Is my elbow broken or sprained?
I hit my elbow on the doorframe and felt like I had hit my funny bone but the elbow HURT bad! But it's been 24 hours and swelling isn't showing that much! I can't move it, and it hurts to touch if I press a little hard. I fractured my knee and it fells similar, but I'm not sure if I did... I will be going to the doctor soon. Oh! But my hand is numb and tingles to move. please tell me what you think!
Is my elbow broken or sprained?
i was holding on to the shower curtain rod thing and putting a curtain up in the shower. so i was standing on the toilet. then the toilet seat slid off and broke and also the curtain holder broken too and i fell into the tub on my butt and my elbow. i can barely move it. if i lightly touch it , it will still hurt i can bend down because my butt hurts i cant put my shirt on fast [it takes about 2 minutes] i have to lay flat down to put pants on yea i'm gonna go see a doctor i just need to know if its broken or sprained?
Is my hand fractured or sprained?
Hi, I'm a former certified athletic trainer, now in medical school, so I may be able to help you out. My quick and obvious advice is to go get an X-Ray. There were many times where I thought one of my athletes just had a sprained ankle, and after healing and rehab weren't working, a small hairline fracture would show up in an x-ray. There were also times where I thought a fracture was obvious, but it turned out just to be a bad bone bruise or swelling. So the only way to be sure you don't have a fracture is to get an x-ray. There is an extra reason to get an x-ray for an injury to that area. There is a bone below your thumb called the scaphoid. If that bone is fractured, it can cut off blood supply to an essential artery which runs through it. If that blood supply is cut off by the fracture, the bone will begin to die. If that happens, usually surgery and a really big cast (above the elbow and below the wrist) is required to fix it. You can check for tenderness on that bone by pressing a finger into the "anatomical snuffbox." Funny sounding area, but easy to find... just try to extend your thumb like you're giving a "thumbs up." You should see two tendons pop up below your thumb. If you press down right between them with your other index finger... you're pressing down on the scaphoid bone. If your pain is no where near that area, you might be okay just waiting and seeing if it heals on it own. Soft tissue (muscle, skin, fat) bruises usually hurt for a few days then feel better. Bone bruises can be painful for weeks. If a bone is broken, but not displaced (out of alignment) you should immobilize it for 4-6 weeks. If a bone is broken AND out of alignment (which you would probably have felt or noticed by now) the doctor would need to either reset it manually, or perform surgery to align it and pin it in place. Good luck... and go see a doctor!
Is my arm sprained or broken?
Can't give a very reliable answer with the information you've provided, however I can give you a couple ways of testing it. First the location of the pain and swelling. If the pain is not in your wrist, elbow, or shoulder then there's a good chance it's not a sprain. Sprains only occur at a joint where ligaments are stretched. Besides a break, it could also only be a bruise or bone bruise. Look at your arms next to each other to see if there's any noticeable deformation. If one arm is crooked... it's probably broken. If it's not that obvious take your hurt arm and make a fist. Take your other hand and tap on your fist just hard enough to move your arm. If there is pain at a specific point in your arm gently rub that point and the area around it. If you notice that the pain is very localized that's another indication for a break. Once you have the spot isolated find the place on your arm nearest the painful area, that has little if any pain upon palpation. Locate the bone, if it's lower arm there are two bones (Ulna and Radius), if the pain is in the upper arm the Humerus. I'm assuming the pain is in the lower arm, because it is much harder to break the Humerus. Once you've identified the spot closest to the injury that can be touched without pain find the area where the bones of the lower arm are closest to the skin and easily touched (usually nearer the wrist). Then rest your arm in a non-painful position on a table or bed and take your finger from your non-injured arm and tap on each bone lightly, but with enough force that you can feel it in your elbow. If this causes strong pain at the same spot you identified as being most painful then your arm is most likely broken. All of this being said there's a much better way to tell if your arm is broken with near absolute certainty. Go to a doctor and get an X-ray. He'll not only be able to tell you if it's broken he can even treat the injury too! For now as far as treatment just ice the injured area as much as possible, and keep it compressed with an ACE wrap or sleeve, and keep the arm elevated this will prevent the throbbing pain usually associated with breaks. Good luck with the injury, hope you can get back on the board soon.
My son fell and hurt his arm. Could it be broken, cracked, a sprain or what?
Well first of before i start let's hope he get well soon! but most likely it is not broken.. if it is broke it will get bruised really bad and swell the bruising will be black and the bruising will start a few minutes after he fell on it he also will not be able to move it at all.... however it might be sprained and you will need some epson salt you can get it anywhere that will help the bruise go away and it will help the arm get better. but you are not sure if it is broke or not in other words sometimes really small bones break and it looks like it is just nothing but a sprain when it is not this is not something that happens all the time... it is a rare condition it has to happen when the person falls on a certain angle... but only an x ray will tell... remember i am not a doctor just using my college experience..... so dont take my words as if i was a doctor cause i am not yet.... but good luck to the both of you. PS the pop you heard when he fell might be a bone cracking like when you crack your fingers! or a tiny fracture... or nothing but the echo on the floor.
Mine too.. I have a broken collar bone (left clavicle) and it itches so much.. I even have small blisters.. they do not hurt though.. maybe it is due to inflammation as Anubhab says.. here is what the internet came up with:In Chinese medicine, the healing process of fractures is divided into three distinctive stages, each lasting about two weeks: 1. Acute Stage This stage occurs during the first and second weeks after the fracture takes place. The first seven days are accompanied by acute pain and swelling. A pool of blood is created from broken blood vessels around the bone. This pool of blood starts to produce bone cells within the first seven days. In the second week, the bone starts to knit. This process can cause discomfort and itching, especially at night. 2. Knitting stage This stage occurs during the third and fourth weeks after the fracture takes place and continues the processes started during the acute phase. As bone cells continue to be formed, so does the bone knitting. Even though the affected bone may have completed knitting by the fourth week, it will likely remain flexible and soft at the point of the fracture. 3. Complete Healing This stage occurs during the fifth and sixth week after the fracture occurs. If the person is healthy and the break is one of the less complicated types of breaks, then the affected bone has most likely regained it’s strength and solidity as the sixth week draws to a close. On the other hand, complete healing of severe and complicated breaks can take longer. Of course, appropriate treatment immediately following the break and thereafter can greatly expedite the fracture healing process. Here is where I got it from: Fractures, Fracture Healing and Types of Fractures
How do I know if my wrist is broken or just sprained?
Sounds pretty broken to me. You really ought to have gone to the doctor straight away. If it is broken you quite probably need to get it in plaster, before it heals in the wrong place. Otherwise you would have to have it rebroken manually and then reset. Doesn't sound too pleasant does it?! I did pretty much the same almost one year ago. I was sledging, stood up, trod on ice and fell on my backside. As I landed my elbow also hit the ground which was frozen solid. I nearly didn't go to hospital as I thought it was just a sprain at first, although I was in agony. Luckily I did. The result? A broken elbow, and my upper arm was broken down the middle, as was my lower arm, and the elbow end of my lower arm bone was also broken off, four breaks! I had plaster only until the next day when I was taken down for surgery. This was last March and the plates, pins, wires and screws were removed last November. No further plaster cast for a broken elbow though :( A sprain, and I've had plenty of those, yes I'm accident prone, tends to ease off after a couple of days and shouldn't be so sore that you literally couldn't move it. Please, go and see a doctor as soon as you possibly can. And don't go trying to shoot balls until it's at least in plaster or wrapped! Even if it's just sprained you need to see a doc because if it hurts that bad you may have damaged ligaments or nerves. Good luck and I hope it gets easier to deal with soon :) ps, if you get an xray and it doesn't show anything, but doesn't seem to heal, do go back again a week later, because if you break the scaphoid bone (on the thumb side of your wrist) it doesn't always show up on an xray at first, for some strange reason. I know loads of people who have had that happen to them!
How can I self check to see if my arm is broken/fractured?
I don't know which part of your arm is involved -- the upper or forearm but the most common signs of a fracture are swelling and pain, discoloration (appears bruised), deformity (looks crooked or shorter than the other arm), if the humerus is fractured (upper arm) your ability to move the arm is limited or you can't move it at all, if the forearm is involved, you may not be able to move your hand, numbness in the wrist and hand. You may feel a crunching sensation in the arm. This is crepitus and is the sound of fractured bone ends scraping eachother. There are many types of fractures and the symptoms are more extreme with some than with others. I gather that if you have one, it's a closed fracture (simple fracture) and not a compound fracture (open fracture) or a bone end would be protruding through your skin. Generally speaking, if you can move your arm, wrist, hand and fingers, the arm isn't deformed and there's no numbness, you don't have a fracture. If in fact you have any of these symptoms, get the arm X-rayed. Otherwise, you have soft tissue damage which will resolve on its own.
Significant trauma such as a broken bone can cause inflammation within the body and in response you could experience a low grade fever. This is a sign that the body is trying to repair itself. If you experience a fever greater than 101 degrees or are complaining about numbness or tingling, contact a physician immediately.