Elbow dislocation in children

It is the nature of children to love playing and being naughty, and they do not know the seriousness of the matter when playing. At the same time, their bones are very fragile, and many children are prone to fractures while playing. This elbow dislocation of children is also a phenomenon that children are prone to when playing games. So for parents, what should they do after discovering that their children's elbow is dislocated?

In the game of "Pull the Saw, Pull the Saw", children often pull each other passionately while singing cheerfully. If they use too much force, it can easily cause dislocation. In addition, when parents are playing with their children, helping them to cross steps or go up stairs, or to prevent them from falling, they sometimes suddenly pull their children's forearms with force. Impatient and reckless pulling can cause elbow dislocation. This phenomenon is more common in children aged 2 to 3 years old, and is more likely to occur in girls. When the child is pulled during the game and suddenly cries out in pain and refuses to have his elbow moved; refuses to use the affected hand to pick up objects or raise it, cries due to pain when trying to rotate the elbow back and forth, the elbow joint often appears slightly bent, the palm rotates downward and hangs in front of the chest, but there is no obvious change on the surface, you should consider the possibility of radial head subluxation and go to the hospital for examination in time.

In daily life, whether helping children to put on clothes or playing games with them, parents should try their best to avoid pulling the children's arms hard. Even if they have to pull, they should choose the upper arm area. When children are playing games, teachers should tell them the safety precautions that they should pay attention to during the game.

Children's joints have a large range of motion and the ligaments around the joints are loose, which can easily lead to joint dislocation after being stretched or loaded. For example, if an adult pulls a child's arm or rides too hard, or if a child accidentally falls while walking, it may cause elbow dislocation.

Elbow dislocation generally presents as local pain, and children often cry as a result. The injured arm suffers from loss of active and passive attack functions, such as inability to raise the arm. The dislocated part has typical joint deformity and its appearance is asymmetrical with the other side.

Because young children are young, it is difficult for them to express the injury process and feelings in words, and they often express it by crying or being unhappy, so parents or teachers need to observe carefully. During examinations, young children are often unable to cooperate well because they are afraid of pain. If the examination is performed reluctantly, it will be difficult to obtain satisfactory results. Therefore, it is advisable to start the examination from the parts that are estimated to be uninjured, and the movements should be particularly gentle.

If joint dislocation is not discovered in time or treated improperly, local congestion and swelling will often occur at the dislocation site, and it may lead to complications such as habitual dislocation and joint fracture. Therefore, parents or teachers should not take this lightly.

Once a child's elbow is dislocated, parents do not need to panic and can simply use manual repositioning treatment. Since the technique is relatively simple, parents may wish to try it first. If it doesn’t work, they can go to the hospital for treatment. After the dislocation is confirmed, the child needs to be repositioned in time.

The specific operation method is: hold the child in a sitting position, with the operator facing the child. Flex the elbow 90 degrees and place it at the child's side. The surgeon holds the lower end of the upper arm with one hand to prevent the shoulder joint from rotating and places the thumb on the radial head. Hold the wrist of the affected limb with the other hand and perform forearm supination movements several times in a row. At this time, a crisp, slight snapping sound can be heard or the fingers can be felt bouncing, indicating that the radial head has been repositioned. The child stops crying and can use the affected hand to pick up objects.

After the radial head is repositioned, fixation is generally not required. However, parents should be reminded that they should never suddenly lift the child's arm by lifting objects or change the child's clothes with rough movements, so as to avoid recurrence of dislocation and the formation of habitual dislocation.

For children who have been dislocated for more than 24 hours or have a history of recurrent dislocation, the popping sound or bouncing sensation during reduction is often not obvious due to local swelling, and the pain may not disappear immediately after reduction, but other symptoms can mostly be relieved. At this time, it is advisable to use a neck and wrist strap to fix the elbow at a right angle for about one week.

However, for some children who often suffer from dislocation, it is best to fix the affected limb in front of the chest for 7 to 10 days with a triangular towel or bandage after manual reduction, and avoid traction to avoid habitual dislocation. Although dislocation in young children can be reduced, it is easy for it to recur. As the child grows older, around 8 years old, the chance of dislocation in young children will be greatly reduced.

The above is an introduction to joint dislocation in children. We all know very well that joint dislocation means pain and disaster for children, so we must never let this happen to our children. At the same time, we will all continue to work hard for our children. Parents and friends should also learn some common sense issues based on the characteristics of their children.