What Else Do You Need To Know about Elbow Pain?
Elbow pain is usually more common in athletes and people who engage in frequent and repetitive hand work. They are usually overuse injuries, and patients who develop this type of pain are traditionally tennis players. However, there are no formal statistics on elbow pain as a whole because these injuries have many comorbid diseases and diagnoses.
Elbow pain caused by chronic disease is usually due to inflammation. Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are the most common causes. There are no official records of how many patients with arthritis have elbow pain, but we know that articulation is commonly taken by the disease. A recent study about this symptom in patients with rheumatoid arthritis suggests that over 35% of patients have their elbow taken by the disease. When arthritis in the elbow causes joint effusion, it is more likely that patients will experience pain.
Depending on the nature and causes of the symptoms, elbow pain can be self-limited and resolve spontaneously or become a chronic, degenerative, and progressive problem. For instance, tennis elbow is a self-limiting condition that usually improves in 6 months to 2 years. In most cases, patients recover after one year. However, they should rest the injured arm and follow instructions.
In contrast, elbow arthritis is known as a degenerative disease. As such, it is very unlikely that patients will recover complete elbow function. Instead, the disease tends to get worse over time. In these cases, the best course of action is to prevent further damage to the articulation.