Elbow Injuries and Disorders

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Treatments and Therapies

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• Specifics

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Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Your elbow joint is made up of bone, cartilage, ligaments and fluid. Muscles and tendons help the elbow joint move. When any of these structures is hurt or diseased, you have elbow problems.

Many things can make your elbow hurt. A common cause is tendinitis, an inflammation or injury to the tendons that attach muscle to bone. Tendinitis of the elbow is a sports injury, often from playing tennis or golf. You may also get tendinitis from overuse of the elbow.

Other causes of elbow pain include sprains and strains, fractures (broken bones), dislocations, bursitis, and arthritis. Treatment depends on the cause.

Start Here

• Elbow Pain (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Bone X-Ray (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Direct Arthrography (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Hand/Wrist/Arm Problems (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• X-Ray Exam: Elbow (Nemours Foundation)

Treatments and Therapies

• Joint and Soft Tissue Injections (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Elbow (Olecranon) Bursitis (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons)
• Elbow (Olecranon) Fractures (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons)
• Golfer's Elbow (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Osteochondritis Dissecans (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• Repetitive Motion Disorders (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
• Tennis Elbow (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis) (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons)
• Ulnar Nerve Entrapment at the Elbow (Cubital Tunnel Syndrome) (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Cubital Tunnel Syndrome (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Elbow Injuries (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Elbow Injuries (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Tennis Elbow (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Comparative study of open elbow arthrolysis with and without hinge external...
• Article: Impact of the COL1A1 Gene Polymorphisms on Pain Perception in Tennis...
• Article: A Longitudinal Study of the Relationship Between Lower Extremity Field Tests...
• Elbow Injuries and Disorders -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Also in Spanish

Children

• Osteochondritis Dissecans (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Elbow pain (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Elbow replacement (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Elbow sprain -- aftercare (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Medial epicondylitis - golfer's elbow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Nursemaid's elbow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Tennis elbow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Tennis elbow surgery (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish