Football injuries include many of the leg (knee, ankle, hamstring, and many other types of injuries) and of the arm, they include the elbow, wrist, and forearm. While we may think that the leg is injured more often, the arm (wrist, forearm, and elbow) has many as well.

Football, as you know, is a high contact sport. Anytime two (or more) people make contact as they do in football, people are going to get hurt. Obviously, the players and the others in the sports leagues want to minimize injuries as much as possible. This is why manufacturers are coming up with new and improved sports protection whenever they can.

There are an estimated 600,000 to 1.2 million football-related injuries per year among young adults in the United States. If the injuries are severe enough, they can put athletic careers in peril, limiting the athletes' ability to follow their dreams. Much attention has been placed on injuries of the leg, such as the knee and ankle, but upper extremity injuries (hand and arm) appear to be much more common than any other type of injury, including concussions.

Only a doctor can diagnose if you have cubital tunnel syndrome, which is what happens when there is pressure on the ulnar nerve, which passes behind the elbow. Cubital tunnel syndrome can be caused by constant pressure on the elbow that then squeezes against the nerve. As well, it can be caused by injury to the elbow or repetitive motions.

There's a short answer and a long answer to this question. The short answer is that carpal tunnel syndrome affects the wrist and the nerves that pass through it, and cubital tunnel syndrome affects the elbow, and the nerve that passes along it.

While most people have heard of carpal tunnel syndrome, a condition in which the nerves going through the carpal tunnel in the wrist are pinched, another condition called cubital tunnel syndrome also exists. With cubital tunnel syndrome, the pressure is on the back of the elbow onto the ulnar nerve - where your "funny bone" is. It can cause pain, weakness, or numbness of the hand.

Without knowing what exactly happened to your son's elbow, it's not possible to give you a specific answer. Usually, elbows are so well protected that repeat dislocations aren't a problem. That being said, that doesn't sound like your son's situation. Has your son gone to see any other orthopedic doctor since he has reached adulthood?

A common fracture in young children is a supracondylar fracture of the humerus (upper arm bone). This fracture occurs most often around ages six to seven. Humeral fractures are named for the location of the break. A supracondylar fracture tells us the bone is broken at the lower end of the humerus above the elbow.

Dislocated elbows can differ from person to person because of how the bones move apart. For example, one person may have an anterior dislocation, where the bone has moved to the front, while another may have one that moved to the back. Another person may also have a broken arm along with the dislocation, while another may have sustained some nerve damage. These are but a few examples of the differences that can occur from person to person.

It's impossible to say if your friend's shoulder was completely dislocated or was injured and felt like it might have been. It may appear that a joint pops back into place, however, true dislocations should be treated by a doctor. This is because it's possible that there are other injuries that occurred along with the dislocation.