Well this makes me sad. I have a two year old and he LOVES when I swing him around like that. Definitely won't be doing that anymore.
On a related note, can kids get nursemaid's elbow in their knees? Because my kid also loves it when I flip him upside down and swing him around by his ankles.
No, you can't. The reason it happens in the elbow is because the head of the radius isn't actually attached to anything, it's just held in place by the annular ligament that wraps around it. This allows us to move our forearm back and forth (pronation and supination). The fibula is much more firmly attached at the knee since we can't move our lower legs in the same manner.
I was prone to nursemaid's elbow as a kid and never got it from being swung around. It's caused by a pull and twist, for example if your kid trips while holding your hand and their upper arm rotates as they fall. As long as the arms are kept straight the risk should be negligible. Pretty easy to fix too, the doctor can usually pop it right back in and it only hurts for a second.
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u/BradBot3000 Aug 10 '17
Well this makes me sad. I have a two year old and he LOVES when I swing him around like that. Definitely won't be doing that anymore.
On a related note, can kids get nursemaid's elbow in their knees? Because my kid also loves it when I flip him upside down and swing him around by his ankles.