9 yr old - Broken Arm - Children's Health Message Board

chiefan58 · 05-23-2008, 01:14 PM

We just learned my son broke his arm last week when he was hit by a pitch in a baseball game. It didn't show up in the initial x-ray, but I took him back last night after he said it was hurting after swinging at a pitch in his third game since he was hit. It was a little swollen, and so I took him back in. This time the x-ray showed it was broken. Tough little guy also had a flag football game last weekend that he played in with it! They put a fiberglass stint on it, and said the ortho will probably put a regular cast on it when he sees him next week. My question is, how long do they normally leave casts on these days? Wondering if he's going to be in a cast all summer long.
Thanks!

angela5271 · 05-23-2008, 06:02 PM

sorry to hear your son broke his arm, and went undiagnosed for over a week

In my experience with broken arms (2 kids) it really depends on the severity & type of fracture that needs to heal.

My son was the first to break an arm, but it was quite severe so he was casted for nearly 3 months, and in a splint for another 3. That is not typical so don't worry yet.

My daughter broke her arm (forearm) and was only casted for 4 weeks (not a severe break at all). The second time she had a compression fracture of the growth plate of the wrist and was only in a splint for 3 weeks.

I do believe it has to do with how severe and what bones are actually involved in the break to determine how long a child will be casted. Younger children tend to heal quicker than older children. The average time for a cast is 4-6 weeks, again based on the severity of the break.

Hope this helps a little. Good Luck and SPEEDY healing to your son

Angela

Denise98 · 05-24-2008, 07:35 PM

I broke my arm when I was 7 which was 20 years ago but the same thing happened to me except I jumped off a swing set and landed on it but my parents took me to the ER they x-rayed it and sent me home I went a week with my crying and not being able to do anything with it and they took me back and had it re x-rayed and it was a hairline fracture.. Im surprised that they still are missing these after all these years.