Are You Risking Injuring Your Child When Picking Them Up?

How many times have you picked up your child by their arm? Have you ever playfully swung them by their arm? Take a read of this and find out why you should not.

Nursemaid’s elbow is a common injury in young children. It is sometimes referred to as “pulled elbow” because it can happen when a young child’s elbow is pulled and partially dislocates. The medical term for the injury is “radial head subluxation.”

Because a young child’s bones and muscles are still developing and growing, it takes very little force to pull the bones of the elbow partially out-of-place, making this injury very common. It occurs most often in children ages 1 to 4, but can happen any time from birth up to 7 years of age.

Although the injury may cause a lot of pain, a doctor usually can easily reset the elbow, quickly relieving any discomfort and restoring arm movement although the child may require a sling and pain relief.

Nursemaid’s elbow normally happens when an adult holds a child’s hand or wrist and pulls suddenly on the arm to avoid a dangerous situation such as walking out into the road or to help the child up a step. The injury may also occur whilst playing when an older friend or family member swings a child around holding just the arms or hands, many parents have done this by both holding a child’s hand and swinging them as they walk along.

Nursemaid’s elbow is hardly ever caused by falling over. If a child injures the elbow when falling onto an outstretched hand or directly onto the elbow, it may be a broken bone rather than nursemaid’s elbow.

Please share and make other parents aware.

Would you like to share your own story, or want to raise awareness? Send us an email to mumsadviceltd@outlook.com