How to Nursemaid an Elbow

Host: Sometimes a parent pulls the kid by the hands, or pulls a kid or little child and the kid starts holding one arm straight down and it's called the ulnar radial dislocation, what do all these terms mean? Speaker: The radial ulnar dislocation means the head of the radius at the elbow, dislocation on the other. And it happens because sometimes the mother who is walking the child across the street, picks up the arm of the child so the child doesn't slip over the road and -- Host: Or pull away from something -- Speaker: Or pull away from something and so it dislocates and the child will have the hand pronated and will not move the elbow. Host: And how would you -- if you got someone who called you up, they were on vacation they can't find a doctor and they describe this because the right treatment you can see in the telephone that might help them a little bit? Speaker: Yes, you tell the mother to put the child in the lap so the child's head turned back would be on the mother's chest. And now hold the child's palm and turn it up so that this palm is pointing towards the ceiling now. And that will reduce the elbow dislocation in majority of the cases. Host: Occasionally, you ends up in the emergency room, you hope the doctors recognize it. Sometimes, they pull it straight, something like turn them a little bit once in a while? Speaker: You've got to supinate it, in other words, if you bend that elbow -- Host: Straight and then supinate it up put pressure and that usually snaps then. Speaker: Almost always. Host: And sometimes we even get in, that kid has the fear of the pain and they may not move it so you watch them a little bit and to your surprise they are okay, everything is fine. Speaker: Usually they are anxious for a day or so and so it's a good thing to see the child within 48 hours and make sure that -- Host: You know the fracture or is there something else going on? Speaker: Absolutely.