Our elbow joints are composed of ligaments, tendons, fluids, and bone. We can move and bend our elbows with ease because of the muscles and tendons. injury to any of these parts causes elbow problems.

Orthopaedic surgeons claim that tendonitis is one of the chief causes of elbow pain and it can not only affect athletes but other people too. It does not have a specific age group although usually adults above the age of 35 start developing these conditions. Let’s take a look at the possible elbow conditions:

• Tennis elbow
• Golfer’s elbow
• Bones spurs
• Arthritis
• Dislocated elbow
• Elbow fracture
• Bursitis
• Torn ligaments
• Elbow fracture
• Little Leaguer’s Elbow
• Sprained elbow
• Cubital tunnel syndrome
• Osteochondritis dissecans
• Radial tunnel syndrome

These conditions are usually caused due to overstraining of the tendons and muscles in the elbow area which is a result of repetitive arm movements. It could be due to faulty sports technique or accidents or wearing down of ligaments and joints, in other words, some degenerative disease. some elbow conditions also arise in connection to other injuries like herniated discs, a dislocated shoulder or a broken arm.

The diagnosis of elbow disorders would include the following:

• X-Rays
• MRI scan
• CT scan
• Biopsy
• physical examination
• electromyography

The treatment of these elbow conditions depends upon the severity of the case. Doctors can recommend the patient to rest and ice their elbows and engage in physiotherapy. Worse cases can require NSAIDs and steroid injections. sometimes the victims are asked to use elbow padding or braces.

Certain exercises and stretches can also help reduce inflammation, enhance the range of motion, strengthen the muscle to reduce the chances of future injury and relieve the pain. the exercise regime might include static stretching exercises, isometric or eccentric exercises or a mix and match. Please note that these exercises are to be done under proper guidance using proper techniques. Start slow and gentle and stop if you feel pain and do not overstretch.

Tennis Elbow

Repeated motion of the arm and the wrist can subject the tendons in your elbows to get overloaded which in due time might become extremely painful. This condition is referred to as tennis elbow or lateral epicondylitis. Not only athletes, but anybody with jobs that involve such arm motions can develop tennis elbow like butchers, carpenters, painters, plumbers, etc. even though initially, the pain in restricted in the region where the tendons of your forearm muscles are attached to the bony bump on the outer side of your elbow, it can stretch across your wrist and forearm.

What Causes Tennis Elbow?

This painful condition gets its name from the continuous use of the backhand stroke with poor technique. The overuse causes the muscle to strain and thus injury. It is mainly the forearm muscle, that comes into use while raising or straightening your hands and wrist that gets affected. The recurring motions apply stress on the tissues which ultimately suffers from small tears in the tendons attaching the outer bony prominence to the forearm muscles. Activities that might lead to this condition would include:

• Frequent use of the computer mouse
• Painting
• Chopping cooking ingredients, especially meat.
• Carpentry and plumbing activities

Other factors would include age, which means that adults in the age group of 30-50 might start developing this condition; occupations which include frequent and rigorous arm motions and certain sports like the ones that involve rackets, like tennis, badminton or squash can develop tennis elbow due to poor stroke technique.

What Are The Symptoms Of Tennis Elbow?

The pain starts off as mild and it slowly worsens over months and years. The pain one experiences as they develop tennis elbow usually radiates from the outside of the elbow towards the forearm and wrist. The pain makes it difficult for the victim to pick up objects, turn the doorknob or bottle cap, shake hands or even grip or hold objects. It is more common for your dominant arm to get affected although it can happen to both of your arms.

Tennis Elbow Recovery

To relieve yourself of the pain be sure to give your elbow enough rest and try to get your elbows off the strain. To turn down your pain, you can take pain relievers like naproxen or Ibuprofen. However, prolonged use of painkillers and NSAIDs leads to chronic side-effects such as bleeding gastrointestinal tracts, indigestion, anxiety, sleep disorders, etc. Natural non-invasive treatments such as Bowen Therapy offers easy remedies to Musco-skeletal issues such as these. Also certain exercises can also be effective against a tennis elbow.

Golfer’s Elbow

Golfers elbow is a condition that is quite similar to Tennis elbow as the victim experiences pain in the tendons of their forearm muscles attached to the bony bump on the inner side of the elbow. The victim might experience pain in the forearm and wrist as well. Again, golfers’ elbow can happen to anybody apart from golfers.

What Causes Golfer’s Elbow?

Medial epicondylitis or Golfer’s elbow results in the damage of the tendons controlling your fingers and wrist. The causes can be listed as:

• Improper lifting of heavy objects.
• Sports that involve rackets and a lot of throwing around, and the improper technique being the main reason.
• Weight training can overwork your elbow and tendons.
• If you are into an occupation that involves repetitive arm movements like carpentry, construction or plumbing.

Other contributory factors to this condition would be old age, obesity, smoking and performing an intensive activity for a minimum of 2 hours every day.

What are the Symptoms of Golfer’s Elbow?

One suffering from golfer’s elbow would feel pain on the inner side of the elbow and forearm. Certain movements might result in increased and sharp pains. Victims can also experience numbness or tingling sensations in their fingers, particularly the ring and little fingers. Your elbow tends to stiffen because of which the making a fist might hurt. The weakness in your hands and wrist might give you problem holding or gripping objects or picking them up. The pain associated with golfer’s club can appear gradually or out of the blue.

Golfer’s Elbow Prevention and Treatment

Pay a visit to the doctor regarding your condition when your elbow area gets hot and swollen and you get a fever or when you cannot bend your elbow. If you suspect to have cracked your elbow or it looks deformed, seek medical opinion.

The pain can be met with over the counter pain relievers like ibuprofen or acetaminophen, etc. Rest and ice your elbow very frequently and use a brace for support. Stretch and strengthen or undergo a course of bowen therapy to deal with the condition.

Preventive measures for golfer’s elbow would include using proper lifting techniques and giving your elbow enough rest. Make sure you warm-up and stretch before you slide into your main game or intensive work out. Use the right types of equipment for sport or gym and strengthen your forearm muscle by seeing tennis balls or using lights weights, anything that will help you absorb sudden physical stress.

Elbows are very prone to injury and could gradually turn your life into an excruciatingly painful affair. It is therefore very important to take adequate care of your elbow.

Incorporating Bowen Therapy into your maintenance routine

In practice Bowen Therapy has been shown to be useful not only in assisting with the symptoms of many elbow conditions, but also in preventing or lessening the effects to those who are involved in activities that are more susceptible to repetitive strain re-injuring.