Elbow subluxation often occurs in children 1-4 years old during a fall or playing with parents: how to recognize an unpleasant injury and how to avoid it
Very often, parents of babies blow off dust particles from them and try to lay straws on them wherever possible. This is especially true for children who have just started walking and often fall. Alas, it is these best intentions that often cause an injury called "nanny's elbow." She got this name because it happens at the moment when they want to protect the child from falling or play outdoor games with him. The injury itself is not dangerous, but quite painful. How to recognize it, where to take the child for treatment and what to do to prevent re-dislocation, read our material.
Toddlers are tireless explorers, and often climb where they shouldn't, putting themselves in danger. The reflex reaction of any parent at this moment is to grab the child by the hand and pull him towards him, pulling him away from a dangerous place or a critical situation. Since the parent is much taller than the child, he always pulls up. At this point, the ulna (radius) bone may shift from its place in the joint. Sometimes this happens during outdoor games: especially when parents pick up and circle the child by the hands. In some children, subluxation occurs even during dressing: for example, when the mother is in a hurry to stick the child's arm into a sleeve that is too narrow.
When does an elbow injury occur?
Subluxation of the joint can happen even during the game / istockphoto.com
In order to provoke a "nanny's elbow" in a child, it is not at all necessary to have remarkable strength. From the point of view of physiology, this is a completely understandable situation. The radius in our skeleton is connected to the elbow joint by elastic ligaments. At little kids the ligaments are still very weak, and in the case of external influences, they cannot always hold the bone in the desired position. Because of this, the elbow in babies can easily move out of place. In medicine, such an injury is called subluxation of the head of the radius.
As the child grows older, the risk of getting this injury becomes less and less: the bones harden, and the ligaments become stronger and thicker. However, until the age of four, every baby is at risk. Traumatologists say that girls "nanny's elbow" happens more often than boys. And if this happened once, there is a high probability of repetition. To avoid subluxation of the radial head, parents should carefully monitor themselves. Most often, injury occurs in such situations:
Often "nanny's elbow" is associated with the baby's first steps / istockphoto.com
- the parent grabs the child by the hand to insure against falling
- the parent lifts the baby by the hands or wrists
- the parent teaches the child to walk, holding the arms extended above the head
- the parent swings or circles the child, holding him by the hands
- the parent intensively pulls the baby by the hand, urging him to go faster
- the parent dresses the child, sharply stretching his arms through the sleeves
You can provoke a "nanny's elbow" while dressing / istockphoto.com
How to spot an elbow injury
Any joint problems cause great discomfort. And “nanny's elbow is no exception. Immediately after the injury, the child feels sharp painstarts crying and cannot calm down for a long time. At the same time, most likely, there will be no bruises, no swelling, or any other “visual” signs of damage on the arm. However, in this case, this is not an indicator that everything is in order. If the pain does not go away for several hours, the baby refuses to move his hand and presses it to himself, turning his palm to the body, then you need to go to a traumatologist.
You can not pull and pull the child by the hands / istockphoto.com
Doctors encounter this problem so often that they usually solve it in a few minutes. After making sure that there is no fracture (sometimes an x-ray may be needed for this), the doctor returns the elbow to its place with a special technique. The contraction maneuver is performed without anesthesia. But sometimes parents have to hold the child, because the procedure is still quite unpleasant. Most likely, the child will scream and even burst into tears. But the pain after proper therapy passes very quickly, so that after 5-10 minutes the baby can safely move his hand.
Despite the seeming simplicity of the procedure, doctors kindly ask you not to try to carry it out at home. In fact, there are five reduction techniques (or returning the joint to the desired position), and only a specialist can see which one is suitable for a particular child. In addition, at home, parents cannot assess the severity of the injury. Indeed, severe pain, even without hematomas and edema, can sometimes be a symptom of a bone fracture.
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How to provide first aid for bruises and cuts: instructions for mom
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