Doctors Reading X-rays (or not)

Long story short - I was in an accident back in Feb, and my left elbow has been hell ever since. VERY sore. I went and had X-rays done, but they were negative (x-rays always are, aren't they?...x-ray, negative...ha,ha?) Anyway, the pain was getting worse, so I asked them to do an MRI, which, they said, showed a possible ligament tear. Okay. Scheduled me with an Orthopedic surgeon (he's good, so it took a month to get in to see him). Meanwhile, I'm icing my elbow down and tried to rest it (those of you with children will know how well that worked out...). Finally, yesterday, I got in to see the Orth Surg. He points to a spot on my elbow on the MRI film and says, "Yeah, you've got a crack in the bone in your elbow". WHAT? Wouldn't that be pretty obvious to someone who reads these things for a living? Apparently not. Anyway, he shot some cortisone into the joint (and THAT was a joy), and wants to see me in a month to, "See if it worked"...how in the world do you go from "torn ligament" to "cracked bone"? Needless to say, it hurts more today than it did yesterday (which will happen if you shove a needle into the joint and shoot a thick liquid in there). He assures me that this will feel better soon. After all of that, I would hope so.