Sometimes, before any surgery is undertaken, a doctor will inject a needle into your elbow to remove blood that has got into the joint.If the bones haven't moved (non-displaced), it can be treated in a plaster cast with your elbow bent to a right angle.This is because the ends of the broken bones usually move away from each other (displaced or angled). Most of these kinds of fractures need to be operated on.The very top of the humerus (humeral head) is removed and replaced with an artificial humeral head (partial shoulder joint replacement).īreak to the bottom of your upper arm (distal, intercondylar or condylar fracture).The ends of the bones are fixed together using screws (or a plate).
SIGN ME CUFF BACKWARDS SKIN
The ends of the bones can be fixed by using pins that go through the skin into the bones (percutaneous fixation). Surgery will be needed if the ends of the broken bone have moved apart or are at an angle to one another. However, some people will need surgery to fix this type of fracture. 8-9 times out of 10, your arm will heal simply by being kept still using a sling or some other mechanism to keep the upper arm and shoulder from moving. Break to the top of your upper arm (proximal humerus fracture) Treatment then depends on which part of the upper arm bone is broken. The most important emergency treatment is to keep the arm as still as possible, by using a sling, and to be given strong painkillers. If the doctors think you might have 'thinning' of the bones ( osteoporosis) they might also need to arrange for you to have a special scan called dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA - formerly DEXA), which is used to help diagnose osteoporosis. It is unusual for a fracture not to show up on an X-ray test but in difficult cases you might need to have a computerised tomography (CT) scan carried out as well. If you have dislocated your shoulder at the same time as breaking your upper arm, you may also notice that your shoulder is out of place or deformed.Īn X-ray test is used to diagnose an upper arm break (fractured humerus). There may be bleeding if the broken bone (or your fall) has damaged the skin. If it is a very severe break, your arm may be a different shape. Your elbow or upper arm may be swollen. Other symptoms of a broken upper arm are: A broken upper arm (fractured humerus) can be extremely painful, so much so that you may feel sick, dizzy or faint. The main symptom is pain, which will be worse if you try to move your arm. If you have had a fall or hit your arm you might feel or hear a snap or a cracking sound. What are the symptoms of a broken upper arm? This is because the amount of force needed to break a young person's arm is large and therefore it is more likely to have done other damage too. Young people who break the top of their upper arm (proximal fracture) are more likely than older people to have also dislocated their shoulder. In very small children their upper arm, particularly the shaft, can be broken by someone abusing them, by hitting or throwing them. Occasionally you can break your upper arm because you have developed a type of cancer that is affecting the bone and has made it so weak that it has cracked. This makes it more likely that you will break your arm following a relatively minor fall or accident. If you are elderly, it is possible you have developed 'thinning' of the bones ( osteoporosis). You can also break your upper arm by falling on to your hand when your arm is straight, especially if it is out to your side. 
Falling on to your elbow or shoulder is likely to cause a broken upper arm (fractured humerus). If you break your upper arm it is usually following a bad fall on to your elbow or shoulder or by something hitting it hard, such as being knocked down by a car.
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