The Common Causes of Elbow Joint Pain
The elbow is the center part of the arm where three bones meet in order to give you the ability to bend and rotate your arm. This part of your body is constantly used because we are always using our hands and arms for just about everything that we do.
You will find that there are several factors that can cause a person to have elbow joint pain. These factors include Tendinitis, Olecranon Bursitis, Fractures and Sprains. Tendinitis can occur as lateral epicondylitis, which is normally called tennis elbow. It can also occur as medial epicondylitis, which is commonly known as golfer's elbow.
Tennis elbow consists of the bony portion of the outside of the elbow. This is where tendons from the arm muscles attach to the elbow. This type of injury to the elbow is most often caused by a repetitive motion such as washing windows, using a non-electric screwdriver, or hitting a tennis ball with a backhand stroke.
The inner joint is not affected by this type of injury but the outer joint becomes inflamed. There is usually some redness and swelling in the area. The main treatments that are used in helping with this elbow joint pain includes ice packs, rest, and inflammatory medications prescribed by your doctor.
Golfer's elbow consists of the tendons that attach to the elbow on the inside of the arm. There is a bony prominence right on the inner part of your elbow in which these tendons attach themselves to. This elbow joint pain is usually caused by excessive twisting or stretching of the arm that will stress out these inner tendons.
The treatment for this type of pain is basically the same as Tennis Elbow. You need to have rest, ice packs, and medication. The medication can be aspirin or ibuprofen.
If your elbow joint pain is caused by Olecranon Bursitis, this means that there is an inflammation at the tip of the elbow which is called the bursa. This can be caused by a local infection that was acquired, gout, or rheumatoid arthritis. This is a chronic pain that will need treatment in an ongoing basis in order to help relieve the pain.
If you have pain from sustaining some sort of fracture or sprain, this will be determined by your doctor. If you have a fracture, you might have to go through immobilization by wearing a cast for some time. You might even need to go through surgery in order to receive pins, which will significantly help to take away the elbow joint pain.
A sprain is when there is a tear or stretch to a ligament that in within the elbow. This usually happens when there is some sort of accident that makes your elbow move a way that it is not supposed to, get stretched out of its comfort zone, or get jammed into itself.
This type of pain is dealt with very similar to Tendonitis. You need to have rest, inflammatory medication, and ice in order to help take down any swelling that has occurred.
