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Common Elbow Fractures

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Sports Injuries

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Abstract

Elbow joint is a hinge type joint. Its inherent stability consists of the fitting shape of the bones and ligaments, muscles, and tendons around the joint. Fractures of any bone in the elbow region are very serious issues discarding the athlete from sports-related activities for a markedly long recovery period. Also long-term consequences related with this kind of injury may adversely affect further athletic performances. Elbow fractures may occur with several different low- or high-energy mechanisms such as direct blow or avulsion injuries. Furthermore, elbow fractures can be isolated or combined with some additional injuries such as dislocations and ligamentous injuries. Common clinical findings are pain, swelling, hemarthrosis, and decreased joint range of motion. Fractures of the elbow region include olecranon, radial head, coronoid, medial and lateral epicondyle, and intra-articular distal humeral fractures. Besides, different fracture patterns such as supracondylar humeral, lateral condyle, and radial neck fractures are most common sports-related elbow fractures in the pediatric age group. Because elbow joint is relatively intolerant of immobilization, early-unrestricted motion is essential in the rehabilitation of elbow fractures regardless of the treatment method.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Dr. Sami Ulus Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Altindag, Turkey

    Şenol Bekmez

  2. Faculty of Medicine, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Sıhhiye, Turkey

    Akın Üzümcügil

  3. Head of Shoulder and Elbow Unit, Orthopaedic Surgery, Istanbul Memorial Hospital, Piyalepasa Bulvari, Istanbul, Marmara, Turkey

    F. Erkal Bilen

  4. Department of Orthopaedics Surgery and Traumatology, Mersin University School of Medicine, Mersin, Turkey

    Volkan Öztuna

  5. Department of Orthopaedics Surgery and Traumatology, Ege University Hospital, Talatpa?a Avenue No: 61, Izmir, Turkey

    Kemal Aktuğlu

Authors
  1. Şenol Bekmez
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  2. Akın Üzümcügil
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  3. F. Erkal Bilen
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  4. Volkan Öztuna
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  5. Kemal Aktuğlu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Şenol Bekmez .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology and Department of Sports Medicine, Hacettepe University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Mahmut Nedim Doral

  2. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Jon Karlsson

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Bekmez, Ş., Üzümcügil, A., Bilen, F.E., Öztuna, V., Aktuğlu, K. (2015). Common Elbow Fractures. In: Doral, M.N., Karlsson, J. (eds) Sports Injuries. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36569-0_44

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36569-0_44

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-36568-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-36569-0

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

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