Over a week ago now, I injured my elbow at camp. The game was play sword fighting, and I was fighting against a large teen boy (I’m female) who got competitive and swung his arm as hard as he could into my arm at the elbow (I can’t remember exactly where, because he also hit the rest of the arm). The pain was excruciating, and I thought I had broken something, but I never let it on so nobody knew. My arm ached all evening and night. At one point my whole hand swelled up so that my fingers were touching. A friend gave me some advice to hold my hand up, and the swelling went down, though it was still slightly swollen the next day. There were no marks on my arm. I did not go to the camp nurse or camp leader or whine to my friends, so no one checked it. The morning after the injury, I grabbed my 30lb backpack with my bad arm in a rush to get to the bus.:smack: It hurt like the diggins then, but I didn’t have time to care. I can now use my arm for eating, brushing my hair, my teeth, and the like. However, my elbow cracks frequently, and I still cannot fully extend my arm, either up or down. :(I still lift things and do push-ups and Karate, but it hurts, maybe in between the bones. Today, I re-injured it in Karate because I haven’t told the teacher and he hit me in the arm. Didn’t say anything then either. So now, I’m depressed and in more pain, and as a last option, I need some medical advise. Can anyone give me some suggestions of what I may have done, and how to treat it? Thanks:confused:
Stop being tough and see a doctor. Neglecting injuries can make minor ones into major.
Where exactly is the pain? Which muscle groups?
ETA:Reported for forum change.
You want an internet diagnosis?
Internet diagnosis is non-displaced supracondylar fracture; go get an xray
You are a tough one. I would guess the inner layer of one of your bones is fractured. A X-Ray is the best advice in case some kind of surgery is needed to prevent chronic problems. Especially since a joint is involved. But, if you wish to continue being stoic, wear a sling for a couple of weeks and prevent re-injury for a couple of months, and you will PROBABLY be good.
If it makes you feel any better, and it probably won’t, “hurt like the diggins” made me smile.
Get thee to a doctor! Then come back and tell us all about it.
:: Nitpick: And the noun in the subject hed and your ending is “advice.” Sorry for the nitpick… 
::
At this point, immobilize it and stick to restricting your activities for a few weeks and hope for the best, or get your butt to a doctor. I had a knee sprain that was bad enough to need an MRI, nothing broken on x-ray, but couldn’t determine ligament damage and it was damn painful. Who knows what happened to your elbow. My dad had an impact fracture of his elbow 30 years ago and it took 10 years and 5 operations and permanent disability before it was back to 80%. Waiting it out and sucking it up won’t help you.
Moderator Action
Welcome to the SDMB, GiJoe007.
Questions regarding medical advice belong in our IMHO forum. I will move this thread for you.
As the forum name implies, any replies you get are just the opinions of some internet folks and should not be considered the equivalent of professional medical advice.
Moving thread from General Questions to In My Humble Opinion.
Where are your parental units?
Why are you so reluctant to see a doctor or even admit to being in pain to people in the real world who can help you? Is this an “I don’t want to appear weak and girly in front of guys” thing? Don’t be a cliche, seek medical help.
And it’s “dickens”. Tried to resist, really I did. I can forgive you because you are in pain.
Honestly you’re acting like a moron. You’ve obviously done something serious to you arm - go to a doctor.
Seriously, if you care about future full use of your arm/elbow go to the damn doctor! Sheesh!
And next time, try and be a little smarter, dammit. Listen when your body hurts. Stop using it and consult a Dr. It’s not that hard.
If you’d rather not seem a wussy girl, more than having full use of your joints, keep on doing what you’re doing.
Once upon a time, in the late 50s, my dad hurt his arm playing football with the other kids in the neighborhood. He wasn’t allowed to play football, so he hid his pain and carried on with life. Some time after that at school, he turned around to talk to the kids sitting behind him, and rated his elbow on the kid’s desk. Then he couldn’t get it off. Couldn’t move it. Of course they took him to the doctor, who discovered the break had healed, but it healed all wrong. To fix it, the doctor had to rebreak it and set it.
Fast forward a dozen years, and he passed the entrance exams to West Point with flying colors. They were falling all over themselves to get him in, during Vietnam. Until they discovered that because of the old injury, his arm cannot make the perfect angle for a salute. He was denied entry to West Point because he tried to hide an injury as a kid.
They drafted him 3 months later.
Don’t ignore injuries. You never know where it may take you someday.
I salute thee for grammatical excellence. (I like happy people)
I commend thee for thy grammatical excellence. 
Sorry, that was for Leo Bloom. :o
Forget the grammar questions and get to a doctor already. (Since you’re at camp, start with the nurse or whoever staffs the infirmary and go from there.) Don’t neglect this. And let us know the outcome, if you care to share.
Well…I’m not at camp anymore. I did have a doctors appointment the day after I came home, but it was for something else. I didn’t tell the doc 'cause I thought the blasted thing would heal on it’s own. :smack:sigh I don’t have time for a major injury; I’ve got too many things to do. And besides, it’s not THAT bad. I’m not in real pain most of the time. It’s just a debilitating bother that I want healed soon and not aggravated. I can finally sleep with my arm bent now, so at least I’m getting the rest I need. 
I just wanna know: push through pain, or let rest?
So…value future full use of elbow less than living in denial because you’re too busy? High pressure job? Pressing marital problems? You just got back from camp! I’m thinking you could make the time.
Life has a way of exacting a pretty high price for ignoring your own intelligence, but I’m sure you know all that.
But hey sometimes we can’t hear what we don’t want to hear. That’s usually when important life lessons sometimes appear, so who knows? You could end up being a object lesson to all your friends. Maybe that’s your destiny!
Well, I’m gonna wish you good luck, I think you’re going to need it!
Yeeeaaaahhhh. You ARE right. Maybe I’ll give in and let my mom book that appointment she’s been pushing me to got to. MAYBE. I really don’t think it’s necessary though. I’ll assess it after Karate tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for your responses, some have been rather helpful. Cheerio.