Understanding Elbow Pain: Causes and Treatment Options
Why Identifying Elbow Pain Causes is Key to Elbow Pain Relief!
We’ve all slammed our funny bone a little too hard and experienced a brief but intense bout of elbow pain. But what if your elbow pain lingers? What if it’s preventing you from completing day-to-day activities or getting a good night’s sleep? That’s where Cascade Hand & Orthopedic Rehab comes in. Our hand and occupational therapist have a good understanding of elbow pain causes – and the best ways to address them.
Your elbow, like your knee, is a complex structure. Three different bones come together to create a hinged joint that allows you to straighten and bend your arm. Additionally, your elbow has two sets of ligaments, four sets of muscles, and three main nerves. All this soft tissue allows you to complete a wide range of different activities–but there are also a lot of potential sources for injury and impairment.
At Cascade Hand & Orthopedic Rehab, our hand therapists are experts in the complex anatomy of your upper extremities, including your elbow. We’re familiar with the most common elbow pain causes and can provide various treatment options to address that pain at its source, each tailored to your symptoms, conditions, and recovery goals.
Want to learn more about elbow pain causes and their accompanying treatments? Keep reading–or schedule an appointment at our Fort Myers clinic today!
Common Elbow Pain Causes
Most elbow pain stems from overuse injuries. Unlike an acute injury, which occurs due to a single major trauma, overuse injuries result from several microtraumas over time. These microtraumas are generally brought on by you performing the same movements over and over–such as opening and closing your elbow joint.
Tennis elbow is one of the most well-known overuse injuries of the elbow. Despite its name, it doesn’t only happen to tennis players; in fact, it’s a common workplace injury among landscapers, plumbers, electricians, and other manual workers. The condition causes pain on the outside of the elbow or while gripping and lifting even lightweight items. Sometimes, the pain will radiate down into the forearm.
However, keep in mind that you could have an overuse injury in any of the muscles, tendons, or ligaments that comprise the elbow. In general, the main symptom of an overuse injury is pain in the affected area, although you may also experience swelling and limited range of motion in your elbow.
One of the three nerves in your elbow could also be the culprit for your elbow pain. Ulnar nerve entrapment often creates pain in the elbow; although the nerve itself runs from your neck to your hand, it frequently becomes compressed at the elbow joint, leading to cubital tunnel syndrome. You’ll likely feel numbness and tingling in your hand and wrist in addition to a dull ache inside your elbow.
Finally, your elbow pain may stem from osteoarthritis. Although osteoarthritis is frequently associated with the knees and hips, it can affect any joint in the body. The primary symptoms are pain and decreased range of motion in the affected area, although you may also experience a “locking” sensation in the joint.
How Cascade Hand & Orthopedic Rehab Can Help Address Elbow Pain Causes
Our team of hand therapists has several treatment options at our disposal! After we’ve determined the source of your elbow pain, we’ll develop a customized plan that suits your symptoms, conditions, and overall goals.
Here are just a few of the techniques we might pull from:
- Manual Therapy: These hands-on techniques can help reduce pain and improve limited elbow mobility. We might utilize joint mobilizations (in which we guide your elbow through its current range of motion) or soft tissue manipulation (in which we manipulate the muscles or other soft tissue in the affected area).
- Exercise: Movement can help address several common elbow concerns. We’ll help you strengthen and stretch the muscles around your elbow to manage pain and, in some cases, help resolve the underlying cause.
- Braces and Splints: Some conditions can benefit from an orthosis that immobilizes your elbow so it can heal properly. We can custom-design a comfortable device for you and ensure you’re using it properly.
- Education: A big part of our role is to keep you informed about your condition. We’ll keep you updated on your progress and provide you with any necessary activity modifications as you rehabilitate your elbow.
No matter which of the many elbow pain causes giving you discomfort, the Cascade Hand & Orthopedic Rehab hand therapists will find a solution that meets your needs.
What You Can Expect From Your Sessions
Our first step in addressing any elbow pain is to identify what’s causing the pain in the first place. Tendon damage will require different treatment than nerve damage, for instance. Furthermore, we also want to ensure we’re treating your specific symptoms, as they can vary across patients.
With that in mind, your initial appointment will consist of a comprehensive exam in which we take a complete health history, discuss your symptoms, and perform movement screens to help us measure strength in your forearms, range of motion in your elbow, grip strength, and more. All this information paints a detailed picture of your condition, allowing us to create an excellent treatment plan.
But we won’t just create a plan–we’ll also guide you through it. If you require bracing, we’ll help you adjust to it. We’ll assist you with pain management and walk you through therapeutic exercises that address your elbow impairments. And we’ll monitor your progress and make any changes as needed.
Request Your Appointment Today!
Elbow pain can be debilitating, preventing you from completing all manner of day-to-day activities. At Cascade Hand & Orthopedic Rehab in Fort Myers, we focus on addressing elbow pain causes, not symptoms, so you can find the lasting relief you deserve.
To get started, call us to schedule your appointment today!