Nursemaid's elbow happens when a ligament (a stretchy band that joins two bones) gets trapped. The health care provider did a quick and gentle move to get the ligament back into place. Your child is not yet moving the arm fully. A sling or splint is there to support and protect the elbow until your child can have a follow-up care visit. 

• Make a follow-up visit with your pediatrician or the orthopedic specialist (bone specialist) as recommended.
• If your child has pain, a medicine may help. If your health care provider says it's OK, use these medicines exactly as directed:
  • acetaminophen (such as Tylenol® or a store brand)
  OR
  • ibuprofen (such as Advil®, Motrin®, or a store brand). Do not give ibuprofen to babies under 6 months old.
• Putting a cold pack on the elbow for 15–20 minutes every 3–4 hours may help. Put a towel or cloth between the cold pack and the skin or splint.

If your child has a sling: 

• Help your child wear the sling as instructed:
  • Be sure to place the arm correctly in the sling. 
  • Keep the hand higher than the elbow. 
  • Encourage your child to wiggle their fingers occasionally.
  • Only remove or adjust the sling if the medical team says it's OK. 
  • Talk with the medical team about whether your child should sleep with the sling on. 
• Check the skin under the straps and at the edges of the sling for blisters, sores, or redness.
• If the strap rubs the neck, put a cloth between the skin and the strap.
• If the medical team said not to remove or adjust the sling, use a damp washcloth to clean your child.
• If it's OK to remove the sling for short periods, take it off for baths or showers and to change your child's clothes.

If your child has a splint (partial cast):

• Leave the splint in place until your follow-up care visit.
• Encourage your child to wiggle the fingers once in a while to keep blood moving normally.
• Make sure your child doesn't pick at the lining of the splint or scratch under it.
• Keep dirt, sand, lotion, and powder away from the splint.
• Make sure your child doesn't put toys, food, or other objects in the splint.
• Check the area around the splint for scratched skin.
• Make sure the fingers aren't pale, blue, numb, or tingling.
• If your child was given a sling, use it only when your child is awake.
• Keep the splint dry:
  • No swimming.
  • Give sponge baths to kids younger than 5 years old.
  • Older kids should take baths instead of showers. Put a plastic covering over the splint and keep it completely out of the water.
  • If the splint gets splashed, gently blow air onto it using a hair dryer on the cool setting.

Problems to watch for:

• Itching: If itching happens, tap lightly on the splint or use a hair dryer on the cool setting to blow air in and around the edges.
• Swelling: If your child's fingers look puffy, raise their arm above the level of the heart for 1 hour. If swelling doesn't get better, call your health care provider.

• Your child's pain isn't better after taking pain medicine.
• The pain becomes worse, especially when your child stretches out the fingers.
• The fingers are swollen and do not get better after raising the arm above the level of the heart for 1 hour.
• Your child develops a fever without an obvious cause (like an ear infection or sore throat).
• There are blisters, rashes, or raw spots on the skin around the sling or splint.
• The splint feels too tight or too loose.
• The splint becomes damaged, wet, or smelly.

• Your child develops severe pain in the arm.
• Your child's fingers turn numb, pale, or blue.

How do kids get nursemaid's elbow? Young kids have ligaments that are a bit loose. Sometimes during play or when a child is lifted by the arm, two bones in the elbow can briefly separate a little bit, letting a ligament slip into the joint and get stuck. As kids get older, the ligaments tighten. Most won't get nursemaid's elbow after they turn 5 years old, though it can happen up to age 6 or 7.

How do health care providers diagnose nursemaid's elbow? Health care providers are trained to examine a child's arm and ask questions about how the injury happened. They usually don't need to do any special tests to diagnose nursemaid's elbow.

Why does my child have a sling or splint? Sometimes a child still won't move the elbow after the movement is done to get the ligament back in place. This usually means the ligament is swollen and not going back into place. Kids also might not move the elbow right away if it feels sore. In these cases, the sling lets the elbow rest a few days. Then, when the sling is removed, the child is using the arm normally. 

Sometimes if a child won't move the elbow after the movement to get the ligament back in place, it could be a sign that something else is wrong. If the care team suspected a broken bone, they may have done X-rays. Even if the X-rays didn't show a broken bone, putting a splint on the arm will protect it until your child can see a specialist.

Can kids get nursemaid's elbow more than once? Yes. To help prevent it, parents and caregivers should never pull, tug, or swing a child by the arms or hands. Some kids, though, are just more likely to get nursemaid's elbow, and might get it again even when parents try hard to prevent it.