The elbow is a complex joint at the end of the upper arm. Numerous muscles and tendons run through here, allowing movement, flexion, and extension. Thus, several conditions can result in pain in the elbow joint. Elbow pain is one of the most common types of arm pain people in Manhattan suffer, but it is often overlooked. Not only does it hurt, but it also inhibits mobility and prevents getting everyday tasks done. It can be something that happens while you're playing a sport, performing repetitive activities at work, or something that just happens out of the blue.
Elbow Pain can be a problem, especially when it becomes chronic. Elbow symptoms can also have negative effects on the quality of life. While there are many causes of elbow pain, we offer various Manhattan pain management treatments to prevent and relieve painful elbow problems. Finding the factors contributing to elbow pain may be difficult, but avoiding them in the future is crucial. And identifying the underlying cause will help you find treatment that suits your needs.
Types of Elbow Pain
The elbow joint is the connection between the upper arm and forearm, allowing the arm to bend and straighten. It is made up of three bones:
The humerus (the upper arm bone)
Radius (the lower arm bone)
Ulna (the lower forearm bone)
While it's crucial to everyday life, injuries or inflammation of the elbow can be very painful and limiting. The tendons, ligaments, and muscles around your elbow may all be affected by an injury or overuse. It can lead to weakness and loss of function in your arm and hand, leading to difficulty doing everyday tasks such as opening jars or carrying bags of groceries.
Elbow pain is a very common complaint, and it can be caused by a number of factors, including:
Fractures, or Broken Bones
A fracture is a break in the bone. Elbow fractures occur when the elbow joint is hit hard enough to break one or more of the bones that make up the elbow joint. Fractures can happen at any age but are more likely to happen with age due to osteoporosis and weak bones. Osteoporosis can cause weakened bones that break easily; it also increases your risk of other types of fractures, such as hip fractures.
Elbow fractures are commonly caused by trauma or falling onto an outstretched hand with the palm down, which can cause the radial head and ulna (forearm) bones to break. Other common causes of elbow fractures include falls from a height and motor vehicle accidents. The most common elbow fracture type occurs where the radius's lower end meets the upper end of the ulna (humeroulnar joint).
Tennis Elbow And Golfer's Elbow
Tennis elbow and golfer's elbow are common injuries, especially for people who play tennis, golf, or similar sports that involve repeated use of the wrist and forearm. And can be from using tools such as screwdrivers, raking leaves, raking lawns, shoveling snow, gardening, or other repetitive motions. The pain can start gradually but can get worse over time if you don't take care of it, so it's important to seek help from a pain management New York specialist as soon as possible. The pain often occurs at night when you are sleeping and wakes you up from sleep.
Tennis elbow is also known as lateral epicondylitis or lateral elbow tendinitis. Tennis elbow is caused by repetitive bending of your elbow in an awkward position. It may be caused by any activity that requires you to use your wrist and forearm muscles repeatedly. This causes irritation and swelling on the outer side of your elbow, which can result in pain. It is usually felt on the outside of the elbow and can radiate up into the forearm and wrist areas when you bend your arm at the elbow joint.
A golfer's elbow is one of the most common injuries seen in golfers and occurs when the tendon that attaches to your inner elbow becomes irritated and inflamed. It can be a mild nuisance or a serious problem that limits your ability to work or play sports, or do daily activities such as driving or typing on a computer keyboard.
The most common cause of the golfer's elbow is an activity that involves repeated bending of your wrist backward toward your palm (flexion). It can also be caused by pressure on the tendons that connect your forearm muscles to your elbow. This pressure may come from a fall or from lifting something heavy with your arm bent at a 90-degree angle.
The pain might feel like a dull ache when you use your arm normally. When you lift something heavy with your arm bent at a 90-degree angle, it might feel like a sharp pain in the front of your elbow joint — especially if you've been resting it for too long in this position (for example, while sleeping).
Bursitis
Bursitis refers to inflammation of the bursa, small fluid-filled sacs that cushion and protect the tendons, muscles, and bones in your joints. Bursitis in your elbow may result from overuse or repetitive stress on the joint. This type of injury commonly occurs in athletes who participate in throwing sports like baseball or golf. You may also develop bursitis if you have arthritis in your elbow joint, leading to extra friction between two inflamed bursae as they rub together with every movement of your arm.
Most cases of bursitis are due to overuse or trauma to a joint, such as from throwing or lifting heavy objects or repetitive movements such as typing on a computer keyboard. Bursitis can also be caused by injuries such as spraining an ankle or falling on an outstretched hand. Age, injury, and infection can also cause this condition. Bursitis most commonly affects the shoulder, elbow, and hip. It can also affect the knee if the patellar tendon is inflamed.
Tendinitis
Tendinitis is an inflammation of the tendons. It can affect any tendon in the body, but it's especially common in the elbows. Tendons are thick cords of tissue that connect muscle to bone. They're responsible for moving your joints by pulling on bones and transmitting force generated by muscle contraction to the bones they connect to. They're made up of collagen fibers, which provide strength and flexibility. When you exert force on your muscle, it contracts and pulls on its tendon. This causes tension in the tendon and makes it contract harder.
When you perform an activity repeatedly, such as playing tennis or lifting heavy objects, your tendon may become inflamed and swollen. The swelling leads to pain when you move your arm in certain ways or perform repeated movements with your upper body. Over time, tendinitis may become chronic and require long-term pain management treatment to relieve symptoms and improve function.
Strains and Sprains
Most of the time, elbow pain is caused by a sprain or strain of the muscles and tendons in the forearm. When you sprain or strain one of these muscles or tendons, it weakens the structure that supports your elbow, causing pain and making it harder to move your elbow correctly. There are several different kinds of sprains and strains, but they all result in similar symptoms: pain that gets worse when you move your arm a certain way, tenderness when touching your elbow, and swelling.
Sprains are tears to the ligaments that connect one bone to another, causing joint instability that leads to swelling and pain. A sprain occurs when an outward force on a joint exceeds its normal range of motion.
Strains are injuries that happen when muscles or other tissues in the joints get overstretched or torn and cause pain during or after use. They typically occur when you overuse the elbow joint, causing it to stretch beyond its normal range of motion.
Arthritis
The condition occurs when the cartilage that protects the ends of bones wears down and becomes inflamed. This can lead to joint stiffness, swelling, and tenderness around the joints, which can cause pain. It can occur in any joint in the body, but it most commonly affects the fingers, hands, and knees. In addition, as we get older, our joints degenerate and lose their cushioning cartilage. This makes it harder for our joints to move smoothly and causes inflammation and pain.
Arthritis most often affects adults but can also occur in younger people. Arthritis may be caused by injury or repetitive use of a joint, or it may have no known cause at all. There are many different types of arthritis that affect different joints in different ways. For example:
Osteoarthritis usually affects older people and causes the cartilage that cushions the joints to wear down, leaving bone rubbing against bone. Osteoarthritis most often affects weight-bearing joints like knees, hips, and lower back.
Rheumatoid arthritis involves inflammation of the synovial membrane — which produces fluid that lubricates joints — leading to swelling and pain in multiple areas of the body at once.
Manhattan Pain Management
Elbow pain is a common and very frustrating problem. In fact, it's the most common issue doctors see in their offices, and one of the most common reasons people miss work. But what makes elbow pain so frustrating is that it has many causes, which means there are many different ways to prevent it, depending on what's causing the pain. Knowing what causes elbow pain can help you understand the best way to avoid getting hurt in the first place and how to get back on track when your elbow does start to hurt.
A lot of people suffer from elbow pain, but it's not just one condition—there are many things that can cause elbow pain, and pain can be felt in different ways depending on the exact cause. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that this is a very common problem with a very straightforward solution if you seek help from pain specialist.
Your first step toward recovery should be identifying what's causing your elbow pain. A thorough exam by a specialist is required to diagnose the source of elbow pain. Once diagnosed, your healthcare provider will likely recommend steroid injections to treat the inflammation associated with tendonitis. For cases involving other types of elbow pain such as bursitis or arthritis, your pain management provider may recommend rest and physical therapy. If you are experiencing elbow stiffness due to arthritis or other causes that prevent a proper range of motion at your elbows, your healthcare provider may recommend a variety of non-surgical and non-drug methods for pain management.
You don't have to suffer in silence—especially when there are pain management techniques available that will help you manage the pain. As injuries and inflammation progress, your body becomes more and more vulnerable to pain. So if elbow pain is affecting you or someone you love, be sure to talk with our Manhattan pain management center today about how you can manage your pain in a safe, natural way that can prevent long-term complications associated with untreated elbow pain.
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