Discharge Instructions - Nursemaid's Elbow

As discussed in the Emergency Department prior to discharge, your child has been diagnosed with a radial head subluxation more commonly known as a nursemaid’s elbow.  Nursemaid’s elbow is a common cause of elbow pain that occurs mostly in children aged 1 to 4 years old.

The injury usually happens when someone pulls hard on a child’s arm by the hand, wrist, or forearm when the child is not expecting it.  The injury can also happen when someone grab’s a child’s arm suddenly, for instance, when the child is about to fall.  These types of movements cause tissue to move between 2 of the bones in the elbow joint called the radius and the humerus.  This injury is common in children because the tissue holding the elbow together is looser.

In the Emergency Department a procedure was performed to move the bones of the elbow back into the normal alignment.  Children do not usually require pain medications after the bones have been realigned.  This condition can be avoided by not pulling on a child’s arm to lift them up.  It is rare after the age of 5 when the tissue around the elbow becomes more secure.

Return to the Emergency Department for continued or worsening pain, or any new or concerning symptoms.