Elbow Pain Relief

Sprains and strains are frequently mixed up! Sprains occur when a ligament is stretched or torn, whereas strains happen when a muscle or tendon is stretched or torn.

Elbow sprains and strains are common. Unexpected tissue overstretching or acute overworking of a muscle can result in a tear, swelling, pain, and difficulty moving.

Overhead throwing with poor throwing form can cause the ligaments on the inner side of your elbow to stretch or tear. Injuries to the UCL account for 10% of all injuries in professional baseball and can result in Tommy John surgery and a year-long recovery.

This is one of the most common overuse injuries in adolescent baseball/softball players. Young athletes are skeletally immature , and the effects of repetitive overhand throwing inflame the inner elbow growth plate.

The pain is usually felt while throwing or shortly afterward. The pain usually worsens as the number of innings pitched or games played increases. Motion loss can occur in either the bent or extended position in severe cases.

Some athletes may sustain an avulsion fracture if their condition goes untreated (i.e., a small chunk of bone attached to a tendon or ligament gets pulled away from the main part of the bone).

Tendonopathy is a medical term that refers to any problem with a tendon, such as a disease, injury, or disorder. The following are the most common tendon injuries:

Tendinitis: Tendinitis is defined as active tendon inflammation. Acute injuries, such as minor or partial tearing, can cause an inflammatory response and pain, especially if the affected area is moved.

Tendinosis: Tendinosis describes a dysfunctional tendon without elaborating on the pathological process. It is commonly used to describe overuse conditions. According to recent research, most overuse tendon pathologies lack inflammatory cells.

It is important to note that overuse tendon disorders frequently take a long time and are a slow process to heal. In some cases, treating degenerative collagen with anti-inflammatory medications like corticosteroid injections or oral medications can impede healing! With chronic tendon disorders, there is a need to rebuild the tissue through progressive retraining/loading, which your physical therapist can help prescribe for you, allowing you to appropriately build the tissue back to full strength and function again.

Tennis elbow may be caused by tendonitis or chronically as a tendonosis. Tendinitis occurs when the tendons of the outer elbow (lateral epicondyle) become inflamed. If it is caused by an acute repetitive task, it is more likely an acute tendonitis, but most of the time these conditions are a tendonosis that actually lacks inflammatory cells.

Tennis elbow is commonly associated with tasks such as holding a tennis racket, a paintbrush, or a hammer. Tenderness will be severe around the outside of your elbow, causing pain when gripping, lifting, or twisting your forearm.

Medial (inside) epicondylitis, also known as “golfer’s elbow,” is a condition that is similar to tennis elbow except that the pain is on the inside of the elbow. This injury is commonly caused by overuse of the muscles that flex your wrist and fingers and can be classified as tendinitis or tendonosis depending on whether or not there is inflammation in the tendons surrounding the inner aspect of the elbow.

Several nerves run from the upper arm to the forearm and hand via the elbow. Nerve injuries can occur in the ulnar, radial, median, medial antebrachial cutaneous, and lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerves.

Traction and compression are the most common nerve injuries, particularly in athletes who place forceful, repetitive stresses across their elbow joint.

Numbness, tingling, or temperature loss are common symptoms of nerve injuries. Overuse nerve injuries are accompanied by swelling, which reduces the nerve’s ability to function correctly. In severe nerve injuries, muscle function is disrupted, and paralysis can occur.

The most common cause of upper extremity fractures, including elbow fractures, is falls. This is because the natural reaction when falling is to try to catch yourself and lead with the arm to absorb the fall.

Immobilization is frequently required to allow the bones to heal, which can result in stiffness, weakness, and persistent pain. Fortunately, our physical therapists at Hopstown Physical Therapy in Beaverton, OR have extensive experience helping people of all ages regain function following a fracture and immobilization!