How to identify and what to do with an elbow injury: first aid and treatment

Any of us at least once in a lifetime experienced unpleasant sensations in the elbow after a bruise.

With minor damage, pain lasts a few minutes, and in severe cases, a few hours or days.

Even a small bruise can lead to an inflammatory process, so if the pain lasts more than 10 minutes, consult a doctor.

What is the elbow joint of

Our elbow consists of 3 different parts, united by one shell( capsule).This is the humerus, elbow and radius. Between them are 3 joints:

• shoulder - ulnar;
• shoulder - beam;
• proximal radial - ulnar

The lower part of the humerus is triangular and connected to the forearm by these joints. Under the capsule in which they are located, there is a synovial bag filled with a liquid for the lubrication of bones.

Due to this friction between the bones decreases, preventing the wear of joints and bones.

What happens when an

is injured? Severe and severe injuries can occur if the elbow is injured. With a slight bruise, small joint components suffer, and the pain quickly passes.

A more serious injury leads to damage to the synovial bag, the cartilaginous tissue and the capsule itself. Nerve pitting or bone damage may occur.

What indicates an

injury The main symptom that indicates an elbow joint injury is swelling, which can be quite large.

If, during a stroke, the vessels of subcutaneous tissue, muscle tissue or skin are damaged, there are bruises of maroon or bluish color in the place of the bruise appearing of the .Under the skin, bruises form from blood accumulated under the fiber.

If blood accumulates in the cavity between the joint surfaces, hemarthrosis occurs. There is a stretching of the joint capsule and squeezing of medium and small vessels that provide nutrition to the joints.

With a strong elbow, in severe cases, dislocation, fracture or bone displacement may occur. Because of the pain and bruises, mobility of the elbow is complicated. The victim tries to keep his hand in a half-bent state, so as not to hurt himself.

The most common causes of injury

Any person, both an adult and a child, can injure an elbow. Often contusion of the elbow is obtained by falling, when instinctively put your hands in contact with a solid surface.

Due to their mobility, children often get bruises. In addition, any person can get a bruise when falling or accidentally abruptly touching a solid surface.

Degrees of severity of injury

Modern medicine distinguishes several degrees of contusions depending on severity:

1. First degree .Minor damage to the skin with scratches and small bruises. This bruise goes by itself, without leaving consequences.
2. Second degree .There is a rupture of muscle tissue, causing swelling and forming bruises. In this case, the victim feels a sharp pain in the bruised joint.
3. Bruises 3 degrees are characterized by damage to the tendons and muscles, and in especially severe cases, a dislocation of the elbow joint is possible.
4. The fourth is the heaviest degree of elbow damage, causing severe acute pain and disrupting its normal activity.

First Aid Assistance

If you feel a strong pain in the elbow after a bruise, you need to take the following measures:

• fix the hand by hanging it on the bandage bandage;
• attach something cold to the bruised place( ice, a towel soaked in cold water or any product from the freezer);
• if the pain does not pass more than 15 minutes, drink an anesthetic drug and go to the emergency room.

Diagnostics in hospital conditions

Severe bruises of the elbow joint are indicated by the appearance of sharp pain, swelling and bruising.

In this case, you need to ensure the joint is immobile and consult a doctor. Only a specialist can correctly diagnose the degree of damage, make an X-ray and prescribe a treatment.

You should not make yourself a diagnosis that, due to untimely started treatment, you get a bouquet of complications that will lead to disastrous consequences.

Only a specialist with a strong injury can diagnose a hemarthrosis or fracture.

Treatment in the hospital and at home

What should I do to avoid complications and achieve full recovery after an elbow injury? For this, it is necessary to comply with all the prescriptions of the doctor:

1. It is impossible to expose the injured hand to physical stresses of for 2 weeks, to bend and unbend the elbow. In this case, the wrist and the shoulder joint need to be developed in order to ensure normal blood circulation in the hand.
2. cold is applied to the contusion site for the first day. The procedure is carried out up to 4 times a day, applying ice for 30-40 minutes.
3. If edema and severe pain are observed, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs , such as celebrex or nise, are taken. Tablets are drunk 2 times a day according to instructions on the package( before or after meals).
4. Starting from 2 days in the place of a bruise it is possible to apply a therapeutic ointment, cream or gel , such as ketonal, fenbofid or nise. You can rub them up to 3 times a day without getting into wounds and abrasions.
5. Polimedel is applied to normalize the blood circulation to the site of the contusion - a special polymer film with a negative charge applied to its surface. Keep it on the site of injury can be from 30 minutes to 4 hours in a state of complete rest of the elbow. The procedure should be repeated 2 times a day.
6. For severe bruises, is prescribed physiotherapy. Since 2 days, laser or magnetic therapy( at the discretion of the attending physician) can be used. It is strictly forbidden to conduct thermal procedures. They provoke the formation of ossification - pathological bone formation in the place of injury.
7. To completely restore mobility of the elbow joint, prescribe massage and therapeutic gymnastics .They begin after immobilization( a period of complete immobility of the elbow).You can massage only the forearm and shoulder, without affecting the site of the injury. The exercises for restoring mobility include flexion-extension and rotation of the forearm. Duration of the procedure from 20 minutes to half an hour 3-4 times a day.

Traditional medicine to help the traditional

To accelerate the process of recovery of the patient joint, you can, along with medicinal treatment, take advantage of the recipes of traditional medicine:

• well relieves pain and inflammation of the compress from water infusion of wormwood;
• effectively helps the decoction of 3 spoons of burdock( spikes from burdock), brewed in 0.5 liters of water;
• 200 ml of vegetable oil mixed with 5 baskets of tansy, hold in a water bath for 2 hours and use for rubbing.

Possible complications of

The most common complication arising from elbow injuries is hemarthrosis.

There is a noticeable increase in the joint. The victim has difficulty and pain when flexing and flexing his arm.

If a bleeding occurs in the joint cavity that does not resolve for more than 5 days, puncture is performed. The accumulated blood is removed, and the cavity is washed with an antiseptic and novocaine.

After this, drugs that promote bone restoration and antiseptics are injected into the joint cavity.

If a fluid accumulates in the periarthric bag, which may contain various infections, traumatic bursitis occurs.

If it has accumulated a lot, the doctor makes a small puncture or incision to suck the substance, after which it thoroughly disinfects.

Some time after the injury, deforming osteoarthritis may occur. This is the destruction of cartilaginous tissue, and the blood accumulated in the joint, promotes the fusion of bones.

This prevents the normal movement of the elbow joint. With frequent injuries, posttraumatic arthrosis occurs.

Avoiding a wide variety of injuries, in everyday life and at work is possible, for this you need to behave as carefully as possible. If you still get injured, contact your doctor immediately.