Are You Sick?

Causes of Elbow Pain

• Muscle Overuse(strained muscles). Elbow pains are often from hard muscle work or sports. Examples are too much throwing or tennis. This type of pain can last from hours up to 7 days.
• Trapped Nerves. The nerves in the neck or arm can become trapped or squeezed where they pass through narrow spaces in the arm. This causes pain, numbness or tingling. Nerves trapped in the neck can cause severe pain and loss of movement in the shoulder, elbow and arm.
• Joint Inflammation. Examples are rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and gout. Some, like gout, may affect just one joint. Others affect many joints at the same time. Osteoarthritis is due to wear and tear on the joints. It can cause pain, stiffness and loss of movement. Rheumatoid arthritis usually affects the same joint(s) on both sides of the body. Early treatment may help prevent long-term damage to those joints.
• Septic Arthritis (serious) is a bacterial infection of the joint space. Main symptoms are fever and severe pain when you move the joint. You may not be able to move the joint at all. Seek care right away.
• Tendinitis is inflammation of tendons where they attach to the bone. This causes tenderness in the area and pain when the limb is moved or used. It's caused by overuse. Often needs a long period of rest from the activity that caused it. A steroid shot may be needed to reduce the pain.
• Bursitis. Many joints are covered by fluid-filled sacs called bursae. They help the joint move smoothly. These bursae can get inflamed or infected, causing pain and swelling. The area may look red and feel warm to touch. See your doctor right away if you have these symptoms.

Pain Scale

• Mild: you feel some pain, but it does not keep you from any normal activities. Work, activities and sleep are not changed.
• Moderate: the pain keeps you from doing some normal activities. It may wake you up from sleep.
• Severe: the pain is very bad. It keeps you from doing all normal activities.