Olecranon Fracture

I still remember, I had injured myself in high school after a game of football. I had immense pain in my right elbow as well as swelling. It was diagnosed as olecranon avulsion fracture. Although, I was in pain, I was kind of happy. The reason being no homework till I was able to alright again! Anyway, coming back to the point, let us go into the details of the fracture and learn about its symptoms and treatment.

What is Olecranon Fracture

This fracture has something to do with the bones of the hand. It is the breaking of the olecranon bone at the base of the elbow. The olecranon bone is the bony structure you can feel extending from the ulna (lower arm bone). It is placed just below the elbow and does not have much protection from muscles or soft tissues. Yes, you are right, the same structure you tend to bump into things and feel a sharp pain for a few minutes or so.

The elbow joint is a hinge joint that helps in rotation of the forearm. There are three bones that make up the elbow. This includes the distal humerus that makes the hinge in the center of the elbow. Next comes the radial head that moves around on the distal humerus. This bone also moves when you turn your wrist up and down. And lastly, comes the olecranon that kind of cups the end of the humerus bone. The olecranon rotates at the end of the humerus like a hinge. When the bone is broken, it leads to a fracture.

Pediatric fractures are uncommon. It has been seen that it occurs only in about 4-7% of children. This injury is caused by force that moves up to the elbow. This usually is seen when the child falls on his outstretched hand. In rare cases, it occurs due to direct trauma.

Causes

Direct Blow
A person can suffer from this fracture due to direct blow when he falls down and lands on his elbow directly. It can even happen when one is struck with a heavy blow by getting struck with a baseball bat or hitting the dashboard of a car in an accident.

Indirect Blow
This happens when a person lands on an outstretched arm. Olecranon stress fractures are commonly seen in baseball pitchers.

Types

There are two types, the non-displaced and the displaced olecranon fracture. In case of non-displaced breaking, there is no displacement of the bone. This includes crushing, transverse or oblique fractures. The bone is separated about 2 mm below the elbow when observed in an X-Ray. Displaced fractures are those where the bones separate more than 3mm and there is no stretch of the elbow against gravity activities. Displaced olecranon fractures are divided into different types as follows:

Olecranon Avulsion Fracture
This involves a small block fracture with horizontal shape.

Transverse Olecranon Fracture
This is a fracture where the line of fracture is oblique.

Comminuted Olecranon Fracture
This is caused by direct external force like getting struck with a baseball bat. It may also involve soft tissue injury in some cases.

Combined Elbow Fracture
In this type, there is dislocation of the elbow and the fracture line is oblique or even short run.

Symptoms

• Pain, swelling, deformity and bruising of the elbow
• The person is unable to extend the elbow
• Tenderness to touch
• Numbness in one or more fingers in some cases
• Joint movement causes pain

Treatment

The treatment depends on the individual case. The amount of displacement and the level of triceps function after injury are taken into consideration. In case of minimum or non-displaced fracture, no surgery is required. In such cases, splints are considered. These splints help in decreasing the movement and provides support to prevent further problems. It helps in reducing the pain, swelling and helps the soft tissues and bone to heal.

Surgery is carried out when the bone is dislocated or in case the triceps muscles are detached. The surgery can be of different types, wherein, the doctor tries to reposition the bones and attach the triceps muscles.

Recovery Period

The recovery period of this fracture is usually about 12 weeks. After a surgery, the patient is asked to carry out gentle motions. The recovery period depends on the severity and the strength of the fracture and the length of time taken by the bones to repair themselves. Complications involved include loss of some movement of the elbow joint, non-union of the bones and in some cases arthritis of the elbow joint.

You should always get expert medical advice related to treatment. This will help you gain complete movement of the below joint in a short time.