Chiropractic Elbow Adjustment, Elbow Pain Treatment in Andersonville
Has your elbow been hurting for a few days, maybe even several weeks? Did you notice that after a weightlifting workout like CrossFit, it started bothering you and hasn’t been the same since? Maybe you stepped off the tennis courts after practice and can’t seem to get the inflammation to go down. Maybe you noticed it after carrying a large load of groceries that extra block after you couldn’t find a closer parking space? If you have persistent elbow pain, you’re not alone. Elbow pain is one of the most reported symptoms in the offices of primary care physicians and chiropractors alike. Given the consequences of the opioid epidemic, people are turning to natural and alternative forms of treatment with the most popular being chiropractic for elbow pain. Let’s take a closer look at the elbow, types of elbow pain, and how chiropractic care can help you. The elbow is a joint, which is the conjunction or meeting point of two or more bones. It’s also considered a ball-and-socket joint, which means that the bones form a cup shape around a slippery, gelatinous sac, which forms the “ball” in ball-and-socket. This ball allows movement of the joint in more than one direction. There are three bones that make up the elbow: The bones that make up the elbow, along with connective and muscle tissue, allow us to move the joint in the following ways: Flexion is a type of movement that decrease the distance or angle between two muscle groups. For example, when you perform a biceps curl, you are closing the gap between your humerus and ulna or upper and lower arm. Extension is just the opposite. This is when you increase the distance or angle between two muscle groups. A triceps extension is an example of this. As you push the cable rope down, you are increasing the distance between your humerus and ulna. Hold your hand out in front of you with the palm down. Now turn only your hand so that the palm is facing upward toward the ceiling. This is pronation. Supination is just the opposite. If you were to turn your hand back so that it’s facing the floor, this is supination. The complexity of bones, muscles, and ligaments meeting at this joint coupled with its range of motion, not to mention its range of everyday movements, can sometimes cause parts of this joint to become irritated or inflamed – the two most common sources of elbow pain. The causes for that irritation and inflammation are most often some combination of overexertion and overuse, though infection, genetics, and degenerative diseases can always play a role as well. Elbow pain, especially in an individual’s dominant arm, is one of the most common issues that we address in our office. Some of the most common causes of that elbow pain include the following: Tennis elbow is a pain or soreness that is felt on the outside of the elbow. A form of tendonitis, it is caused by damage to the muscles and tendons connecting the forearm muscles (the ulna and radius) to the elbow joint. Specifically, tennis elbow involves the muscles and tendons that connect to the bony spur on the outside of the elbow called the lateral epicondyle. This damage is most frequently caused by overuse of the joint, particularly when that overuse is repetitive. Although it is commonly referred to as “tennis” elbow; it is not exclusive to tennis players. Weightlifters, athletes, or anyone who does difficult repetitive movements with their arm can develop this form of form of tendonitis. Talking to a chiropractor certified in Selective Functional Movement Assessment is a great opportunity to discover the cause of your tennis elbow and how to treat it. Tennis elbow pain usually starts small and slowly increases, although occasionally (if rarely) the pain comes suddenly and as though out of nowhere. With tennis elbow, it can hurt to shake hands or squeeze an object. Any activity involving the elbow joint then exacerbates the pain. For example, it can hurt to lift items, brush your teeth, and grasp something even moderately heavy. Tennis elbow occurs more with men than women, and usually with people in the 30- to 50-year-old age range than in other age groups. Tennis elbow should not be ignored, and it is unlikely to go away on its own. While pain from tennis elbow starts on the outside of the elbow, if the condition is left untreated, the pain can spread down the arm all the way to the wrist. When this happens, simple tasks liking turning a key in a lock or open a door become painful and difficult, if not impossible. The following are the most common forms of treatment for Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis): Read More About Tennis Elbow Treatments available at Ravenswood Chiropractic in Andersonville. Also known as posterior elbow tendonitis, the difference between posterior tennis elbow and tennis elbow is in the part of the joint that’s affected. In “regular” tennis elbow, it’s the outside of the elbow. In posterior tennis elbow, it’s the back or underside of the elbow that’s involved. People who frequently do any activities or motions that rapidly extend the arm are at risk for triceps tendonitis. Getting a Selective Functional Movement Assessment from a certified chiropractic physician can identify what motions are contributing to your tendonitis and how to correct it. Activities include the following: The following are the most common forms of treatment for Posterior Tennis Elbow (Triceps Tendonitis) Golfer’s elbow is also similar to tennis elbow. The only differences being the location of the pain and the activities and motions that cause it. With golfer’s elbow, instead of the outside or back of the elbow being affected, it’s the inside of the elbow. With this golfing injury, a person may feel a shooting pain down the inside of their forearm as they’re trying to grip an object. Golfer’s elbow can be caused by a single violent jolt, but more often it is a form of repetitive stress injury, in which pain develops gradually over time as the repetitive actions continue being taken and the condition, untreated, worsens. Obviously, golfers are particularly susceptible to this condition but so are other types of people, some not even athletes such as a “weekend carpenter” who uses hand tools. A Selective Functional Movement Assessment can identify what motion is contributing to your Golfer’s Elbow and how to correct it. The following are the most common forms of treatment for Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis): Posterior Impingement Syndrome, also known as Posterior Elbow Impingement, is caused by repeated over-extension of the arm, especially when the motion is forced, such as when throwing. People especially prone to posterior impingement syndrome include: The injury starts with this repeated forced extension of the arm causing the tip of one bone to jam into the hollow of another. This leads initially to an inflammation of the joint lining, but if left untreated can lead to pain in the cartilage and bone as well. Symptoms of elbow impingement are generally felt as tenderness or pain in the back of the elbow, particularly while attempting to straighten the elbow or throw an object. The elbow may swell up, and become stiff, with an increasing difficulty in fully straighten the arm out. Pain generally starts out gradually and develops over time with continued aggravation and no treatment. The following are the most common forms of treatment for Posterior Impingement Syndrome: Little League Elbow is an overuse injury that is caused by repeated forced throwing. It’s common in young little league baseball players, especially pitchers around the age of puberty (ages 9 to 16). What’s more, it occurs in boys more than girls, simply because there are more boys playing in Little League than girls. The ligament that attaches to the inside of the elbow starts to tug at one of the growth plates, pulling it away from the bone. The growth plate is extremely important at this stage in a child’s life because it is the site where the muscle groups attach that are responsible for flexing the rest and rotating the arm with palm facing down. Since a child is still growing – and obviously that includes the bones – it causes the dislocated growth plate to become weak and injury prone. Then, when tissue starts breaking down from the overuse of the arm and elbow, it breaks down too fast for the body to be able to repair it. Little League Elbow can be caused or worsened by throwing the ball too hard or too often, upping the number of weekly pitches too fast and too soon, or throwing too many sliders or curve balls at too young an age. It’s also possible to develop Little League Elbow from switching into a league that has the pitcher’s mound located farther away than the child is used to from home plate, or the mound is raised, and the child has never thrown from that height. If you have a child who is currently playing baseball, it’s important to be aware of the symptoms of this condition as they might not tell you how they are actually feeling. For example, they might be afraid you won’t let them play baseball anymore, and so they will hide symptoms when they are still easily treatable. The following are the most common forms of treatment for Little League Elbow: Bursae are the joint’s shock absorbers. They are the gelatinous sacs referred to at the beginning of this article that cushion the bones that meet at a joint. Olecranon bursitis, also known as elbow bursitis, is when the bursa in the elbow joint is injured, irritated, or inflamed. There are several things that cause elbow bursitis: The bursa of the elbow joint is located at the tip of the elbow, between the bones of the elbow and the loose skin surrounding it. Its purpose is to enable the skin free movement over the bone beneath. Usually this bursa is flat, but when it becomes injured or irritated it can become inflamed. The main sign of olecranon bursitis is inflammation, though since the skin around it is so loose, it is sometimes hard to notice right away. But over time, untreated, further inflammation develops, causing pain and eventual difficulty moving the elbow. If an infection is involved, then redness and swelling might also be present. The following are the most common forms of treatment for Olecranon Bursitis: Chiropractic is a proven, safe, and effective therapy for elbow pain that promotes healing and restores strength without surgery or medication. Chiropractic aims not only to relieve the pain itself but to address the structural components such as the muscles and skeleton. Both of which contribute to the condition being there in the first place. [1] Elbow pain should never be taken lightly, as the longer the condition lasts, the longer it will take to treat it. As it stands, it still could take up to eight weeks or more for a patient suffering from certain types of elbow pain to experience a full recovery. Are you experiencing elbow pain? Call us today at 773.878.7330 to find out how chiropractic and physical therapy can help relieve your elbow pain. Gliedt JA, Daniels CJ. Chiropractic treatment of lateral epicondylitis: a case report utilizing active release techniques. J Chiropr Med. 2014;13(2):104-109. doi:10.1016/j.jcm.2014.06.009.Elbow Pain
Do You Have One of These Types of Elbow Pain?
A Brief Introduction to the Elbow
Movement of the Elbow
Flexion
Extension
Pronation
Supination
The Elbow’s Susceptibility to Inflammation
Common Elbow Pain-Related Conditions We Treat
Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis)
Treatments for Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis)
Posterior Tennis Elbow (Triceps Tendonitis)
Treatments for Posterior Tennis Elbow (Triceps Tendonitis)
Golfer’s Elbow (Medial Epicondylitis)
Treatments for Golfer’s Elbow (Medial Epicondylitis)
Posterior Impingement Syndrome
Treatments for Posterior Impingement Syndrome
Little League Elbow
Symptoms of Little League Elbow
Treatments for Little League Elbow
Olecranon Bursitis (Elbow Bursitis)
Treatments for Olecranon Bursitis
Chiropractic for Elbow Pain
Are You Experiencing Elbow Pain?
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