fractured radial head....

Hey Folks,

So I recently fractured the radial head in my left elbow. I am heading to an orthopedic specialist tuesday, but it looks as though it is going to be a no operation situation. It is only slightly displaced, and it was not dislocated. Of course I am a bit worried about tendon/ligament damage.

Anyone out there dealt with something similar in the past? Any ideas on recovery time? Also, what are some thoughts on how i can keep everything as strong as possible for a quick recovery?

I appreciate any feedback! Thanks,
Matt

my buddy shattered his femoral head in his leg when he was run over by a snowmobile... He had no operation and fully recovered. Just wait until your fully healed to climb again or the fracture could get worse.

Hi Matt - How did the fracture happen? I would make sure and talk to the ortho about any potential for associated tendon/ligament damage. I would also request a referral for PT (or any certified hand specialist PT or OT) to ensure that you are not losing mobility/strength during recovery. Even just a single visit to give you a home exercise program and tell you do's/don'ts. The biggest deficits are likely to be in forearm pronation/supination (turnign your hand up and down from the forearm) as those motions require the radial head to 'spin' against the humerus. When those motions are restricted, the natural thing to do is compensate from the shoulder which can then cause some shoulder issues.

I fractured my radial head about 11 years ago, and also tore my ulnar collateral ligament in the process. I didn't have too much formal treatment at the time, and as I recall it took about 9 months before it felt 'normal' again. I think the ligament was probably what made it so slow, not the fracture. I ended up having the UCL reconstructed a year ago along with a bunch of other stuff that was destroyed in the same accident.

If you have an isolated radial head fracture, I would expect it to be pretty quick - 3 months or so is expected for fracture healing in a healthy person.

Good luck!

Erika

Thanks a ton Erika. I fell at, of all places, the bouldering gym from about 8 feet onto an extended left arm. I did hear some things happening inside during the fall (grinding/breaking/tearing?). My hope is that the fracture is isolated.

Matt

Had a non-displaced radial head fracture after falling off a bike on the road in 2009. I see yours is somewhat more displaced.

Anyway, had to lay off climbing, biking and yoga for about 6 weeks to let it knit. "Controlled loading" helps with rehab. Figure it took at least a couple months to get strength back after that.

I still do range of motion exercises a few times a week. I was initially worried I'd lose some range, but after 6 months it seemed to come back to what it was. Rotating the joint I still hear some bone-crunching noises (crepitation), but apparently that is fairly common.

I often wear elbow pads on the mountain bike now :)

Thanks for the reply Rhyang. Bone crushing noises eh? Sounds fun :/ I would be psyched if it was feeling alright after 6 weeks.

Matt

I fractured the radial head in my right elbow a few years back. Fell off a boulder problem, landed on my back but my elbow smacked the ground first. Arm was in a sling for a week, then gradually started range of motion exersizes and pt. The main thing was just trying to get my arm to straighten out and hyperextend a bit(like the other arm). After about a month or two I'd hang a weight on my wrist and put my arm on a table so the elbow was just off the edge a bit - this seemed to straighten it out over time, although it still won't hyperextend like the my left arm. Anyway after about a year I was back crankin' away. I thought tendonitis was going to be an issue but no - all I ever feel is a small pop in the elbow if I sleep on it wrong. Now I've got tendonitis in my other arm..and my IT band flared up skiing yesterday - damn!

I did the exact same break, even happened in the gym. bouldering, post hole break. 3 months out. But way better than the ankle fracture I'm dealing with. Once you get the OK, ROM exercize, all day.

Thanks for all the feedback. Pretty psyched to get into some ROM exercises.

I fractured the radial head on my left arm in 2009. In the x-ray, I could see the fracture lone across the whole bone, right under the "ball" in the socket... my buddy was towing me behind his car while I was on the skateboard - caught some high speed wobbles and went down.

Any way, I was in a "soft" cast, it was off in a few weeks. I initially had limited range of motion, and had to stretch regularly to get that back (would lay in bed with my arm hanging off the bed, gravity pulling it open. The recovery process was pretty quick (maybe three months? I broke it in November, and was climbing in the spring) but since then have had absolutely no issues with the elbow.

Hope that helps. I tend to have a pretty fatalistic outlook on any injury I get, and so it is good to hear from folks that have had easy full recoveries - eases the mind.

LML

Thanks LML.....absolutely no issues with the elbow gets me psyched.