This will also help to reduce any swelling. It can be applied for 10 – 15 minutes every 2- 3 hours. If you have allergies or conditions, which prevent the use of pain-relieving or anti-inflammatory medication, please seek advice from your doctor or a pharmacist.Īdditionally in the first 72 hours, using ice packs on injured area may help with pain. To manage your pain, we advise that you regularly take simple pain relief, which can be bought over the counter. This fracture can be treated in a sling for the first week, this will allow time for the pain to settle. It is usually caused by falling on an outstretched arm. A fracture to the head or neck occurs up near the elbow joint. The radius is one of the long bones of your forearm. Contact details are available at the end of this leaflet. If after reading it, you have any concerns or require further explanation, please do not hesitate to contact the fracture clinic team. We understand you may not have seen a clinician face to face in fracture clinic however, most of your questions should be answered by this leaflet. This leaflet has been produced to give you general information about your injury. Need some help choosing a language? Please refer to Browsealoud Supported Voices and Languages. To arrange a physiotherapy appointment call .uk on 03 or book online today.You can translate this page by using the headphones button (bottom left) and then select the globe to change the language of the page. Early access to physiotherapy and good compliance with physiotherapy reduces your chances of experiencing long term effects following a radial head fracture. This can be due to many factors poor compliance with physiotherapy, scar tissue, the angle of the radial head, muscular tightness, restriction caused by plates / screws / wires from surgery. Due to the complexity of the elbow joint and the location of a radial head fracture many individuals never regain 100% of the range of movement at the elbow joint. Many fractures of the radial head heal without complication and many people, with appropriate physiotherapy, go on to make a complete recovery. These exercises will initially concentrate on returning the range of movement of your elbow joint and then progress to strengthening of your elbow joint, forearm and upper arm.Ĭan a fracture of the radial head have any long-term effects? Treatment often includes electrotherapy and a progressive series of exercises designed to return you back to normal activity and reduce the risk of ongoing problems. If the fracture is not in a satisfactory position then fractured radial head fixation surgery may be performed to set the position of the bones.įollowing the initial emergency management in hospital the physiotherapists at .uk will be able to provide you with a determination of how long the injury to your radial head fracture is expected to take to heal and determine an appropriate treatment program. If the fracture is in a satisfactory position then stabilisation will be performed by placing the arm in a cast. Initial management is to stabilise the fracture to allow it to heal. X-rays will be taken to confirm the fracture and to determine the location and severity of the fracture. The initial management following a fractured radial head should be undertaken at an accident and emergency department. Physiotherapy for a fracture of the radial head. Activities that increase blood flow to the injured area may increase the bleeding around the fractured ends of bone and could, therefore, prolong your recovery. These include hot showers, heat rubs, massage and the consumption of alcohol. You should also avoid activities which may increase the blood flow to the injured area. Therefore, you should not try to use the injured arm until it has been assessed in accident and emergency. If you suspect that you have fractured the radial head, you should not perform activities which may cause the broken ends of the radius to move in relation to one another. What shouldn’t I do if I have a fracture of my radial head? Above: Soft tissue massage and stretch of the muscle and connective tissues around the elbow
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