# broken elbow in 2 places (x-ray photo)



## Ash Andi (Jan 28, 2010)

1st jump was good. Did it again and lost control mid-air on a small gap of hard-pack. Gonna need surgery (obviously). 1st time ever breaking a bone. And it didn't hurt. Just felt a lot of popping.


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## Ash Andi (Jan 28, 2010)

*photo in emergency room*


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## MightyDingus (Jul 31, 2010)

I see titanium in your future... Welcome to the club.


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## jibboo (Mar 3, 2007)

I had surgery for a broken olecranon exactly one year ago -TODAY. My break was only two pieces. My ER pic...










There are several ways to repair this. Discuss techniques with your surgeon. I ended up with a stress plate (in lieu of K-wires for example,but I don't *think* that would apply to you). Post surgery pic...










The surgery is simple (for you). The only pointers I have is over nerve blocks. This is a small catheter placed in the shoulder that pumped deadening medicine on the arm nerve. It's non-narcotic so I could have as much as I wanted. They sent me home with a machine. Any sign of pain, I pressed the button and my arm went numb. Awesome. No narcotic woozy feeling either. If you have the option I recommend it. It doesn't work for everyone, but it worked greeeeat for me.

After surgery... expect swelling. My arm was HUGE and heavy. I spent 11 days in a splint. That was it for immobilization! Many surgeons want to establish motion as soon as possible (without any weight!) because the real healing had yet to begin. You need to get your motion range back.

Physical therapy... will largely determine your outcome. PT can't overcome a poor surgery; but poor PT can ruin a perfect surgery. Do your PT religiously. I mean that. If your PT is poor, you will_ permanently _lose a lot of mobility. Your elbow has a large range of motion and it will take time to get it back. After surgery you'll only have a few degrees of mobility. It will take several months of stretching and strengthening to restore your motion. Don't give up. It will happen, but in spurts. It will seem useless for a week... then one day *bam* 10-degrees of motion.

I'm hesitant to discuss timelines because everyone is different and you should listen to your doctor's advice about what you can and can't do. I was back on the bike in 118 days, but it was a bit longer until I'd say I was 100%.

Long term... A year later I'm 100% and have almost all of my motion range back. I can't quite lock my elbow, but MTB'ers shouldn't do that anyway!  I do continue to wear an elbow pad; because my plate kinda sticks out and I wouldn't want to get road or trail rash on it. Seems like the sharp edge would just grind through easily. Otherwise I do not even think about it anymore when riding.

Here are some informative links (some contain surgical pics, not for squeemish):
https://www.wheelessonline.com/ortho/plate_fixation_of_olecranon_frx
https://eorif.com/Elbowforearm/Elbow anat/Elbow approaches.html
https://eorif.com/Elbowforearm/olecranonfx ORIF.html
https://www.hwbf.org/ota/bfc/schme/exp.htm

Sorry for the long post. Best of luck!


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## Ash Andi (Jan 28, 2010)

MightyDingus said:


> I see titanium in your future... Welcome to the club.


Thanks. :thumbsup:


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## Ash Andi (Jan 28, 2010)

jibboo said:


> I had surgery for a broken olecranon exactly one year ago -TODAY. My break was only two pieces. My ER pic...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thank you for the information.


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## darkmeat (Sep 15, 2010)

Ya titanium rocks! i have 3 plates and 42 screws in my right arm. Broke my Radius in 8 places, Ulna in 7 places with 1 break being a compound fracture. Shattered my 3rd, 4th and 5th metacarpal in my hand and also shattered my pinky into dust. Total recovery was 1 year and i only have 50% usage of my right hand now. This was on my motorcycle, i have now downgrade to MTB. I was cut off by my friend while in 4th gear doing a wheelie over a bridge. Fell off at 160k/m bounced like a rag doll :thumbsup: 

BTW i have post traumatic stress from this accident :madman:


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## Ash Andi (Jan 28, 2010)

darkmeat said:


> Ya titanium rocks! i have 3 plates and 42 screws in my right arm. Broke my Radius in 8 places, Ulna in 7 places with 1 break being a compound fracture. Shattered my 3rd, 4th and 5th metacarpal in my hand and also shattered my pinky into dust. Total recovery was 1 year and i only have 50% usage of my right hand now. This was on my motorcycle, i have now downgrade to MTB. I was cut off by my friend while in 4th gear doing a wheelie over a bridge. Fell off at 160k/m bounced like a rag doll :thumbsup:
> 
> BTW i have post traumatic stress from this accident :madman:


Holy sh1t! :eekster: That's crazy. Was that the extent of your injuries?


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## darkmeat (Sep 15, 2010)

Ya lucky me  and the only protective gear i was wearing was my helmet and gloves. I also have nerve dammage on my left thigh but doesnt bug me much. Since my wrist was badly dislocated doctor says i get to look forward to some serious arthritis in the future. Mountain biking seems to cure any lack of movement. Keeps my wrist nice and loose.

I now have full protective gear even when im just doing some FR and DH. Oh and the pain i felt was about so bad, never experienced anything like that before. I never even passed out, god was gracious enough to let me feel the superior feeling of true pain  . I had to lie in the ER for 4 hours with no pain killers so they could run internal injury tests. Let me tell ya morphine is a crazy ride


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## rkj__ (Feb 29, 2004)

I'd just like to wish you all the best with your recovery.


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## Ash Andi (Jan 28, 2010)

Some better photos of the two breaks.


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## MightyDingus (Jul 31, 2010)

So when is the surgery?


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## Ash Andi (Jan 28, 2010)

Meet with the doctor tomorrow. I want to have it on Wednesday. Tuesday will be one year since my Dad has passed, and I will be going to my Moms' house that day.


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## Ash Andi (Jan 28, 2010)

Surgery is scheduled for next Thursday. My 1st broken bone and surgery. I can't wait. :thumbsup:


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## MightyDingus (Jul 31, 2010)

I have enough titanium holding me together to last a lifetime. I'd rather not have any more.


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## Ash Andi (Jan 28, 2010)

MightyDingus said:


> I have enough titanium holding me together to last a lifetime. I'd rather not have any more.


Wow! Care to list your injuries?


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## MightyDingus (Jul 31, 2010)

16" long Ti rod through my right femur with 3 Stainless Steel screws, Ti plate holding my pelvis together (broke it in 2 places) with 9 SS screws. Couple other breaks (Ulnar styloid, trapezium, both collar bones) that all healed normally.

Luckily, I have no problems at all with the implants, and plan on leaving the rod in. It's been there 15 years with no problems. The plate in the pelvis in permanent.


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## Ash Andi (Jan 28, 2010)

Surgery took 2.5 hours. I had 2 pieces of bone that had broken off and a lot of bone fragment. I did well for my 1st surgery. I was calm through out the whole process. Heck, I've been calm since the moment I broke it.


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## blackstripes (Aug 18, 2008)

Any x-rays of the fix?


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## Ash Andi (Jan 28, 2010)

blackstripes said:


> Any x-rays of the fix?


Not yet. I see the surgeon (who was cute chick in her late 20's) in 2 weeks. :thumbsup:


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## MightyDingus (Jul 31, 2010)

What all did they do to it? Pins/plates?


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## Ash Andi (Jan 28, 2010)

MightyDingus said:


> What all did they do to it? Pins/plates?


A plate and 8 screws. Had stitches removed today. Healing is going well. :thumbsup:


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## Ash Andi (Jan 28, 2010)




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## Ash Andi (Jan 28, 2010)

Tomorrow will be 2 months since the break(s). Went for a check up last week. Everything is healing good. Been bending/stretching my elbow. Getting more movement as the days go by. Start physical therapy soon. Finally fixed my bike. Haven't touched it since my crash. Going for a short (road) ride tomorrow.


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## Ash Andi (Jan 28, 2010)

Just a little update. I almost have full range of motion. All on my own, to add. At my last check up on Dec. 27th, the doc said I didn't need physical therapy, but would have them call me for one appointment to show me some exercises.

I said yes of course, but they never called. So in the meantime, I did a lot of stuff on my own. They called last week for me to go in, but I told them they took too long. I didn't need it anymore. They said okay.

I've been working on my elbow, wrist and fingers. Everything is going well. Gotta reschedule my appointment for a check up with the doc. I can't imagine how long it would of taken if I had 'babied' my elbow.


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## Ash Andi (Jan 28, 2010)

Update: 

Everything is going well. Have pretty much full range of motion back. No pain whatsoever while lifting heavy objects, riding on bumpy mtb trails, throwing a football (although I do feel that) and doing push-ups. Gotta invest in some elbow pads. And knee pads while I'm at it.


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## Ash Andi (Jan 28, 2010)

Been over 2 years since I last posted here. Elbow is good for the most part. Most of the time I forget the plate is there. That is, until I bang it on something or have to lift something heavy.


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