Pain in Elbow
Causes of Pain in Elbow and Possible Treatment
A pain in elbow is an extremely common complaint and there are many common causes of this problem. Before seeking treatment, it is important to make an accurate diagnosis of the cause of your symptoms so that appropriate treatment can be directed at the cause and avoid medical complications. Humans use their limbs to do most of their activities and as more are more people are using their computers to do their work, elbows are still important since they are the pivot in our arms. One of the common causes of pain in elbow is lateral epicondylitis which is also called tennis elbow. Patients with this condition have pain over the outside of the joint and they usually have difficulty getting hold of an object. This problem does not mostly affect tennis players despite the name. Another cause of pain in elbow is medical epicondylitis which is similar to tennis elbow, difference being the fact that the discomfort is around the joint although the symptoms are on the inner side of the joint. It is also called golfers elbow, but the condition is not common in golfers. These are the two most common causes of pain in elbow and medical attention should be sought if detected.
Another cause of pain in elbow is olecranon bursitis and it is most common behind the elbow joint. A patient suffering from this condition usually has swelling and tenderness behind the joint over the bony prominence that is called the olecranon. Another cause of pain is tendonitis and it occurs in the tendons around the joint.
Other causes of pain in elbow include cubital tunnel syndrome which results from the compression of the ulnal and which causes shooting pains along the forearm numbness and tingling of the fingers, radial tunnel syndrome which is not very common and elbow fractures which include olecranon fractures and radial head fractures.
There are several signs that will tell a person that they have elbow conditions apart from pain in elbow. These signs include Inability to carry objects or to use the arm, deformity of the joint, inability to flex the arm, swelling or bruising around the joint and any other unusual symptom around the arm.
One way to take care of pain in elbow is to rest the joint and to allow any inflammation to subside. However, it is important to note that prolonged immobilization causes stiff joint. Yet another thing you can do to get rid of elbow pains is to use ice on the elbow or to apply heat.
Physical therapy has been proven to treat almost all orthopedic conditions and so does anti-inflammatory medication which is prescribed by the doctors especially for patients suffering from arthritis, bursitis, and tendonitis. One can also use cortisone injections to take care of pain in elbow, but all these treatments should be done with doctor’s advice.