Elbow pain results from various underlying conditions affecting the bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, or nerves around the elbow joint. You may experience elbow pain while lifting something or when straightening or bending your arm.
Since multiple health conditions and injuries can cause elbow pain, diagnosing the root cause of your condition is essential for effective treatment and recovery.
At Impact Sports & Spine, we use advanced diagnostic ultrasound to help determine the underlying cause of your elbow pain before designing a personalized treatment plan. Our team focuses on non-surgical and minimally-invasive treatments for optimal healing, ensuring minimum complications and faster recovery.
The elbow joint connects the upper arm to the forearm, allowing for a range of movements essential for daily activities, such as throwing, lifting, and swinging. It involves bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and nerves working together to allow various types of movements.
The elbow joint has three bones. The upper arm bone, the humerus, connects with the two forearm bones, the ulna and the radius, at your elbow.
Each bone has cartilage on the end to help them slide against each other and absorb shock. The tendons in your arms connect the bones to muscles to allow movement in different ways.
Any harm to these parts of your elbow due to overuse injuries, inflammation, trauma, or degenerative changes can cause elbow pain.
Elbow pain can result from inflammation and strain in your soft tissues. Certain medical conditions and injuries, such as a fracture or joint dislocation, can also cause pain and stiffness in your elbow joint and the muscles and soft tissues surrounding it.
Tendinopathy, a common cause of elbow pain, is an umbrella term for tendon disorders involving tendinitis and tendinosis that cause pain, swelling, and impaired performance.
Tendinitis is a condition involving acute inflammation of a tendon resulting from a sudden injury or overuse. Tendinosis refers to the chronic degeneration of a tendon without significant inflammation due to long-term overuse and micro-tears.
Elbow arthritis is a condition that causes inflammation of the elbow joint, leading to pain, stiffness, and decreased range of motion. It can result from various underlying causes, including wear and tear, previous injuries, or previous surgery.
The ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in the elbow helps stabilize the joint, particularly during throwing motions. UCL sprains or partial tears are common among athletes who perform repetitive overhead movements, such as baseball pitchers, javelin throwers, and tennis players.
The radial collateral ligament (RCL) is one of the primary stabilizing ligaments on the outer side of the elbow. Although sprains or partial tears of the RCL are less common than those of the UCL, they can still occur due to trauma or overuse, leading to pain and instability.
Lateral epicondylitis, also known as tennis elbow, develops when the tendons in the elbow are overloaded, typically by repetitive movements of the wrist and arm. It can affect anyone who engages in activities that stress the elbow and forearm muscles.
The lateral epicondyle is the bony structure on the outer side of the elbow where the extensor tendons of your forearm attach to the bone. It can be affected by both tendinitis and tendinosis, resulting in elbow pain.
Medial epicondylitis, commonly known as golfer's elbow, affects the inner side of the elbow, causing pain and inflammation. It is typically caused by overuse or repetitive stress.
Golfer's elbow affects the tendons that attach the forearm muscles to the medial epicondyle, a bony bump on the inside of the elbow. These tendons can be affected by both tendinitis and tendinosis, resulting in elbow pain.
Common extensor tendon partial tears involve the tearing of the tendons that connect the extensor muscles of the forearm to the lateral epicondyle of the humerus. This condition typically results from repetitive strain and overuse, leading to micro-tears within the tendon fibers.
A flexor pronator strain refers to an injury involving the muscles and tendons of the flexor pronator mass in the forearm. The flexor pronator mass consists of several muscles and tendons that originate from the medial epicondyle of the humerus to help with flexion in the wrist and fingers, as well as forearm pronation.
Improper form or technique during sports or activities, repetitive motions, sudden movements, and injuries can cause a flexor pronator strain, leading to elbow pain.
Triceps tendinopathy is a condition involving the triceps tendon, which connects the triceps muscle to the back of the elbow and allows for the extension of the forearm. Triceps tendinopathy involves pain, inflammation, or degeneration of the triceps tendon, which can occur due to overuse, repetitive strain, or aging-related changes.
Partial tears can also happen in the triceps tendon, which assists in activities such as pushing, lifting, and extending the elbow.
Distal biceps tendinopathy refers to a condition involving inflammation, degeneration, or injury of the distal biceps tendon near its insertion point in the forearm. The distal biceps tendon connects the biceps muscle in the upper arm to the radius bone in the forearm, allowing forearm rotation to palm up and elbow bending.
Partial tears can also happen in the distal biceps due to repetitive movements or activities, age-related changes, and trauma.
Nerve entrapments or impingements at the elbow can lead to pain, tingling, numbness, or weakness in the forearm and hand. It can occur due to compression on the nerves from surrounding soft tissues, repetitive elbow movements, and anatomical factors, such as narrow tunnels or tight spaces through which nerves pass.
Several nerves pass through or near the elbow joint:
Cubital tunnel syndrome involves the compression or irritation of the ulnar nerve as it passes through the cubital tunnel, a narrow passageway on the inner side of the elbow formed by bone, muscle, and ligaments.
The symptoms of discomfort in your elbow depend on the underlying cause of the pain. Common symptoms of elbow conditions include:
Our doctors ask about your medical history and symptoms to understand the nature, onset, and duration of the pain. They then conduct a thorough physical examination to assess the range of motion, strength, and areas of tenderness in the elbow to diagnose the underlying cause of your elbow pain accurately.
We may perform a diagnostic ultrasound to visualize the bones and soft tissues and detect potential injuries in your elbow. Additional imaging tests, such as X-rays and MRI scans, may be ordered to ensure a precise diagnosis when needed.
Upon identifying the underlying cause of your elbow pain, we recommend appropriate treatment to reduce pain and improve function. Treatment options may include rest and/or activity modification, ice and heat therapy, physical therapy, minimally-invasive non-surgical procedures, and surgical referral. Our treatments are personalized and tailored to your goals.
Although you may not be able to stop injuries and wear and tear due to aging from happening, you can follow good habits and ergonomic practices to help minimize stress on your elbow.
Here are some effective prevention tips you can follow:
Elbow pain is a common condition resulting from overuse injuries and repetitive activities, which can be treated by identifying the underlying condition causing it.
At Impact Sports & Spine, we focus on providing high-quality non-surgical care for acute and chronic musculoskeletal injuries and spinal conditions. Our team focuses on uncovering the root cause of your condition rather than merely treating the symptoms.
To schedule a consultation with our skilled practitioners, call us at 301-363-9693 or request an appointment online.
Impact Sports & Spine
9420 Key West Ave. Suite 325
Rockville, MD 20850
Phone: 301-363-9693
Fax: 301-363-9676
Monday - Thursday
8 am - 5 pm
Friday
8 am - 4 pm
Saturday - Sunday
Closed
