Elbow giving you grief? Pain trying to open a jar or type on your computer?

Elbow and forearm pain are a common area of pain that osteopaths treat. Pain can be isolated to the elbow joint, or refer down the forearm to the hand or up the arm. You might notice the pain when lifting things, opening a jar, carrying something heavy, trying to button up your shirt or do up your pants. The pain can be described as sharp, dull, achey, throbbing and so on. There are many components to the elbow and forearm that can cause pain. Your osteopath will work with you to find the cause of pain and treat you accordingly. Treatment is generally never isolated to the area you feel the pain as other areas can influence the painful region and be part of the problem. For example you might have 'tennis elbow' correctly known as lateral epicondylitis, treatment will release the tight muscles and tendon of the common extensor tendon but also address any issues in the wrist, arm, neck and upper back as all these areas influence the elbow but also they have to work harder to compensate for the pain you are experiencing. The opposite side of your body is often treated to as its is over worked as it compensates for the painful side. 

Some causes of elbow pain:

- Olecranon bursitis

- Tennis elbow/Lateral epicondylitis

- Golfer's elbow/Medial epicondylitis

- Ligament strains

- Dislocated elbow

- Fracture elbow

- Cubital tunnel syndrome

- Arthritis

Do I need an X-ray or ultrasound?

Your osteopath will assess your elbow with active (you move your elbow) + passive (the osteopath moves your elbow) movements, orthopaedic testing, muscle testing, neurological testing and palpation (feeling the joint and surrounding tissues). By physical assessment and based on the information given in the case history, your osteopath might send you for a xray +/- an ultrasound to investigate what is causing the pain. Your osteopath can also refer you to a specialist if required. 

How can osteopathy help my elbow pain?

Osteopathic treatment is a form of hands-on, physical therapy that is tailored to the individual patient. Finding the cause of your pain is the first goal of the appointment, next is fixing the pain so it ideally won't come back. Sometimes this is not always applicable for example if you have arthritis but getting you in the best possible condition and as pain free as possible is ideal. Stretches and exercises are given where appropriate. Osteopathic treatment is never isolated to the area of pain. Osteopathic philosophy is to treat the body as a whole. So treatment often includes a variety of body regions.