Elbow complaints
Tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow. These are familiar terms when people talk about elbow problems. Even if you have never held a tennis racket in your life, it is still possible to get a tennis elbow. Tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow are both terms that refer to complaints which occur when you push your body over the limit. Like a system overload.
Anatomy of the elbow
The elbow is the joint between your upper arm and forearm. The biceps enable your arm to bend, while the triceps enable you to stretch your arm. It is a special joint. As well as the bending and stretching, it also lets you turn your forearm. The turning takes place between the radius and ulna with the upper arm. So to speak, the bones are more or less gliding against each other in order to make the turn. The most infamous nerve in the arm is the ‘Nervus Ulnaris’. This nerve gives a signal to your brain when you hit your elbow and you get the feeling that you are ‘electrified’. That is why Dutch people tend to call the point of the elbow ‘the electric bone’.
Symptoms of elbow complaints
How to determine if you have a problem in your elbow? When you experience pain while handshaking, lifting your hand, stretching or bending your arm you may suspect you have a problem. The pain can differ of course depending on the problem in the arm. The pain can also be felt locally, such as a pressure pain on the outer protrusion of the elbow. In addition, the forearm may feel stiff and swollen. Pain can occur immediately after an effort, like sport or lifting something heavy. More often the pain will appear gradually caused by repeated long-term load.
When a chiropractor has determined that you have a tennis elbow, this complaint has usually been caused by strain stretching from the wrist up. The muscles that are supporting this movement have been in the stretched position for too long or too often. Examples of work that have a greater risk of causing a complaint are: working long hours behind a computer with a mouse, being a construction worker such as a bricklayer, a carpenter or a painter. In doing these jobs you will use your wrist all the time, often at great stress. The muscles that control the wrist are attached to the elbow. This is why the complaints occur in the elbow and your forearm will feel heavy and massive at the same time. A golfer’s elbow has the same kind of symptoms, but more on the inside of your forearm.