Elbow Pain

Elbow pain is any kind of musculoskeletal pain in or around your elbow joint. It could be related to bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments or other tissues. It could also be from an elbow injury or disease. To help figure out why your elbow hurts, your healthcare provider will ask you detailed questions about your pain, like:

• Do you feel it on the outside or inside of your elbow?
• Is it worse when bending or straightening your arm?
• Is the pain dull and aching, or sharp and shooting?
• Do you have other symptoms, like numbness, tingling or stiffness?
• How long has your elbow been sore? Is it getting better or worse?

Most causes of elbow pain aren’t serious and can heal with home care. But it’s important to understand your part in helping it heal. Some injuries and conditions will continue to worsen without appropriate care. If it’s been a week and your elbow still hurts, reach out to a healthcare provider.

What are some common causes of elbow pain?

Repetitive strain injuries are the most common causes of pain and tenderness in your elbow joint. These are mild injuries that happen when you use your elbow too much — for example, by repeating certain movements. They usually affect the soft tissues in your elbow joint, like tendons, bursae and nerves.

Examples include:

• Tendonitis: Tendonitis is a common sports injury. It’s called tennis elbow when it affects the tendon on the outer side of your elbow, and golfer’s elbow when it’s on the inner side.
• Bursitis: Elbow bursitis is inflammation in the bursae at the point of your elbow. It’s often an overuse injury. Sometimes, an infection causes it.
• Nerve compression syndromes: Repetitive motion or pressure may pinch a nerve in your elbow. You’ll feel radial tunnel syndrome on the outside, and cubital tunnel syndrome on the inside.

Other common causes include:

• Arthritis: Arthritis means pain and swelling in a joint. Osteoarthritis is the most common type to affect your elbow. Other types include rheumatoid arthritis, post-traumatic arthritis and gout.
• Trauma: If you hurt your elbow recently and it’s still painful, it might be injured. Possible injuries include sprains, strains, fractures and dislocations. In children, nursemaid elbow is common.

Less common causes include:

• Bone spurs or bone fragments in your joint
• Referred pain from your neck or shoulder

How do healthcare providers treat elbow pain?

Your treatment will depend on your diagnosis. Some conditions might need surgery to improve. Others might need specific medications. Children who have a pulled elbow usually just need a quick, hands-on adjustment, called a closed reduction. But they need an experienced healthcare provider to do it.

If you have a repetitive strain injury, it might just need more time to heal than you’d expect. Tendons and ligaments heal very slowly. Your healthcare provider might suggest orthoses, like taping or bracing your elbow, to help hold your tissues in place while they heal. Other treatments might include:

• Prescription pain medications: Sometimes, a steroid injection directly into your elbow can help reduce pain and inflammation.
• Platelet-rich plasma injections: Platelet-rich plasma is a new, experimental treatment that may help with pain and healing.
• Physical therapy: Stretching, strengthening and massaging different tissues in your elbow can help support the injured tissues and encourage healing.
• Surgery: In severe cases, you might need surgery to remove chronically inflamed or damaged tissues, or to release a trapped nerve.

Home care

Children with elbow pain should go directly to a healthcare provider for diagnosis. They’re more likely to have injuries that need hands-on treatment. But if you’re an adult, you haven’t had a memorable elbow injury and the pain in your elbow is relatively mild, you can start by treating it at home. Start with:

• Rest: If any of your elbow tissues are strained or inflamed, they need rest to start healing. It’s especially important to stop any activities that put extra stress on your elbow.
• Pain relief: Ice is a powerful pain reliever, especially when there’s inflammation and swelling. You can also use over-the-counter medications, like NSAIDs and acetaminophen.

If your painful elbow doesn’t improve with home care, it’s time to see a healthcare provider. Your healthcare provider will get to the bottom of what’s causing your persistent elbow pain. With the right diagnosis, they can suggest treatments and a timeline that are more specific to your recovery.

What are the possible risks or complications of not treating elbow pain?

Ignoring the pain in your elbow won’t help it. Any condition that causes persistent pain can do lasting damage. Injuries may heal incorrectly or fail to heal completely. Some repetitive strain injuries can even start to change your tissues. For example, chronic tendonitis that doesn’t heal can turn into tendinosis.

What can I do to prevent elbow pain?

If you use your elbow often for work or recreation, take steps to reduce your risk of repetitive strain injuries. Make sure to warm up and cool down properly before activity and give your elbow time to recover afterward. If you have young children, don’t pull them or swing them around by the arms.

When should I see a healthcare provider about elbow pain?

Seek care for elbow pain if:

• It belongs to a child
• It doesn’t improve with home care
• You can’t move or bend your arm
• You have nerve-related symptoms
• You have severe swelling, bruising or bleeding
• You suspect a serious injury