The Causes of Dislocations and Fractures

When the doctor said that your daughter had suffered lateral tibial plateau fracture, he meant that she broke the upper part of her shinbone that extends to the joint at her knee (Netter, 2014). That was the reason why the knee was swollen, it was in pain and had limited movement. The complication in some cases includes injury to the nerve or artery around the knee.  Therefore, in order to keep the bones aligned and the muscles of the knee intact, the daughter needed a simple surgery.

By saying that she had also sustained an elbow joint dislocation, he implied that the bone of the upper arm of your daughter is separated from the bones of her forearm and therefore, the separation has resulted in a displacement of her elbow joint. A dislocation of the elbow is normally caused by disturbance when excessive force has been applied to the elbow and the joint cover. The elbow is a ball and socket joint to allow the bending and rotation of the elbow. When subjected to a lot of force, the movements are likely to dislocate the elbow and this will lead to the muscles to tear. When excessive force is applied, the bones forming the joint may fracture (Netter, 2014).

When he said that she has multiple fractures to her phalanges, by phalanges, he meant the bones in your daughters’ fingers. Multiple fractures mean that more than one of these bones are broken as a result of excessive force being applied to them (Netter, 2014). These injuries are the cause of the pain your daughter is feeling on the fingers. The injuries may also have extended to the joints where her finger bones meet.

Reference

Netter, F. (2014). Atlas of human anatomy. 6th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders Elsevier.