There are so many different physical activities that you are able to carry out because of your elbows — from throwing a basketball, hugging a loved one to trying to impress everybody with your chicken dance moves.
It’s because of this exactly why it’s not unlikely for your elbows to hurt from time to time.
Continue reading if tight now your elbow feels achy and inflamed. Below you will come across some of the most common causes of elbow pain, according to doctors themselves.
Strains and Sprains
There are a number of muscles, tendons and ligaments situated in your elbow joint. Any one of them can end up stretched beyond normal and sometimes torn, too.
If a muscle or tendon (tissue that attaches your muscle to a bone) is the one that’s affected, the problem is referred to as a strain. On the other hand, the issue called a sprain if the one that’s affected is a ligament, which is a tissue whose function is to connect the different bones that meet in a joint.
So many people tend to overuse their elbows — from athletes, carpenters, painters to those who play certain types of musical instruments. Sometimes using the elbow joint a lot can lead to what’s known as tendinitis.
Put simply, tendinitis is the irritation and inflammation of a tendon in the elbow joint. One very common example of tendinitis affecting the elbow is what’s referred to as tennis elbow which can strike not only tennis players but many others, too. There is also the so-called golfer’s elbow.
In your elbow joint is a fluid-filled sac that’s referred to as a bursa (plural: bursae or bursas). Its role is to allow various tissues to glide seamlessly over bones each time you use your elbows.
Sometimes a bursa can end up inflamed due to repetitive movements. In some instances it’s brought about by an injury. No matter the case, it is referred to as bursitis. Treatment for elbow bursitis can range anywhere from rest, OTC painkiller administration, corticosteroid injection, drainage of the fluid to surgery.
Just about any joint in your body can be affected one day by osteoarthritis, which is known to be the most common form of arthritis — there are in fact more than 100 types of arthritis, doctors confirm.
Refrain from assuming that your elbows cannot be affected by osteoarthritis as you are only in your 20s or 30s. Although it’s true that age is a risk factor for osteoarthritis, people of any age can end up with it. Some other risk factors for this very common joint disease are obesity, previous injury and even a family history of osteoarthritis.
Fractures and Dislocations
Being involved in an accident — slip and fall, vehicular or sports — can cause the bones that meet in your elbow to end up fractured. In some instances, the bones that meet in your elbow joint do not end up fractured but dislocated. There are times in which an elbow fracture and dislocation can happen at the same time.
Needless to say, it’s important to be rushed to the hospital if it seems like your elbow pain is brought about by a fracture or dislocation, or sometimes both.
Don’t forget to share this article on your various social media sites before you leave so that your family members and friends may also get acquainted with the above-mentioned usual culprits behind elbow pain.
WARNING: There are many home remedies as well as OTC painkilling drugs available for elbow pain. But if the problem refuses to subside after a few days of dealing with it at home or the symptoms seem to be intensifying, make sure that you pay your doctor a visit without delay.