FRACTURE-OLECRANON

When you bend your elbow, you can easily feel its “tip,” a bony prominence that extends from one of the lower arm bones (the ulna). That tip is called the olecranon (oh-lek’-rah-nun). It is positioned directly under the skin of the elbow, without much protection from muscles or other soft tissues. It can easily break if you experience a direct blow to the elbow or fall on a bent elbow. Symptoms of an olecranon fracture include sudden, intense pain, inability to straighten the elbow, swelling/bruising, tenderness, numbness in one or more fingers, and pain with movement of the joint. The goal of treatment is to realign and secure the fracture for proper healing. This may be done surgically or non-surgically depending on the fracture.

When you bend your elbow, you can easily feel its “tip,” a bony prominence that extends from one of the lower arm bones (the ulna). That tip is called the olecranon (oh-lek’-rah-nun). It is positioned directly under the skin of the elbow, without much protection from muscles or other soft tissues. Falling on your elbow or experiencing a direct blow to the elbow can easily cause the olecranon to break. These fractures can be very painful and elbow movement can be difficult if not, impossible.

The olecranon can slightly crack or break into various fragments (comminuted fracture). Further, these broken fragments can stay aligned in their normal spots or be very out of place, which is called a displaced fracture. Sometimes, the bone fragments can stick out through the skin, called an open fracture which is requires immediate treatment. 

Symptoms of an olecranon fracture include sudden intense pain, inability to straighten the elbow, swelling on the back of the elbow/bruising around the entire elbow, tenderness, numbness in one or more fingers, pain with movement of the joint and the feeling of instability (“my elbow feels like it wants to pop out”).

The goal of treatment is to realign and secure the fracture for proper healing. This may be done surgically or non-surgically depending on the fracture. In cases of stable fractures, where bone fragments aren’t displaced, non-surgical methods can treat the fracture. A splint or sling will be given to immobilize the elbow during healing. However, surgery is usually required for displaced fractures and open fractures. The most common procedure is open reduction and internal fixation. This involves repositioning the bone fragments back to their normal position and holding them in place with screws, wires, pins or metal plates.