Injuries of the elbow

The disease known as Panner’s disease is a bone necrosis that occurs in the area of the elbow joint. As a rule, it mainly affects children between the ages of 6 and 10 years of age who practice sports that place a heavy load on the elbow joint. The cause of this disease is a circulatory disorder of the growth plate in the area of the lower humerus or other bony structures of the elbow joint.

Very often pain occurs after trauma. Due to falls or accidents, muscles and ligaments can be torn or otherwise injured or fractures (breaks) of the adjacent bones, i.e. humerus and forearm bone (radius or ulna), can occur. Furthermore, dislocations of the elbow are very often the cause of acute pain.

If the elbow joint is permanently overstressed, inflammation can be the cause of the pain. Very often, the tendons of the forearm extensor muscles and forearm flexor muscles – the tennis or golfer’s elbow – that originate at the elbow become inflamed. In addition to the tendons, an inflammation of the bursa can also be the source of the pain.

In case of chronic pain in the elbow joint, which also occurs in other small joints such as the finger joints, rheumatoid arthritis should also be considered. In addition to an inflammation, prolonged overuse or incorrect strain often results in arthrosis in the elbow joint, which is characterized by wear and tear of cartilage. In contrast to the other causes of pain mentioned above, the pain here occurs after prolonged periods of rest and improves with movement.

In addition to external examination, testing of mobility and palpation of the structures involved, a first suspected diagnosis can be made by describing the time of occurrence, the type and location of the pain. The diagnosis can be completed by further means such as X-ray, MRI, ultrasound or arthroscopy (joint endoscopy). Blood tests can also help, especially in the area of rheumatological diagnostics.