These injuries can commonly occur among athletes, manual labourers, and individuals who engage in repetitive motions. They can also result from trauma, overuse, or poor posture. Early diagnosis and treatment are crucial for proper recovery and to prevent long-term damage.
Several factors that can increase the risk of elbow and arm injuries, include:
Nearly all the muscles in the forearm that control our wrist and hand movements originate from the elbow. Our tendons connect these muscles to bone and if overused in daily routines or stuck in prolonged postures they will become irritated and inflamed.
The most common tendon injury at this joint is Tennis and Golfer’s Elbow. This affects 3% of adults worldwide every year. You don’t have to play Tennis or Golf to pick up this injury, a lot of desk-based workers are also at risk if using a poor workstation set up.
These tendinopathies will take some time to recovery and heal, it’s important to make adjustments to daily routines and postures to control symptoms. Physiotherapy will help resolve any muscle restrictions that could be contributing and improve the overall strength and conditioning at the joint.
The second most common condition is a fracture. This could be to the elbow bone itself (Olecranon) or the Humerus bone above. As there is not much muscle or fatty tissue directly on the elbow, so a fracture can be a common risk from any falls.
Having said this a fracture does not only have to be as a result of trauma. A stress fracture can occur at the elbow from excessive loads upon the joint during certain biomechanics such as fast bowling in cricketers.
These injuries will require a period of rest and immobilisation to allow the bone to rebuild and heal. It’s important to attend physiotherapy after this period of immobilisation to regain range of motion at the elbow joint as being in cast or sling can make soft tissue structures tight and uncomfortable.
Arthritis is a common pathology at joints involved in regular movement and loading. In most joints this presents as Osteoarthritis. At the elbow however, the most common type of arthritis is Rheumatoid Arthritis. This is an auto-immune condition that causes your body’s immune system to attack the joint lining causing swelling and pain.
Symptoms will present with noticeable swelling at the elbow, pain and reduced range of motion especially when straightening the arm. You may also notice difficultly and pain with wrist movements and positions. Although there is no cure for Rheumatoid Arthritis, a Physiotherapist can help provide a plan with managing flare ups and prescribe an exercise programme to help maintain function during activities.
Proper ergonomics at work and home (e.g. correct desk height, chair support) can reduce strain on the arm.
Regularly strengthening the arm and forearm muscles can reduce the risk of overuse injuries.
Whether playing sports or lifting objects, ensuring you use proper form and techniques can help prevent strain and injury.
Avoid overusing the arm and give it time to recover, especially after activities that require repetitive motions.
Whilst this can be true in severe cases, physiotherapy can often help to reduce symptoms of pain, in some cases increase range of motion, and help support the joint to attempt to slow the progression of the ‘wear’.
Despite its name, the majority of tennis elbows our physiotherapists see are nothing to do with playing tennis/or a tennis related injury.
Tendinopathies can be a very frustrating injury as they will not get better by just resting. They need progressive load, at the right level of resistance, to allow them to heal.
For arm and elbow pain, we would recommend booking in with one of our Physiotherapists to get a full assessment and diagnosis. Many patients also find that Sports Massage helps with the pain.
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