One of the most common complaints with which people turn to a doctor is a pain in the elbow joint of the hands. Depending on the nature and type of pain, the patient can apply to a traumatologist, rheumatologist or neurologist.
Pain may occur with flexion and extension of the hand, or not depend on movement. Painful sensations extend to the tendons, muscles, bones and joints of the arm, above the lesion.
The reasons why it can occur a lot. That is why it is necessary to undergo examination by a specialist who will accurately identify the causes of pain, tell what it means, and prescribe a comprehensive treatment.
Anatomy of the elbow joint
The elbow joint of the bones( humerus and elbow) is formed by three joints united by a joint joint capsule:
- The articular joint is a ball-shaped articulation of the bones represented by the heads of the shoulder and radius bones. The direction of movement of the joint is organized according to the frontal axis and is performed together with the shoulder joint. The proximal radiophilic joint has a cylindrical shape, carrying out rotational movements.
- The adrenaline joint is a union of bones with helical articular surfaces. The humerus, which has a block at its lower end, is connected to the helical groove and the comb of the ulna. The movements of this joint are produced in an amplitude of up to 140 degrees.
The elbow joint protrudes through a thin layer of skin and is well felt by palpation. Due to frequent flexion and extension of the arm, as well as the presence of protruding sites of the joint articulation, strokes and other injuries of the elbow are frequent.
Causes of pain in the elbow of the hands
Periodically occurring discomfort in the elbow area may indicate the presence of a variety of different diseases. So, consider the main causes that cause pain in the elbow joint:
- arthritis;
- arthrosis;
- gout;
- epicondylitis( lateral and medial);
- bursitis;
- pain syndromes;
- mechanical damage.
The appearance of pain in the elbow joint should alert the person. Pain can be a characteristic symptom of various diseases, which can be identified by a highly qualified specialist after carrying out serious diagnostic measures.
Causes of pain in the elbow when flexing and unbending
Pain in the elbow joint with flexion and extension of the right or left hand is noted with such ailments:
- arthritis, bursitis - any movements in the elbow joint are painful, the acute phase is characterized by edema,
- fever, rednessskin over the affected joint;
- deforming arthrosis( usually accompanied by a crunch, painful and unbending);
- after injury;
- tumor.
Pain sensations in the elbow when flexing the brush and rotating( turning the brush) occur against the background of the medial epicondylitis( "golf player's elbow").
Causes of pain on the inside of the hand
Pain on the inside occurs with medial epicondylitis, with bruises and other traumatic injuries from the inside of the elbow.
Damage to the limbs with injuries
No one is insured against injuries, hence, from the pains caused by them in the elbows. Dislocations, sprains, fractures can be the result of a fall or even improper limb movement.
In case of a fracture of the pain, very strong, the hand becomes paralyzed( takes an atypical position), it is difficult to move, a swelling or puffiness of the entire limb is formed at the fracture site, bruising may occur. The strength of pain, the size and nature of the external manifestations depend on the complexity of the fracture.
In case of dislocations and sprains, the symptoms are similar: pain acute, strong, limb swelling, injury site may turn red, swell. Various external manifestations also occur with damage to nerve fibers and blood vessels: the first - weakness, numbness, tingling, while the second - the pallor and coldness of the skin at the site of injury.
Arthritis
Pain in the elbow is manifested when flexing / unbending the arm at the bottom of the elbow. After a short period of time, the pain syndrome completely covers the joint, any movement by hand leads to its strengthening. Painful sensations are not released even in moments of complete rest. Rarely observed swelling, limited movements, with the motion of the joint can hear crunches.
You can treat it with either medication or surgical methods. The medication method can include maintaining complete rest of the joint, taking medicines, physiotherapy.in some cases it is necessary to do the operation. The essence of surgical intervention is to remove problem areas of the bone or complete replacement of the joint.
Osteoarthritis
Joint disease, accompanied by degenerative-dystrophic changes, which happens due to the defeat of cartilage tissue on the articular membrane.
In this case, the pain syndrome is not as pronounced in the elbow joint as in the first case( arthritis).Moreover, the pain sensations are felt only by sharp movements with the highest amplitude: when trying to force your arms out at the elbow, or on the contrary, try to bend them very tightly. Immediately, at these very moments of movement in the joint, patients often note the appearance of a crunch, in which the elbow is somewhat swollen.
With palpation of the ulnar region, soreness is practically not felt, there is no reddening, an increase in the temperature of the skin surface. This is due to the fact that with arthrosis there is no intensive inflammatory process. With the increase in the course of the disease, the mobility of the joint gradually decreases, it becomes more difficult for the patient to perform any actions by the upper limbs, while the amplitude of movements available at a given moment is sharply reduced.
Deforming osteoarthritis
This degenerative elbow disease, which is based on the gradual destruction of articular surfaces. It develops due to worsening of blood circulation in this area, as well as after injuries due to violation of congruence of articular surfaces.
First the patient feels the pain in the elbow periodically, it is aching and tolerant enough. At the initial stages of the movement are preserved in full. At later stages of the disease, joint deformation occurs, impaired mobility, painful sensations( pain, pulling, aching, can be observed at rest, accompanied by a characteristic crunch).
Treatment: taking medications that improve blood supply and nutrition of the joint. If necessary, surgical procedures are performed - plastic or an elbow replacement.
Gout
Disease involves the deposition of urate( uric acid salts).Diseases are more susceptible to men than women. Gout can affect any joint, including the elbow. In women, the disease can occur after the onset of menopause, and in men - after forty years. People who suffer from diabetes mellitus or hypertension are prone to gout.
The cause may be malnutrition, frequent alcohol consumption or hereditary predisposition. Attacks of the disease occur at night. The patient experiences intense and sudden pain, fever in the affected joint. If the disease is not treated, seizures become more frequent.
Epicondylitis
The most common reason is the repetitive movements of the same type: work at the dacha, exercise, control the computer mouse, any mechanisms that require flexor muscles or extensor flexors.
The soreness is typical when you feel the attachment points of the tendons of these muscles, as well as the pain with active flexion of the hand( inner epicondylitis) or extension( external).Pain can continue down on the forearm. Movement in the elbow joint, as a rule, is not limited.
In addition, epicondylitis very often affects athletes, especially players in tennis and golf, hence the other names - "tennis elbow" and "elbow of the golfer."
Epicondylitis lateral
Depending on which elbow bone is affected( lateral or medial), two types of epicondylitis are divided: lateral and medial. Symptoms of lateral epicondylitis:
- Pain localizes in the region of the lateral epicondyle and extends to the posterior surface of the muscles of the forearm;
- Acute pain that occurs when the load, for example, after training, and increases with any load, even minimal( raising the cup with tea);
- Restrictions of movements are not observed, but in an acute period because of pain patients can specially spare a sick hand;
- Symptoms of inflammation do not happen, if the elbow is swollen, then the epicondylitis can be excluded.
The disease acquires a chronic progressive nature, with the pain syndrome increasing, which leads to the inability of a person to perform the usual actions and continue to play sports.
Epicondylitis medial
The disease is similar to the lateral epicondylitis. Again, despite the name "golfer elbow," medial epicondylitis is often observed in those who have nothing to do with golf. Characteristic features: pain is felt around the articulation and especially strongly from the inside.
Treatment can be prescribed as:
- NSAIDs( ibuprofen);
- injection of cortisone;
- physiotherapy;
- electrostimulation;
- extracorporeal shock wave therapy;
- iontophoresis;
- load correction during active operations.
Surgical treatment methods include the removal of dead tissue of the tendon and the "alteration" of the tendon to another location.
Tendonitis
Inflammation of the tendon in the place where it is attached to the joint. The pain reveals itself with some active movements, the same passive movements of symptoms do not cause.
When feeling a damaged tendon, pain also appears. Over the zone of inflammation the skin blushes and its temperature rises, a swelling appears. Hearing of a sinew.
Bursitis
With the development of this disease, the patient has an inflammation of the joint bag, which is located at the junction of the three bones of the elbow joint. The appearance of bursitis is often preceded by various injury injuries, bruises, etc.
In the stage of active development of bursitis, the patient is visually determined by a rounded neoplasm, in the region of the elbow process, when exposed to which a person begins to experience pain.
Diagnosis
If you have joint pain, the best thing a person can do is to see a doctor to find out the cause of the pain. Despite such a huge number of causes of pain in the elbow, diagnosis in the vast majority of cases is easy to put.
Already during the conversation with the patient, the doctor will make assumptions about the nature of the pathology, based on the history of the disease( the circumstances of pain, etc.), the peculiarities of pain. Examination and palpation( feeling) will help confirm the presence of a disease, injury.
Further examination will be made based on the expected diagnosis:
- X-ray;
- puncture of the joint with cytological examination of the punctate( evaluate the cellular composition of the obtained fluid);
- joint ultrasound;
- arthroscopy( visualization of the joint cavity using special endoscopic technique),
- which complements joint puncture;
- computer and magnetic resonance imaging;
- laboratory tests for suspected gout, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.
How to treat pain in the elbow joint will directly depend on the established diagnosis.
Treatment of pain in the elbow joint
Due to the fact that when referring to any of the specialists( traumatologist, rheumatologist or neurologist) patients experience strong pain, they are first of all assigned:
- painkillers;
- corticosteroids;
- modifiers and sleeping pills.
Tablets such as Nalgezin, etc. are often used for first aid. Some patients do not tolerate oral medications, so they are prescribed ointments and gels that relieve pain.
Another effective treatment for ulnar joint diseases is physiotherapy. Electrophoresis, barotherapy, magnetotherapy, paraffin applications, ozocerite and mud wraps allow the acute exacerbation of inflammatory joint diseases in the shortest possible time. Treatment procedures should be conducted by the course, usually to improve the state requires 10-12 sessions.