ELBOW INJURY

My ten year old son fell and landed on his right elbow. The MRI showed that he has a partial tear of the origin of the common flexor tendon and a small focal tear of the medial collateral ligament. A large effusion is seen.  My son is not in pain except when he straightened the elbow and it "pops".  Our orthopedic is recommending physical therapy, but we are wondering is this the correct course of treatment since the tear is at the "orgin" . We dont want this injury to effect him years from now if not treating properly.  Any thoughts.

Thank you.

[Michael L Gross, MD]

Elbow injuries in children are often complex and difficult to treat. Two important factors influence the treatment of your son's injury. The tears described to both the MCL and the flexor origin are not complete tears, and there are no injuries to the medial epicondyle.  These injuries do well with splinting, followed by protected mobilization and physical therapy.