Elbow Pain
Elbow Pain
The two common problems of the elbow are both over use injuries to the tendons on the inside or outside of the forearm just past the elbow joint itself. They each go by a variety of names, the most common of which is Tennis Elbow. These create pain with muscle contraction, and exhibit pain with pressure over the inflamed areas.
As with other areas of the arm and hand, pressure on one of the nerves in the lower neck can cause pain that radiates from the neck, upper back and shoulder, down to the elbow. This pain is diffuse and achy and is often accompanied by paresthesia, which is numbness and tingling. This is 'subjective' pain which cannot be reproduced by pressure on the sore areas.
Tennis elbow
This is a form of tendonitis that is an overuse injury affecting the outside of the elbow and the area of the forearm just past it. This can come on from a traumatic injury, but most of the time a person has no idea where it came from. It hurts with motions of the wrist and fingers, like with opening doors, shaking hands, or twisting open the lid of a jar. When it is bad enough this can be debilitating and prevent normal activities. Tennis elbow is tricky to get rid of as it's hard to rest the arm and hand long enough to recover. At Axis Health we use protective supports, corrective exercise, therapies like massage, ultrasound, and electric stimulation to subdue this and help you get your life back.
Little League Elbow
This is the same as tennis elbow but is located on the inside of the elbow and forearm rather than the outside. It is another common over use injury that creeps up on you slowly over time, often becoming a constant, chronic problem. This is not a serious condition, but can be seriously difficult to get rid of without help.