I couldn't change gear without my elbow feeling wobbly. You will probably need to find yourself a good physio, elbows are notorius for locking up, leaving you with restrictive movement in that joint, permanently. It's pretty much fine now but I can still feel it move on occaisions.
 
Poor you. I had a dislocation some years ago, but with a fracture. What they told me was that if it had not been in plaster I would be encouraged to move it as soon as possible to encourage full range of movement on recovery. I'd say get straight to a good sports physio. should only cost about £35 for an assessment, and you will get advice and exercises to do to get it back to normal quickly. Good luck - bet you're back on board within the month.
 
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