*Note-- I am not a doctor, so take this as what it is---a tip from a parent to a parent. From there, it is your choice as to how YOU choose to proceed. *
Nursemaid's Elbow is essentially a partially dislocated elbow. It's caused by a ligament near the elbow slipping out of place, and is quite common in kids especially 1-4 years of age. Makes sense because their ligaments are still looser at this age and their bones have also not fully formed.
We have never encountered this particular injury with our first two, but our third daughter has now experienced this issue about 4 times. She is 2 1/2.
If you aren't familiar with this sort of thing (I wasn't!), it's a bit scary. So I'm passing along this bit of knowledge, because the cause of this injury is rather simple and could quite easily occur. Pulling a child up by the hands, swinging them by their arms, and jerking a child's arm (i.e. to pull them out of the way of oncoming traffic...) can all result in a case of Nursemaid's Elbow.
In our first encounter, our 3 year old was simply playing with her little sister and jerked her sister's arm roughly when she wanted her to come over to where she was. I didn't even notice a real problem for awhile. Ava was cranky, but she wasn't inconsolable and I didn't notice that she wasn't using her arm at all. Eventually, I did notice and she became increasingly upset and seemed to be in pain.
So we headed for the Urgent Care. The cost wasn't exorbitant, but when you consider that the doctor merely did this very simple procedure (see video) and that this is a fairly common childhood injury, the cost (and possible future visits) suddenly seemed outrageous. I believe it was $40 (plus whatever the insurance company covered) for a 2-second procedure and an hour wait with a crying child (plus her two sisters, ages 3 and 4 1/2). The doctor was kind enough to tell me the name of the injury and suggest that if it were to happen again, I might try pulling up a Youtube video to try the procedure myself and not have to come all the way down. So I did.
And it happened again. The next time, I was pulling on a pair of those puddle jumper floaties. This time it was the other arm. Knowing what to do, I was able to quickly pop the ligament back into place with a minimal amount of tears. I wasn't pulling excessively, mind you, so don't feel badly if this happens to your kiddo. Some kids are just more prone than others apparently. Though, now I know that I have to be VERY careful putting on her floaties and I had to warn my parents as well since she often swims at their house in the summer.
The most recent incident happened just last night (hence why it is once again on my mind!). In the midst of a clash which came up suddenly, Ava grabbed a fistful of her big sister's hair. My husband, holding the baby, rushed over to break it up, and jerked Ava's arm in an effort to get her to let go of her sister's curly tresses. I have done this sort of thing many times to break up a scuffle, but this time resulted in another somewhat traumatizing encounter with our not-so-dear-friend--Nursemaid's Elbow. I was upstairs working my part-time job correcting high school essays so I didn't know what had happened and my hubby thought she was only crying because she was upset about being put in timeout for pulling her sister's hair. A couple minutes later, when her crying reached the point of hysteria, he brought her up to me, and it suddenly dawned on me what the issue was. The hubby hadn't ever been around to witness and had only heard my accounts of the past encounters, and though it hasn't happened in about 7-8 months, I knew it had to be this.
The good news is that if you know what to look for and how to do the simple procedure, a traumatic situation can suddenly become a non-situation in a matter of minutes.
Signs that your child has Nursemaid's Elbow:
- They may be crying or upset
- They won't use their arm
- There is NOT swelling or deformity
For more information, I recommend you watch this video. It has saved us a lot of trauma, money, and pain. I don't feel helpless and scared anymore when this does occur, and I also know to pay attention and avoid actions that would trigger this kind of injury with the small ones.
I have always been able to feel/hear the pop, but it's a good idea to hold their uninjured arm, and then ask them to grab a nearby object (with the injured arm) afterwards to be sure that the problem is resolved. It may take your child a few minutes to calm back down and make the connection that their arm no longer hurts and that they can now move it. You can also make it a game and ask them to touch the ceiling or do a ballet pose or give you a high five to check to see if their arm is back to it's normal abilities.
