Over the last few weeks, you’ve noticed a persistent pain in your elbow, especially when you try to grasp onto something. You tried ignoring it at first, but the discomfort hasn’t gone away. Sound familiar? Elbow pain injuries are relatively common–and fortunately, most of them are easy to address and prevent!
Your elbow is a complex joint that connects the upper and lower arm bones and contains a complicated array of muscles, tendons, ligaments, and other tissues. It’s easy to damage these tissues through overuse, which is why elbow pain injuries often seem to develop out of nowhere. They’re not a single injury but rather compounded trauma from repetitive movements or poor form.
At Jenna Howe Osteopathy and Concussion Recovery, we offer both osteopathic and athletic therapy, two approaches that can help address elbow pain. Today, we want to explore some of the more common elbow injuries we see at our Victoria BC, and Burnaby, BC clinics and provide some simple tips to prevent them from occurring.
Four Common Painful Elbow Injuries
Tennis Elbow
- Tennis elbow (also known by its medical name, lateral epicondylitis) is one of the most common sources of elbow pain. It can affect anyone, especially those who rely heavily on arm and wrist movements, like athletes and manual laborers. Tennis elbow is caused by repetitive stress on the tendons around the outer elbow, resulting in inflammation and pain.
Golfer’s Elbow
- Golfer’s elbow is similar to tennis elbow, but it involves inflammation and pain of the tendons in the inner elbow. As with tennis elbow, it can affect anyone, not just golfers, and it’s common in various activities that require repetitive arm motions, like painting or hammering.
Elbow Bursitis
- Bursitis occurs when the bursa—a fluid-filled sac that cushions the elbow joint—becomes inflamed, leading to swelling at the back of the elbow. This condition may result from frequent pressure on the elbow, although it can also develop due to an acute injury.
Cubital Tunnel Syndrome
- Cubital tunnel syndrome doesn’t necessarily cause symptoms in your elbow. However, it stems from the compression of the ulnar nerve, which runs through the elbow and often results from prolonged elbow bending or resting your arms on hard surfaces. Cubital tunnel syndrome causes pain, numbness, and tingling in your upper arm and pinky and ring fingers.
Tips for Preventing Elbow Pain Injuries
The good news is that a few simple changes can help you prevent elbow pain injuries, especially those caused by overuse. Injury prevention is one of the things we offer at Jenna Howe Osteopathy and Concussion Recovery, and our team will work with you to develop a personalized injury prevention program. However, these tips can get you started:
- Strengthen the muscles around your elbow, including the forearm and wrist muscles. This helps support the elbow joint, reducing strain on the joint’s tissue.
- If you’re doing an activity that requires repetitive arm movements (such as painting or practicing your golf swing), take frequent breaks to avoid stressing the tissues.
- Use proper form and posture when participating in sports or similar activities. Our team can assess this for you and give you tips for improvement.
- Always warm up your arms before engaging in physical activity–and not just sports or exercise, either. Don’t skip warmups before performing yardwork or heavy-duty chores.
Schedule an Appointment for More Personalized Guidance!
Whether you’re currently dealing with elbow pain or hoping to prevent it, the team at Jenna Howe Osteopathy and Concussion Recovery can help you find a plan of care that suits your needs. Make an appointment today to get started.
