The elbow is a very important bone joint in your body. Just as any other bone or joint, there will be injuries related to the elbow for which you need the help of an orthopedic elbow specialist. Here is everything you need to know about an elbow overuse injury.

Elbow Overuse Injury

Elbow overuse injuries are of many types. The elbow is a complex combination of a lot of bones and y sprain or impact on any of the bone can lead to elbow overuse injuries. Let’s start with the different bones that make up the elbow. The elbow consists of three major bones which are:

• The humerus
• The radius
• The ulna

These bones join together and make up this bullous bone. These bones have different injuries related to them and these injuries give rise to the overuse of the elbow. Any sprain or impact which causes the bone to hurt and you are left in a lot of pain and you are unable to move your arm or elbow, then this is termed as an elbow overuse. There are two main types of elbow injuries which are quite common.

• Tennis elbow injury
• Golfer’s elbow injury

The golfer’s elbow injury is caused due to too much flexing and stretching of the wrist and elbow. Whereas the tennis elbow injury is the swelling of the tendons and muscles surrounding the elbow. This also causes a lot of pain and there might be apparent swelling on the exterior of your elbow too.

Causes Of Elbow Overuse Injury

Here are some causes of elbow overuse injuries.

• The first main cause is the overuse of the elbow. Overusing the elbow means putting your elbow through a bender and doing a lot of work with it even though you know that your elbow is feeling quite fatigued and tender.
• Putting a lot of weight on your elbow, like staying on your elbow for too long or applying too much pressure on your elbow may cause overuse injuries in your elbow.
• Too much wrist use, like swaying and twisting of the wrist will also cause a lot of elbow injuries.

Symptoms Of Elbow Overuse Injury

Here are some symptoms and signs when you are suffering from an overused elbow.

• You will experience a lot of pain in your forearm.
• You will have pain in your wrist.
• You will feel numbness around your elbow area.
• You will not be able to freely move your elbow on demand. It will hurt a lot.
• There might be swelling around your elbow and other neighboring areas if the arm.
• Your wrist will be quite swollen too in the worst cases.
• Your grip on anything won’t be as strong and you will feel as though things are slipping out from your grasp.
• Whenever you shake hands with someone, you will feel immense pain, radiating from your elbow to your wrist.
• You might not be able to play specific sports which involve the use of your elbow like tennis and golf.

Treatment For Elbow Overuse Injury

Here are some treatment options for an overused elbow.

• Ice and cold compresses are a great way to alleviate your elbow pain. The ice also reduces the swelling and it feels very good. As soon as you start to feel some pain in your elbow, grab an ice pack and ice the areas that hurt. It will be better in no time at all.
• You can also take anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen, this will alleviate the swelling in your elbow and wrist and once the swelling subsides, you will also feel less pain than before.
• Try not to put too much stress and exertion on your elbow if it hurts too much. Your doctor will advise you to lay low for a couple of weeks and do’t perform any harsh workouts which engage your elbows until it gets better.

Conclusion

There you have it! Now you know everything there is to know about an elbow overuse injury. It is a common injury which can be quite painful, but if you catch it on time, you will be healed in no time at all. If your pain is not relieved soon, you should consult an elbow injury doctor Woodbridge.