# Anyone recovered from a broken elbow(radius)?



## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (25 Feb 2013)

On the 23/12/12 I got knocked off and broke my elbow (delayed going to a&e till day after, thought I'd just bruised it?)

I declined the offer of a plaster cast, as the specialist said it would involve upto 6 months of physio after, due to shortened ligaments and tendons.

He said I could just use it upto my pain threshold so I've been riding and doing some jobs around the house. Every thing was going fine until a couple of days ago, I've obviously done something to upset it as I feel I've gone back two steps in pain and its clicking like fook and my range of movement has reduced a bit.

Is this normal to take a few steps back?

The specialist said it could be up to 2 years for a full recovery, I didn't really understand what he meant. Does he mean up to years for the pain to reduce or just full strength and movement?

Anyone else had this sort of injury? How long did it take you before you could come off the pain killers?

Edit: I've never broken a bone before so I've no idea what to expect recovery wise (apart from eye socket but that doesn't do owt).


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## summerdays (25 Feb 2013)

I had a minor break of my elbow and considering it didn't really show up on the first X-ray it hurt a lot. Don't know why I thought bones wouldn't hurt. I would say it was a gradual process of improvement over a long period. I didn't use pain killers apart from the first week really (but then I have to be in a lot of pain to take pain killers). There were lots of nights of disturbed sleep, being unable to turn in bed etc. I was back on the bike (only doing about 20 metres or so), within 2 days and gradually upped how much I could tolerate/do. I would say that after 6 months to a year that there was generally no pain and the amount of movement is fixed at almost where it was - only I can tell that I can't over-flex it the way I used to.


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (25 Feb 2013)

Thanks for the reply, mine was a mess according to the specialist and he thought I'd need an operation...but luckily I didn't need it in the end.

So it's normal to take so long and at least I've been back on the bike from the get go...excellent thanks.


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## fossyant (26 Feb 2013)

Unfortunately it can take years. Best off using it, but I'd go back to the GP for a checkup / referral to your ortho specialist.

I banged up my shoulder, had two years of back and forward to my shoulder specialist, before they decided it wasn't getting better. Eventually had it decompressed (3 holes in shoulder, in with a camera and a drill/shaves and they take out part of the joint to free it up, got back on the bike quickly (after 2-3 weeks) commuting again within seven weeks, but it was still very painful. I also had fascial pain in the muscles on the damaged side in my back/trapezius - this got sorted with steriods 12 months after the operation, and I'd say it's 99% now. Pain free on the bike. The only problem I have is occasional back pain on my left side which is residue of the fascial pain - but that's usually whilst in bed, so a quick adjustment to how I'm sleeping sorts it.

I'd say 18 months minimum. I wouldn't be afraid of operations - the way I see it, if it needs doing, get it done, especially if you are active. It's all well and good being a couch potatoe, but if being active causes it to get worse, get it fixed. Living with long term pain isn't funny, neither is taking pain killers !


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## dan_bo (26 Feb 2013)

I can't imagine how much of a pain in the ar$e a broken elbow would be. Sympathies (again).


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (26 Feb 2013)

dan_bo said:


> I can't imagine how much of a pain in the ar$e a broken elbow would be. Sympathies (again).


Thanks dan...how are you healing?


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (26 Feb 2013)

fossyant said:


> Unfortunately it can take years. Best off using it, but I'd go back to the GP for a checkup / referral to your ortho specialist.
> 
> I banged up my shoulder, had two years of back and forward to my shoulder specialist, before they decided it wasn't getting better. Eventually had it decompressed (3 holes in shoulder, in with a camera and a drill/shaves and they take out part of the joint to free it up, got back on the bike quickly (after 2-3 weeks) commuting again within seven weeks, but it was still very painful. I also had fascial pain in the muscles on the damaged side in my back/trapezius - this got sorted with steriods 12 months after the operation, and I'd say it's 99% now. Pain free on the bike. The only problem I have is occasional back pain on my left side which is residue of the fascial pain - but that's usually whilst in bed, so a quick adjustment to how I'm sleeping sorts it.
> 
> I'd say 18 months minimum. I wouldn't be afraid of operations - the way I see it, if it needs doing, get it done, especially if you are active. It's all well and good being a couch potatoe, but if being active causes it to get worse, get it fixed. Living with long term pain isn't funny, neither is taking pain killers !




Thanks fossyant, I now realise that 8 weeks is only a short period of time, which makes me more relaxed about it.

Goodness me, being pain for that long....must have been horrid....I thank my lucky starts I'm not contracting anymore...I'd have to have carried on working.


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## MacB (26 Feb 2013)

I'd think about surgery and then immobilisation while healing followed by as much physio as is needed.

I was told by the first guy I'd need surgery then saw the senior consultant on the Monday who said that surgery would be a risk and that I had a 70-80% of a full recovery without. I now know this to have been a crock of shoot and after months which turned into years of steadily worsening pain I saw another surgeon. This time I was told that there was no chance of a proper recovery without surgery and never had been. Also that I'd made life tougher for myself by creating a 2 year gap between break and surgery.

I'm now tentatively back on the bike after my second round of surgery and having followed surgeons and physio instructions to the letter this time. I will never have full use or strength back and knew that prior to this last surgery but so far it's a lot better than before. I may have had a full recovery had I had the surgery straight away after the initial break....but I'll never know now.


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (26 Feb 2013)

MacB said:


> I'd think about surgery and then immobilisation while healing followed by as much physio as is needed.
> 
> I was told by the first guy I'd need surgery then saw the senior consultant on the Monday who said that surgery would be a risk and that I had a 70-80% of a full recovery without. I now know this to have been a crock of s*** and after months which turned into years of steadily worsening pain I saw another surgeon. This time I was told that there was no chance of a proper recovery without surgery and never had been. Also that I'd made life tougher for myself by creating a 2 year gap between break and surgery.
> 
> I'm now tentatively back on the bike after my second round of surgery and having followed surgeons and physio instructions to the letter this time. I will never have full use or strength back and knew that prior to this last surgery but so far it's a lot better than before. I may have had a full recovery had I had the surgery straight away after the initial break....but I'll never know now.




Thanks for that macb, I'll give it few more months before I start to worry.

I thought it would be a healing process like a cut....linear improvements on a daily basis, after the replies I now realise that's not the case for active people. Google and research is obviously for sedentary people which is why I asked here....glad I did.


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## MacB (26 Feb 2013)

Oh and I have to admit to being more than a bit pig headed and I went back to playing golf too soon after the break...not the best sport for a healing elbow injury. Then after the first surgery I went back to cycling too quickly which was fine until I hit a bad pothole.


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (26 Feb 2013)

MacB said:


> Oh and I have to admit to being more than a bit pig headed and I went back to playing golf too soon after the break...not the best sport for a healing elbow injury. Then after the first surgery I went back to cycling too quickly which was fine until I hit a bad pothole.


I did the same, out for a ride with pennine_paul on day 4 I think, hit a pothole in Manchester and saw stars, then fitted granite work tops on week 2...dummy..no wonder its sore...but specialist told me to use it!...


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## dan_bo (26 Feb 2013)

bromptonfb said:


> Thanks dan...how are you healing?


 
Ah not bad thanks. Fingers are taped up unless i'm on the bike, hurts when I hit a pothole, can't pull the brakes on the MTB for a couple of weeks. Oh you know....


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (26 Feb 2013)

dan_bo said:


> Ah not bad thanks. Fingers are taped up unless i'm on the bike, hurts when I hit a pothole, can't pull the brakes on the MTB for a couple of weeks. Oh you know....


MTFU...


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## dan_bo (26 Feb 2013)

bromptonfb said:


> MTFU...


 
 Sod that I'm getting too old to not have it heal up properly. 

The biggest PITA is that I had a month off the bike before christmas for the dupuytrens' operation, and now the other hand's fecked!


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## SatNavSaysStraightOn (26 Feb 2013)

bromptonfb said:


> I did the same, out for a ride with pennine_paul on day 4 I think, hit a pothole in Manchester and saw stars, then fitted granite work tops on week 2...dummy..no wonder its sore...but specialist told me to use it!...


My OH found out that what the medical profession and us more active people consider as exercise is 2 totally different things. Periodically he gets a bad back, and was told by our then GP (and separately by a chiropractor) to take short walks daily which we did do. less than a week later he was at the GP's in agony. Turns out that whilst our GP thought it marvelous that she had 2 patients who considered a short walk to be something a little over 4 miles (up to a certain gate and back again) 4 miles was not a short walk in her book! She as thinking along the lines of 1/2-1 mile which as my OH rightly pointed out was not enough to walk to the bottom of our track (at the time) and back again to take the bins out!

Me thinks you may need to re-appraise what using it means in their terms!
look after yourself & take it a touch easier... the pain killers won't knock you out as badly that way and recovery will be faster!


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## helston90 (26 Feb 2013)

8 weeks is nothing in bone healing time- I broke my elbow (although the piece of bone stayed in place when it broke so wasn't very complicated) and my collarbone at the same time in March last year and they still occasionally give me jip/ ache if I catch them wrong.
If it starts getting better then suddenly gets painful again go and see someone- the last thing you want is it healing wrong and them having to operate to 'mend' it again.


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## fossyant (26 Feb 2013)

SatNavSaysStraightOn said:


> My OH found out that what the medical profession and us more active people consider as exercise is 2 totally different things.


 
My experience also. They are not geared up to fit folk. I have a colleague who was a triathlete, but has been very ill recently with restricted airways - she was still up and about in work despite being seriously ill. Some of the stories she has - ended up with her apendix out - went in complaining of pain, doc realised she was still training every morning, sent her away. It almost ruptured.


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## summerdays (26 Feb 2013)

SatNavSaysStraightOn said:


> My OH found out that what the medical profession and us more active people consider as exercise is 2 totally different things.


When I asked I was told I could get back on the bike whenever I felt like it - hence 2 days  - not sure whether they meant that soon or not! Mr Summerdays was impressed especially as I couldn't actually hold the handlebars properly but I wanted to see.


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## SatNavSaysStraightOn (26 Feb 2013)

summerdays said:


> When I asked I was told I could get back on the bike whenever I felt like it - hence 2 days  - not sure whether they meant that soon or not! Mr Summerdays was impressed especially as I couldn't actually hold the handlebars properly but I wanted to see.


I suspect the OP doing a +100 mile bike ride the other night and several other +100km rides, might not be what they were thinking of at the time (sorry OP)


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (26 Feb 2013)

summerdays said:


> When I asked I was told I could get back on the bike whenever I felt like it - hence 2 days  - not sure whether they meant that soon or not! Mr Summerdays was impressed especially as I couldn't actually hold the handlebars properly but I wanted to see.


Hehe that's what I did, I just propped my left hand on the bars gingerly, after about 4 weeks, iirc, I managed to hold on ever so lightly.

Thanks for the replies guys, it's been a big help....


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## vickster (26 Feb 2013)

Not a break, but I had tennis elbow surgery at the start of November (tendon detatched, hole drilled, tendon reattached to a bone screw). I started strengthening after 3 months, I have ridden a little bit in the last 10 days. Since starting the tendon loading (with a theraband and now a 1kg weight), my arm is now more sore again

My surgeon was clear that there should be no cycling for 3 months - as he pointed out I could find myself descending a hill and discovering I actually had no strength to brake hard!

Happy healing - it'll take much longer than you think. I am hopeful for a return to strength at 6 months


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## briantrumpet (26 Feb 2013)

Very minor radial head fracture 18 months ago for me, no action taken, but it did take a few months really to get back to normal, and changing gear with the two little fingers caused some pain for quite a while (the Tiagra shifter with a longer but gentler push were much more comfortable than the Ultegra one). I still hear slight scrunching noises when I do press-ups, but no pain. But the x-ray showed only a minor longitudinal fracture.


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## Dante256 (26 Mar 2015)

I fractured my RIGHT olecranon (elbow) 8 weeks ago. I'm hoping that I'll be allowed to ride this week, but I think I might be told k have to wait until 12 weeks. 

I've detailed the physio and the treatments I've needed on www.titaniumgeek.com


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## Drago (26 Mar 2015)

8 years on from a broken olecranon it still causes me problems, and may see me retired early this year.


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## summerdays (26 Mar 2015)

About 6 years on and it still aches sometimes and I can't straighten that arm (well over extend) it as far as I used to. And there is one annoying point that means when I carry something heavy and try to set it down, there is one point in the arc where it stops. I have to set the thing down by bending myself down then repick it up with the arm moved beyond that point.


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## TheJDog (27 Mar 2015)

I'm about 12 years on from a radial head fracture, and it gives me all sorts of grief. Main problem is not the pain or the noise, though both are alarming, but the lack of range of movement (and the pain at the extremity of movement is quite severe with rotation) - carrying shopping with a canted wrist gets very painful, or riding with one very bent arm probably causes me more back pain than it used to, even something as simple as putting a tie on and fixing my collar is a kerfuffle..

My specialist decided that chopping off my radial head and replacing it with a bit of metal might help, IF YOURS SUGGESTS THIS TELL HIM TO TAKE A RUNNING JUMP. Mine has been slightly worse at best since that happened. His next suggestion was to chop off the head entirely and leave a floating joint. At this point I think I wised up and told him no thank you. I've had a couple of sanding treatments to get gunk out of the joint, which the last time looked ghastly on the picture. If I win the lottery, maybe it would get sorted, but as it is I am just putting up with the pain.


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## ushills (27 Mar 2015)

I broke both of mine as a school kid, attempting a judo roll on tarmac and slamming both elbows onto tarmac. I agree the pain was terrible but subsided after about a month, then the physio was about 2 year to get full range of movement, for about 6 months they wouldn't go much straighter than 120 degrees then it got better each month.


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## ushills (27 Mar 2015)

PS I have a bit of bone floating in my right elbow after my last off, generally causes no bother unless I catch it on the desk.


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## Mr Celine (3 Apr 2015)

I fell off my bike and hurt my arm on the way to get my Sunday paper nearly 4 weeks ago. I finally got round to arranging a GP's appointment and saw him today, he sent to me to the hospital for an x ray and I've just discovered I have a radial head fracture. They told me that if I'd gone to A and E straight away (it wasn't that sore at the time) I'd have been given a collar and cuff for two weeks, so I could probably have had two weeks off work. I've no idea what the long term prognosis is, I've to wait for an appointment at the fracture clinic. 
At the moment I can't fully bend or straighten it and it seems to stiffen up when cycling to the point that I can't get a water bottle to my mouth with that arm.


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## TheJDog (4 Apr 2015)

Make sure you start some physio ASAP. I mean today, ideally. I'm sure the lack of meaningful movement on mine (I was told to keep it immobile for two weeks) was part of the reason it's so knackered now. When I turned up for my first physio appt he was grumbling about why I'd waited so long to see him. The NHS, eh? Can't live with it, can't live without it :S


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## Mr Celine (6 Apr 2015)

TheJDog said:


> Make sure you start some physio ASAP. I mean today, ideally. I'm sure the lack of meaningful movement on mine (I was told to keep it immobile for two weeks) was part of the reason it's so knackered now. When I turned up for my first physio appt he was grumbling about why I'd waited so long to see him. The NHS, eh? Can't live with it, can't live without it :S


Thanks for that JDog. A friend of mine is a physio and she was round on Friday night. She said to wait until I'd been to the fracture clinic, as the nurse who had looked at the x-ray wasn't sure if the break was healing or not. 
Anyway, it was such a nice day yesterday I reckoned a 30 miler in the sunshine wouldn't do it any harm and would produce some useful vitamin D.


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## Dante256 (19 Apr 2015)

I've found the physio has been absolutely key to sorting me out. 
The biggest advice I would give is whatever is advised - stick to it. Due to the significance of my injury - It was intra-articular, I had physio exercises that took about 45-min to and hour to complete. These had to be repeated daily, along with simple hourly stretched. 

I have been running since about 7 week post op and have just put my first cycle on www.titaniumgeek.com. I've also put examples of the physio exercises I had to do on there. Might find a few helpful bits?

Overall I'm glad it not actually been as life changing as I was worried about!


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