Management of simple elbow dislocations. Does the period of immobilization affect the eventual results?

Forty-five patients with a simple elbow dislocation were re-examined at an average time of 61 months after injury. All patients were treated by means of closed reduction. Only patients with minor associated injuries were included in the study. The Morrey score was used to evaluate pain, limitation of motion, instability, and daily activities. The overall results were good or excellent with regard to pain and function. The most common finding was a loss of terminal extension. Nine percent of all patients had a lack of extension up to 30 degrees, while 36% had a flexion contracture of less than 10 degrees. Periarticular ossification was seen in 28 patients, but did not lead to loss of motion. For further analysis, the patients were divided into three groups of immobilization: group I, less than 2 weeks, group II, 2-3 weeks, and group III, more than 3 weeks.

We encountered better results from those in groups I and II with regard to pain and score results without any statistical significance.

Our results suggest that splintage of the reduced elbow for 2 weeks enhances patient comfort and does not adversely affect the eventual outcome. Splintage for over 3 weeks may result in worse function.