Urgent Care for Elbow Injuries in Hickory, NC

Tennis elbow, also known as lateral epicondylitis, is a painful condition of the elbow caused by overuse. It’s most commonly felt on the outside of the elbow where the forearm muscles attach to the bone.

Tennis elbow is caused by repetitive motions of the forearm muscles and tendons. These motions can cause tiny tears in the tendons, which leads to pain and inflammation. While the name suggests it’s related to tennis, tennis elbow can affect people who don’t play tennis. Other activities that can cause tennis elbow include:

Painting

Carpentry

Plumbing

Using screwdrivers

Chopping vegetables

Other activities that require repetitive gripping or wrist movements

The pain of tennis elbow can range from mild to severe. It’s usually worse when you grip something or extend your wrist. You may also have weakness in your grip.

Nursemaid’s elbow, also known as pulled elbow, is a common injury among toddlers and preschoolers. It occurs when the ligament that holds the radius bone in place at the elbow joint slips out of position, causing the elbow to become partially dislocated.

Causes of nursemaid’s elbow

Even a little force can be enough to pull a young child’s elbow joint out of place. Common causes of nursemaid’s elbow include:

Swinging your child around by the hands or arms

Lifting your child up by the hands

Pulling your child’s arm through a jacket sleeve

Catching your child from falling by the hand

Pulling your child suddenly by the hand to avoid dange

Symptoms of nursemaid’s elbow

The most common symptom of nursemaid’s elbow is sudden pain in the elbow, often after a pulling motion on the arm. Other symptoms may include:

Refusal to use the injured arm

Holding the arm limply at the side or with a slight bend

Crying or fussiness

Tenderness around the elbow joint

Golfer’s elbow, also known as medial epicondylitis, is quite similar to tennis elbow, but it affects the other side of the elbow joint. Similar to tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow is caused by overuse and repetitive motions that strain the tendons on the inside of the elbow. This overuse leads to tiny tears and inflammation in the tendons.

Activities That Can Cause Golfer’s Elbow

While the name suggests golf, golfer’s elbow can affect people in various professions or activities that involve gripping, twisting, or forceful wrist bending. Examples include:

Golfing

Racquet sports

Weightlifting

Throwing sports

Manual labor jobs requiring repetitive arm movements

Golfer’s Elbow Symptoms

The main symptom is pain on the inner side of the elbow, radiating down the forearm towards the wrist. The pain often worsens with gripping objects, flexing the wrist, or twisting the forearm. Weakness in the grip is also common.

Elbow strains and sprains are injuries to the ligaments and tendons that support the elbow joint. Ligaments are bands of tissue that connect bones together, while tendons are bands of tissue that connect muscles to bones. Elbow strains and sprains can occur from a variety of causes, such as falls, accidents, and sports injuries.

Symptoms of elbow strains and sprains include pain, swelling, and bruising around the elbow joint. The elbow may also feel stiff or unstable.

An olecranon fracture is a break in the bony tip of the elbow, which is part of the ulna, one of the two bones in your forearm. The olecranon is the pointy piece of bone that you can feel at the tip of your elbow. It forms a part of the elbow joint and provides attachment for the triceps tendon, the powerful muscle that helps you straighten your arm.

This type of fracture is fairly common and can happen at any age, but it’s more likely to occur in older adults who have weaker bones. Olecranon fractures are most often caused by a direct blow to the elbow, such as from a fall onto an outstretched hand or a collision during contact sports. They can also be caused by a forceful pull on the triceps tendon, which can sometimes detach a small piece of bone from the olecranon.

Symptoms of an olecranon fracture can include:

Sudden and severe pain in the elbow

Swelling, bruising, and tenderness around the elbow

Difficulty straightening the elbow

Deformity of the elbow joint

Numbness or tingling in the fingers