Elbow Pain: Why is Your Elbow Hurting?

Do you experience elbow pain on a regular basis?

If so, it’s important to understand how this pain is impacting your life. Elbow pain can make it difficult to complete everyday tasks, such as brushing your teeth or cooking dinner. It can also cause problems with sleeping and lead to stress and anxiety.

In this blog post, we will discuss the different types of elbow pain and what you can do about it.

What causes elbow pain?

Tendonitis – inflammation and swelling of the tendons in the elbow. Often referred to as “tennis elbow”.
Bicep Strain/Tear – tear or strain in bicep muscle elbow connection. Treatment dictated by severity of strain.
Tricep Strain/Tear – tendon injury with swelling, pain and decrease in range of motion. Tears can differ in severity.
Tennis elbow – pain on the outside of the elbow due to overuse of connective tissue between forearm and elbow
Golfers elbow
Pitcher’s Elbow – damage or strain to the muscles, ligaments, tendons and bones around the elbow. Causes pain and inflammation to both sides of the elbow. Also, known as valgus extension overload.
Ulnar Collateral Ligament Sprain/Tear – ligament which runs along the inside of the elbow. A common injury for baseball players.
Ulnar Neuritis – nerve on the inside of the elbow becomes entrapped leading to numbness, tingling or pain.
Stress Fracture – swelling, pain, bruising at your elbow’s point. This type of fracture happens from overuse and you’ll have difficulty straightening your arm.
Nerve compression/entrapment – bones, tendons , muscles, cartilage put pressure against an elbow nerve causing inflammation or swelling.
Cubital Tunnel – hand weakness, numbness in ring/little fingers, pain, or forearm tingling caused by the stretching or pressure on the funny bone nerve.
Radial Tunnel – pressure on the radial nerve in the elbow which causes pain or fatigue on top of the forearm

Radial Head Fracture – the top of the radius bone below your elbow. Depending on fracture severity, treatment ranges from wearing a splint to orthopedic surgery. Also, expect pain and swelling.
Olecranon Bursitis – caused by injury or overuse, the bursa sac fills with fluid causing inflammation and pain. Often referred to as “Popeye’s elbow”.
Distal Humerus – a fracture in the lower end of the humerus (one of three bones which form the elbow).
Osteoarthritis (OA) – pain, swelling, joint locking, bone spurs, and loss of movement are a few arthritic symptoms. There’s no cure, but symptoms can be managed to reduce discomfort.
Total Elbow Replacement – prosthetic elbow replacement used when there’s extensive damage and severe elbow.
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) – painful inflammation of the joint lining due to a body’s immune system attacking tissue.

How to figure out what’s causing your elbow pain

Your physician can diagnose your pain/injury and give you a prescription for physical therapy.

From there, a physical therapy care plan gets developed to decrease your pain and improve your quality of life.

How to get treatment today:

Call Bowman Physical Therapy for an appointment and schedule an evaluation today! Friendswood: (281) 482-7380 River Oaks: (832) 409-6390