Do you experience elbow pain regularly? Our physical therapists regularly answer frequently asked elbow pain questions, and we want to ensure that visitors to our site have answers to these common questions as well. If you are dealing with elbow pain, we may have an answer that describes your situation below.
How can I alleviate elbow pain that has been nagging for one month now?
Thank you for your question. I am sorry you are dealing with pain in your elbow. I know this can really get in the way of training and potentially your daily life.
As you may be aware, tendonitis is an inflammation of a tendon. This can be caused by direct trauma, overuse, or a result of a dysfunction in another area like the shoulder or even the neck. Sometimes you may hear the term tendinopathy, which is the same as what I just described happening over a longer period of time.
While rest and medication may help inflammation to subside for a period, it does not address the cause of the inflammation in the first place. For you, it is important that you receive a thorough evaluation from a skilled manual physical therapist.
The goal would initially be to determine whether you truly are dealing with tendonitis and identify any other contributing factors as well as rule out any other potential causes of your elbow pain. Once the cause is determined, a plan would need to be designed to address your needs specifically because everyone is different. This plan could include a variety of treatment approaches like manual therapy, specific stretching and strengthening exercises, and progression back to full function.
I have had elbow pain for 3 months now. My elbow felt like it locked up and wouldn’t extend fully or else the pain was quite severe. The problem is that I’ve rested it for over a month since that, and it still hurts when I even try hanging (like on a chin up bar) without pulling up. The pain does not feel like it is from a muscle and is not sensitive to the touch anywhere. The pain feels deep in the joint of the elbow.
The fact that you can now fully extend your elbow is a good sign. However, your continued elbow pain can stem from multiple sources to include joint, tendon, muscle and ligament.
My best recommendation is to seek an evaluation from a licensed manual physiotherapist. During the evaluation, your therapist will better be able to determine the cause of your continued pain, and help to develop an individualized treatment plan based on those findings that will help you get better much faster.
