The elbow plays an important role in our body by helping in the performance of both physical activity and daily duties. If the elbow hurts, the person feels severely restrained, furthermore, the pain interferes with normal daily life. People involved in weightlifting must be especially careful not to damage the health of their elbows due to carelessness or overload.

The elbow plays an important role in our body by helping in the performance of both physical activity and daily duties. If the elbow hurts, the person feels severely restrained, furthermore, the pain interferes with normal daily life. People involved in weightlifting must be especially careful not to damage the health of their elbows due to carelessness or overload.

Why does my elbow hurt?

The elbow consists of three bones connected at the joint, as well as muscles, ligaments, cartilage, nerves and tendons. This whole set forms a moving joint, which plays a major role in both bending and straightening the arms and performing various daily movements and tasks. Most often, we only pay attention to the elbow when something is wrong - we feel pain, swelling, movement disorders or other discomfort.

The most common causes of elbow pain are:

• injuries (bruises, fractures, dislocations),
• overload (both in daily activities and sports),
• nerve compression,
• elbow wear,
• infection, etc.

Injuries make you relax

In weightlifters, the most common causes of elbow pain are injuries. In such cases (bruises, fractures, sprains or dislocations), the pain may be sudden and sharp, and result in the immediate cessation of the activity. This pain can be the cause of a potentially serious problem, so seek medical attention immediately to perform the required examinations and to diagnose the problem.

Traditionally these cases involve an examination by a physician, followed by an X-ray examination. If the case is more complicated, other radiological examinations may be required: computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. 

Based on the examination results, your doctor will determine the most appropriate treatment. In more severe cases of fractures, the therapy may involve surgery, but in milder cases, medication therapy and avoiding physical exercise will be sufficient to allow the injured limb to recover. In such cases, it must be taken into account that you will have to give up physical activity for a longer period of time. 

Be careful with overload

The second most common cause of elbow pain in heavyweight athletes is overload, which causes inflammation of the inside of the elbow - medial epicondylitis, also known as golfer’s elbow. This problem can also complicate the lives of professionals who perform uniform monotonous movements on a daily basis, such as cooks, hairdressers, conveyor belt workers, office workers who have daily work at the computer and other workers, as well as athletes other than weightlifters: golfers, tennis players and others.

To diagnose this problem, a radiological examination must be performed - most often ultrasound examination. In cases of overload, the treatment tactics most often involve complete reduction of the load on the sore elbow, while using analgesics in the acute period, combined with various analgesic and anti-inflammatory ointments or gels. Taping is also recommended and physiotherapy and physical therapy procedures may help, which are best recommended by a rehabilitation medicine specialist. 

Treatment takes time

It should be considered that elbow pain can last long after injuries, as well as in the event of overload, therefore a longer recovery period should be taken into account, as well as lifestyle adjustment to prevent the recurrence of pain must be considered. Therefore, in addition to the therapy prescribed by the doctor, special orthoses or fixation devices will serve as good aids. They will allow the muscles to rest at the places where they are attached, thus reducing both the discomfort caused by pain and facilitating daily activities.

A person who has had an elbow injury or overload should be especially careful when returning to previous physical activities, including weightlifting. Considering the fact that during training sessions the elbow will be subject to additional loads again, the use of orthosis is recommended on a daily basis to avoid new elbow problems. For preventive purposes, heavyweight athletes are recommended to use such orthoses even if they do not have a history of elbow problems.

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