Monday, July 13, 2009

Pain between forearm and bicep. Opposite side of my elbow?

I am having a stinging pain just before or right on the end of my bicep. It is on the inside of my elbow and not like the bone or outside. i play singles tennis and I am a pitcher for my high school and both these activities are causing this pain. The physical trainer at my school put heating pads on it and pressed on the area of pain trying to break up the swelling. It might have worked a little but it hasn't helped much. Could anyone tell me what i have and possible solutions that could help my arm. Any help is appreciated. Thank you
Answer:
Sounds like medial epicondylitis, aka golfer's elbow. It is due to repetitive use of the wrist flexors when you are pitching or playing tennis. Lateral epicondylitis or tennis elbow on the other hand is located at the elbow on the outside except that it is the wrist extensors that are strained. I suspect that this is caused by your pitching which requires a significant amount of wrist flexion during pitching. I would strongly recommend R-I-C-E which stands for rest, ice, compression and elevation. Heat would increase the swelling and is not generally recommended with these types of injuries, although heat/ice can be used to enhance the circulation. Heat can increase the swelling for Acute injuries. Icing is generally preferred due to its numbing effect, reduce swelling, and best of all, the surge of blood flow to the area after ice application which causes the "washing away" of the metabolites (lactic acid). You can minimize or prevent this injury by putting an ace wrap just below the medial epicondyle (the origin of the wrist flexors). This would transfer the pull of the muscles away from the epicondyles. (This also helps tennis elbow by the way.) I hope this helps.
sounds like you ripped a tendon. not much you can do now, but this usually happens when you mussles are stronger than your bone. to keep this from happening again, you should get more calcium.
It sounds like you have "tennis elbow" or lateral epicondylitis (inflammation of the end of the bones in your elbow). It is common in tennis players, hence the term "tennis elbow."Treatment is resting, icing (especially after playing), and taking a non-steriodal anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen. You can also try special straps that relieve the pressure in that area.I would try those suggestions for a week or two and if it doesn't get better, see your physician.

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