A few weeks ago I broke my elbow (fractured olecranon , which is the bony tip of the elbow, part of the ulna arm bone) due to a cycling accident while on a cycling trip to Europe. Ironic that the worst fall injury I’ve ever had was from a bike, not a horse! Anyway, post injury I had lots of swelling and pain if the elbow got jolted but I could still move it and pain wasn’t terrible. I had sort of convinced myself that it was a sprain, not a break (kept cycling) but upon return to home I had it xrayed and sure enough it was a complex fracture. Orthopedic Doc took one look at the X-ray and exclaimed, " You need surgery!". So last Thursday I had the surgery and he put in a plate and screws to put the multiple fractures back together. So now my arm is encased in a full arm splint wrapped in a huge elastic bandage. This will come off two weeks post surgery. Then 4 weeks of keeping arm in a sling but working on regaining range of motion with no lifting, pushing, pulling, etc. then at the 6 week mark they’ll take X-rays to assess healing and let me know what I can and can’t do at that point. I’m hoping to get back in the saddle at about the 8 weeks post surgery mark. In the meantime I’ve sent my upper level dressage horse to my trainer full time, and trainer will ride my older gelding 3 days a week to keep him working.
So that’s my tale of woe. I’m interested in hearing any experiences with recovering from broken elbow surgery and getting back to riding. I am determined to get back to riding …hopefully the PT and recovery won’t be too long/difficult.
No one??
First of all, sorry this happened to you. Elbows are a crappy thing to break. Our surgeon even said its better to break a femur because they are easier to repair. 
My daughter fractured her radial head last June. She had surgery and needed plates, pins, screws, a post, and some donor tissue to repair it. She had more pain after the surgery than before it. She went to physical therapy 3 days a week for 3 or 4 months to regain as much range of motion as she could. She also was given a splint to wear at home that would help keep things bending and additional exercises. It was tiring and painful, not going to sugar coat things, but very necessary to get her motion back. She will never be 100% again but she is functional and you wouldn’t notice that her bending is limited unless she was trying to put an earring in or something like that. Because of the surgery she also didn’t start PT until about 2 weeks later. I think the PT folks would have preferred her to start sooner but the surgeon was cautious because of the extensive damage. My advice would get to PT as soon as you can - it makes a big difference.
She wasn’t cleared for lifting, pushing, or pulling until October or November. She asked every visit when she could get back on her horse but the surgeon was firm until mid August. He knew she has missed the EAP and had the goal of riding in the George Morris clinic that was supposed to cap off a great summer. Instead it was the one thing she had to look forward to. She did get to ride with GM so that worked out.
She seemed to get right back on and didn’t miss a beat. She needed to build her fitness and her confidence back up but she’s doing fine now. Still getting back to showing at the same level but she also had senior year of college in the BSN program to deal with so time wasn’t plentiful.
Her horse was just in light work while she was out. I hacked him around a bit and tried to get him to her trainer for a pro ride every week or two. I think the light duty did him some good as he’s come back better than ever.
lcw579 … thanks for your response and I was glad to hear that your daughter was able to get back to riding after her PT. Sounds like her break was worse than mine, but on the other hand she sounds MUCH younger than me and healing is generally easier the younger you are. I haven’t had much post operative pain and will just have to wait and see how bad the stiffness is when the splint comes off. If she was back in the saddle by mid-August that gives me hope I can get there as well.
Me! My horse spooked on the ground, I tripped, she jumped over me…and broke my ulna in 3 pieces on a Sunday. Monday surgery, plate to hold in place. Soft cast for 7 days. Staples removed, Transformer cast first (so I could unlock it and exercise) for 6 or 8 weeks (it was a few years ago), then I was able to ride after it came off. Pictures of surgery and cast (okay, weird but people like this stuff here). I had the plate/screws removed after 6 months because it was so painful when I bumped my elbow.
Surgery:
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Transformer Cast:
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Plate/Screws:
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I did regain full use of my arm when I was told I would not by endless bending and tearing of the scar tissue. I found the best place to do the stretches was in the shower after soaking in hot water, I then leaned on the wall with my weight to gently force my arm to bend. I did not go to PT and in my case it was not necessary, although the surgeon said it was one of the worse breaks…3 pieces. BTW I was 55 then.
There ya go!
Jackie & Starlette, very glad to hear you regained full use of your arm. Gives me reassurance as a 62-year old. 
Your break sounds worse than mine. I’ll talk more with my orthopedic doc when I get the stitches out and full arm splint off next week (at 2 weeks post surgery). When I spoke with the nurse she thought I’d be able to do the PT exercises on my own as I am active and fit having done regular workouts with weights and a physical trainer prior to my injury. So hopefully I will be as successful as you have been in regaining fill range of motion.
Thanks…you will with a good attitude! And the best weight rehab I did was carrying full buckets of water for my horses…that really stretched out the ligaments in my arm! Good luck!
I feel for you. I have permanent nerve damage in my right arm as a result of an oddball kind of roll off my horse when he stumbled and fell on his knees. A couple of years later I fractured my humerus right above the elbow when I slipped on black ice on my driveway and landed on that arm. I was in surgery all afternoon and have 2 plates and 9 screws holding it together. The surgeon said to leave the hardware in unless it starts to bother me because I’d need pretty much the same operation to take it out. So there it stays.
I was lucky, though, as far as recovery was concerned. I didn’t ride for probably 6 weeks. I was only in the splint to the armpit for about a week, I think because of the existing problems with the nerve damage. Then I was in a hinged brace with range of motion as tolerated. Fortunately I didn’t have to spend time or money on PT. I lost a little more of my ability to flex the arm, but PT wouldn’t have helped much anyway. But if he had said 3 months I think I would have started an argument. Nice quiet rides at the walk, maybe one-handed, would suit me just fine if it got me off the ground and on the horse.
This happened in December, and I will admit to shoveling a little light snow a couple of times. I guess you won’t have that problem…
Happily no snow shoveling in Central Florida — just trying not to melt in the heat.
I think surgeons are always so conservative re getting back to riding … most of them think we’re crazy to ride in the first place. At least my injury wasn’t from falling off a horse. I suggested riding one handed at 6-8 weeks and he rolled his eyes at me.
One of my geldings is dead calm and a total gentleman (never a foot wrong in the 6 years I’ve had him) so I think I’ll be fine with some light work on him to start. My upper level guy will stay with the trainer until I feel totally fit and confident again. In the mean time I’ll be hitting the gym to stay in shape,
Well there you go! If he rolled his eyes he knows he lost that discussion.
I broke mine as a teen…if my memory is correct it was pinned and 6 weeks in a cast. The pin is still there 35 years later. I had some nerve damage and the right side of my hand minimal feeling. ROM was not an issue except for initial out of cast stifness… Thave issues occasionally if I bump it…awful “funny bone”
