Our arms are used in almost every aspect of our lives, as your elbow leads and drives most of your everyday actions. The elbow directs and pivots the arm, making your movements even more dynamic while your hands do all the fussy work.
A sore elbow may stop you in your tracks and leave you irritated, whether you’re playing tennis, cleaning the home, or pushing yourself at the gym. While it may be tempting just to take a pain reliever, the key to long-term treatment is to understand why the elbow is swollen and uncomfortable in the first place.
The elbow joint can withstand a lot, but it is nevertheless susceptible to accidents, infections, and other ailments. The elbow can be affected by various conditions, but tendonitis is the most prevalent. Tendonitis happens when one or both of the major elbow tendons become inflamed, usually due to recurrent arm tension.
So, let’s take a closer look at why your elbow may be hurting and how to treat the pain to ensure you can make the most of this critical joint for many years to come!
Why Does My Elbow Hurt?
Tennis or golfer’s elbow, commonly known as lateral and medial epicondylitis, is inflammation of the tendons on either the elbow’s outer (lateral) or inner (medial) region that causes this injury. The discomfort is caused by overuse of the elbow, in which tendons are stretched repeatedly until microscopic rips emerge.
This sort of injury is quite frequent in those who participate in sports that require throwing or repeated upper-body motions. Although, tennis or golfer’s elbow (depending on which side of the elbow the pain affects) is a kind of tendonitis that isn’t just confined to sports. In fact, the tennis elbow is only responsible for 5% of all tendonitis occurrences!
The muscles, nerves, and other tissue surrounding the joint become irritated when the tendon inflames. This results in discomfort, swelling, and redness, which is exacerbated when the elbow is moved.
The good news is that tendinitis is usually something you can manage on your own!
How to Treat an Elbow Injury
RICE (rest, ice, compress, elevate) is one of the most commonly utilised strategies for treating an injury! Using these treatments on your elbow is a terrific approach to relieve tendonitis. Here’s a closer look at how to utilise each one to its greatest potential.
- Rest
As the tendon rests, it naturally recovers, enabling the muscle fibres to repair correctly and the inflammation to subside. While the pain is felt in the elbow, it’s crucial to rest your entire arm because these tendons are related to the hand and wrist. To relax the tendon, avoid holding, turning/twisting things, or lifting with your hands.
- Ice
Icing your elbow, especially after an accident or activity, is an excellent technique to reduce swelling and discomfort immediately. It is significantly more helpful to use a cold compress. However, this might be tricky. Thankfully, you can use a sporting elbow brace to your advantage! Refrigerate the sporting elbow brace for 20 minutes before exercise or activity to function as a cold compress for tendon relief.
- Compress
Compression therapy is undoubtedly the most effective approach to help your muscles recuperate after being strained or fatigued. While strapping or bandaging might assist, it’s crucial to ensure it’s neither too tight nor too loose and that the blood is flowing in the appropriate direction. Using medical-grade support like a sporting elbow brace while you’re moving is a much more terrific method to provide active compression.
A well-fitting sporting elbow brace can enhance your quality of life dramatically. By releasing the joint and strained tendons, it helps to relieve pain and suffering. By offering more excellent stability and good proprioception, a sporting elbow brace helps reduce the risk of future injuries, and you will be able to return to your active lifestyle sooner if you utilise a sporting elbow brace.
- Elevate
Elevating an injured limb has the primary benefit of allowing blood to flow through and out of the damaged region, hence minimising swelling. While your elbows are usually raised in some fashion, moving the arm at the shoulder joint allows your muscles to flow blood through the arm without putting tension on the damaged tendon.
When Should You Seek Help for a Painful and Swollen Elbow?
While taking care of your elbow problem at home is beneficial in many circumstances, it is occasionally necessary or even critical to seek medical assistance.
While tendonitis is the most common cause of swelling and discomfort, it can also be a sign of a fracture, nerve difficulties, or problems with the joint itself in more severe situations. If you detect any of the symptoms listed below, get medical attention as soon as possible!
- High degrees of discomfort that prevent you from moving your arm.
- Numbness or numbness in the fingers and hands.
- A distinct swelling that disrupts the elbow’s typical form.
- Discolouration of the painful region for a long time.
- The elbow has a limited range of motion.
Which Sporting Elbow BraceShould I Use?
An extensive range of sporting braces and straps is available in today’s market, but comfortability and fit are the most crucial consideration. If your sporting elbow brace is too large or small, the brace can have adverse effects on your injury. Similarly, if your brace is too uncomfortable, you will be discouraged to wear it, and thus, the brace will have no positive impact on you.
Therefore, it is essential to purchasing a well-fitting sporting elbow brace as it may make a big difference in minimising your pain and suffering. The fabric manufacturing of the brace is also an important consideration as it can aid or prevent treatment. With high quality and specially designed medical fabric manufacturing, you can rely on the effectiveness and comfortability of the sporting support braces.
High-quality fabric manufacturing can also produce self-cooling textiles, which are shown to reduce body temperatures by 1-2 degrees, promoting improvements in total body performance. These straps and braces are adjustable for a firm yet comfortable fit.
How Often Should the sporting Elbow BraceBe Worn?
We recommend wearing the brace all day, especially if you do sports or use your elbow frequently. Once you’ve become used to wearing the brace, you may only need to wear it while you’re active. Wearing a compression brace while sleeping is not recommended since it may create circulation problems.
How Long Should the Sporting Elbow BraceBe Worn?
The amount of time you wear an elbow brace is determined by the severity of your injury. A doctor or expert will be able to provide you with further information about your specific injury. A damaged tendon in the elbow, on the other hand, normally takes 1-3 weeks to feel better. Usually, by the third to the fifth week, the damage has healed.
