Rehabilitation

What happens as I recover?

Bone healing normally reaches 50 percent of its eventual strength at six weeks post fracture, 80% at three months and takes up to 18 months to finish the process of healing and consolidation. If casting was the primary treatment it may be continued for six weeks. After six weeks braces or slings may be advisable for selected operative and nonoperative cases.

Most elbow fractures require some limitation of activity for at least three months. People who undertake heavy manual labor or sports which load the arms, may take considerably longer. As we have seen, some elbow fractures are more complex with joint surface damage and lost blood supply to bone fragments. This all makes the process of healing take longer.

On the positive side, the forearm and hand is not a heavy load so you can move the elbow and recover joint and muscle function early in the process. Physical therapy is normally very helpful early in the process to recover the full range of motion and later on to gain back strength and endurance. Physical therapy may again be needed for a short period after the removal of hardware.

The aim of treatment is to restore the joint surface exactly and recover the full range of motion of the joint. If this aim is achieved your elbow will return to near normal levels of performance. It is not always possible. Damage or irregularity of the joint surfaces, collapse of the bone, stiffness, and post injury weakness may be present and affect the function of the joint long term.