Elbow Pain: It's No Joke!

Whether our patients are active in fitness and sports or make repetitive motions throughout the workday, persistent elbow pain is a common ailment that we treat here at Williamsburg Chiropractic. The idea of continuous elbow pain may not sound like a big deal…until it happens to you! Your elbow may be called your funny bone, but when elbow pain keeps you from doing what you love or prevents you from fulfilling your work requirements, it is no joke. Here’s how chiropractic can help.

Let’s Talk Tendons

Tendons are the tissue that attach bone and muscle. In your elbow, there are tendons on both sides of the joint. Epicondylitis is the medical term for when those tendons become inflamed, but is more commonly known as golfer’s elbow or tennis elbow. Golfer’s elbow refers to inflammation of the medial tendons (same side as your pinky finger) of the elbow joint and tennis elbow refers to inflammation of the lateral tendons (same side as your thumb) of the elbow joint.

Symptoms and Causes

Golfer’s elbow symptoms may be experienced as pain on the inside of the elbow when lifting your hand or wrist, pain while twisting your forearm, or while making a fist. The inside of your elbow may be tender to the touch or even swollen. Symptoms of tennis elbow radiate from the outside of your elbow to your wrist and forearm. Some feel a constant ache in the elbow area, where other patients only feel it when lifting, grasping, or reaching. If left untreated, weakness in the hands and wrists along with stiffness in the elbow can occur.

The causes of this painful inflammation can be linked to overuse of the forearm muscles in which your elbow is extended, palm facing down. Think baseball, softball, racquet sports like tennis, and gardening or carpentry.

Heal with Chiropractic

Our chiropractic staff are experts at adjusting the spinal joints and joints of extremities including the arms, legs, wrists, and hands. When your joints aren’t functioning properly, it can mean there is excessive tension and force on the ligaments and tendons. This can be the cause of or worsen inflammation. If you are suffering from epicondylitis, chiropractic can help. When you visit us at Williamsburg Chiropractic to treat your elbow pain, we will restore joint motion to allow for complete healing. Additionally, we can provide tips on stretches and exercises to keep your elbow in fine form and decrease the inflammation process.

Don’t allow yourself to continue to suffer from nagging, persistent elbow pain. Click here to schedule an adjustment so you can get back to feeling great!