You move your elbow a great deal in daily life if you really think about it. Just raising a coffee cup to your mouth is working that joint repeatedly. If you play a sport like tennis or golf, it’s also used in these cases over and over again. We have a list of reasons why it could be occurring to help you better understand the injury or condition. We’d also like you to know that Premier Chiropractic Center is here to assist.
Repetitive Use
The pain you have in your elbow may be caused by repetitive use from either a hobby, sport, or your job. When you move the joint over and over again, you work the soft tissue over and over again. This can be damaging to the tissue, or at the minimum, cause inflammation and discomfort.
For some people, this is a minor issue, and once they stop the activity and let their elbow rest for a short time, the pain stops. However, for others, this repetitive stress is more serious and longer lasting. An issue that often comes from repetitive use is elbow tendinitis, which occurs when a tendon in the elbow suffers from stress from use.
Some of the more common jobs associated with repetitive use elbow injuries include:
- Painters
- Plumbers
- Butcher
- Factory worker
Hobbies and sports that can agitate the elbow include:
- Tennis
- Squash
- Weight lifting
- Football
- Golf
We note that if you use a piece of equipment that vibrates, such as a jackhammer, it can lead to a repetitive stress injury.
Sudden Injury
You may experience a sudden injury to your elbow by overstretching the tissue. You can do this by stretching to reach something, such as when you’re playing sports. Let’s say you’re playing tennis, you may overstretch the tissue in your elbow by stretching to reach to hit the ball.
A sudden elbow injury may happen if you have a job that requires you to reach overhead a great deal.
Arthritis
Arthritis is a chronic condition that affects the joint and can target your elbow. With osteoarthritis, you develop it as a result of repetitive use and wear and tear on the joint over time. Therefore, if you play a sport, participate in a hobby, or have a job that requires you to move your elbow a great deal, you may develop it. Rheumatoid arthritis can target this joint, but with this form of arthritis, it arises as a result of your immune system mistakenly identifying the lining of the joint as an invader. Your immune system will then damage the joint in an effort to combat it.
How Chiropractic Care Can Help
Our chiropractor can assess your elbow by looking at the area and examining it for swelling and other signs of damage. You’ll then be asked to move your elbow in certain ways so our practitioner can evaluate your range of motion. In some cases, we can determine the problem by that alone. However, you may be referred for imaging to allow our chiropractor to confirm or determine a diagnosis.
The next step of the process is to craft a treatment program to meet your needs. One of the most standard treatments we provide for elbow pain is exercise therapy. During this treatment, our practitioner will guide you through a series of exercises that work the elbow. He’ll tailor the plan to your specific situation, and the motions will become more difficult over time to help you maintain or extend your range of motion and promote healing.
At Premier Chiropractic Center, serving Bessemer, AL, and the nearby region, our practitioner can help if you have elbow pain for any of the aforementioned reasons or even others. So if you’re experiencing pain, don’t hesitate to reach out to us today.
Call us at 205-519-4024, or use our online form.
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