Elbow & Arm Pain

Elbow Pain Summary



Elbow pain falls into four buckets: Elbow overuse is the most common cause of elbow pain, followed by sprains / tears / fractures, and lastly arthritis. And of course, there's funny bone pain.

Elbow Pain From Overuse Injuries Including Tennis Elbow and Golfer's Elbow



Tennis Elbow, or lateral epicondylitis.

Pain where the tendons of your forearm attach to the outside bump of your lower arm, the lateral epicondyle of the humerus. Seen with repetitive "swinging" motion from tennis, racket sports, as well as in carpenters, plumbers, and painters. Repeated extension of the forearm against resistance is the culprit. Most common symptoms of Tennis Elbow are pain and weakness when shaking hands, turning a doorknob or holding a cup. If conservative therapy with RICEN does not cure the pain fast enough, laser pain therapy can be extremely effective. Class IV laser therapy reduces pain and treats the underlying problems.

Golfer's Elbow, or medial epicondylitis

Pain where the tendons of your forearm attach to the inside bump of your lower arm, the medial epicondyle of the humerus. Pain from Golfer's Elbow is seen with repetitive wrist or finger clenching activity, including golf and tennis. If conservative therapy with RICEN does not cure the pain fast enough, laser pain therapy can be extremely effective at both relieving the Golfer's Elbow pain and reducing swelling of the medial epicondyle area.

Funny Bone Pain & Cubital Tunnel Pain

When you hit your Funny Bone, there's a brief pain and tingling that shoots down your forearm and into your ring and little fingers because the ulnar nerve has been hit as it passes near the outside of your elbow. The ulnar nerve can also become trapped or irritated from repetitive motion, and this is called Cubital Tunnel. The symptoms are similar to hitting your funny bone: pain, tingling and numbness in the small and ring fingers, sometimes starting up in your elbow and traveling down.

Cubital Tunnel Elbow Pain can be treated with these simple measures: Rest your elbow with a splint at night, pad your elbow, and take NSAIDs. If RICEN does not cure the pain fast enough, laser pain therapy can be extremely effective at relieving the pain and reducing the nerve inflammation.

Elbow Pain from Bursitis, Tear, Sprain and Fracture



Elbow Pain from Elbow Fracture, Tears and Sprains

Any time that the elbow bones are broken, or the tendons and ligaments are torn or stretched or sprained, you can get pain. If after appropriate treatment you are still having pain, laser therapy can be effective at reducing that pain.

Bursitis Elbow Pain

The olecranon bursae cushions the elbow joint, and when it is inflamed can cause pain. Elbow bursitis, or olecranan bursitis, or Popeye elbow, causes painful tenderness and swelling behind the elbow joint. This may be the result of constant pressure on the elbow or an injury. Treat with RICEN and consider laser therapy.

Arthritis & Elbow Pain

Elbow arthritis can be described as both rare and common. Compared with other forms of arthritis, elbow arthritis is rare. However, arthritis is a common cause of elbow pain. Rheumatoid arthritis more commonly causes elbow pain than osteoarthritis.

RICEN Conservative Elbow Pain Treatment

RICEN is the foundation for all pain treatment: Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. Then follow that with NSAIDs such as Motrin or Advil. Compression is the least critical of these factors in treating elbow pain and may make it worse. Do not use compression where nerves or structures are already compressed such as pain from Cubital Tunnel Synrome.

Read More About Elbow Pain

  1. Bursitis Elbow Pain
  2. Cubital Tunnel
  3. Elbow Injuries in the Throwing Athlete (Good diagrams)
  4. Elbow Pain Basics
  5. Elbow Pain Problems
  6. Evaluation of Overuse Elbow Injuries
  7. Tennis Elbow Pain Basics
  8. Typical Elbow Injuries