Treatment for Dislocated Elbow

[Largephil]

I dislocated my elbow about a week ago. The majority of the swelling in the arm has gone down but it is still badly bruised and swollen around the joint. I have had no cast or sling and tried to move it as much as I can (without it hurting) all week. I only have about half the range of movement that I used to have but I suspect I will get more as the swelling calms down. My question is how long do I leave it before seeing a physiotherapist? Should I give it another week of healing before I start proper physio on the joint?

Similar Threads:

• Sore Elbow - Darts Player (Not tennis or golfers elbow)
• Right Elbow (Golfer's Elbow) Problem
• use of Mill's manipulation in treatment of tennis elbow
• Dislocated Elbow
• ultrasound treatment parameters for tennis elbow in adults

[Largephil]

Surely someone on here can offer some advice?

[roycar]

in short, get an appointment with a physio.

let them assess you and see whether treatment is appropriate at this time.

have you been assessed by orthopedics? had xrays etc? a physio is unlikely to do anything if you havent been assessed medically and imaged to know exactly whats going on.

[Largephil]

Hi, thanks for your reply. Had x-rays a few hours after the dislocation. No fractures but due to the amount of swelling the x-rays were not ideal. The doctor didn’t believe that I had a dislocation either, even though my arm was massive through the swelling. Went back and saw a different doctor 2 days later, he said not to use a sling or cast and to move it as much as possible while it healed. 2 weeks later I have only about 45 degrees of movement, still a painful swollen joint, pain on twisting my hand and the muscle mass on the under side of my arm seems not to be quite where it should be close to the elbow! Will go back to the hospital and see if I can find a proper orthopaedic doctor who can give me clearer advise. Also I will arrange a meeting with a senior private physio for later this week. I was worried that I have been moving my arm too much and not given it enough healing time, but I have only followed the advise I was given. Pretty sure I could do with an MRI scan really to see where the damage is but that’s usually a 3-month waiting list here. Thanks again for your advice.

[roycar]

yea i'd defiinitely be looking for an experienced orthopaedic opinion on this +/- an mri. elbows can be tricky joints to get right after problems like this. it does sound like you should be resting it up a bit more, going down the RICE route to let it settle. probably still a bit acute to be moving it too much. do see the physio though, there is a lot that we can do to help in these acute/subacute stages.

all the best.