Your elbow is such an important part of your body, one that you probably take for granted often. You use it anytime you move your hand, arm, or shoulder, and life without a functioning elbow is surprisingly difficult. Most elbow injuries that bring them into the doctor are caused by everyday strains, rather than a big injury. If your elbow joints are aggravated and you’re not giving it the time it needs to heal, you can find yourself with a painful injury.
Tennis elbow
This is one of the most common elbow injuries that we see. This is an overuse issue in the tendons on the outside of the elbow. It’s technically a type of tendinitis, and you don’t have to play tennis in order to develop it. You can contract tennis elbow from things as simple as swimming, yard work, and even typing.
Flexor Tendinitis
Another type of tendinitis, this one affects the tendons on the inside of the elbow. These are the tendons that are attached to the upper arm bone on the inside of your arm. If you feel persistent pain on the inside of your arm and elbow, you may have flexor tendinitis!
Ulnar Collateral Ligament(UCL) Injury
This one is another type of inner elbow injury, often commonly seen among throwers. UCL damage can come from a range of things, such as a minor tear or inflammation, to a complete ligament rupture.
Olecranon Stress Fracture
If your muscles become weak, the stress that would normally be placed on your muscles is transferred to the bones. This can lead to small cracks developing in the bone. This injury is most often contracted in athletes and anyone who uses their arms with a lot of force.
Ligament sprains
Not all elbow injuries are going to be within the bones, muscles, and tendons. Your ligaments are also at risk of damage when overused and you don’t take proper care of them! Luckily, if you sprain your ligaments, it is a lot easier to heal, and the downtime is considerably less, than if you tear them.