Trauma
If you are excessively gripping like in golf or tennis with impact, the elbow could be injured from repetitive stress. The junction where the tendon and muscles join at the elbow is not that strong and if you have repetitive trauma that part will start to strain overtime. Also, if you happen to fall on your hand or wrist, the elbow will absorb most of the force. Depending on the severity of the impact, you can cause injury to the elbow.
Tennis Elbow
Lateral epicondylitis, also known as “tennis elbow,” is an overuse syndrome. There is pain or inflammation on the outside of the forearm near the elbow. The tendon, which connects muscle to bone, might be partially torn at or near the place where it connects to the bony bump on the outside of the elbow (called the lateral epicondyle). Tennis elbow most commonly affects people in their dominant arm, but it can occur in either or both arms. Tennis elbow is caused by repeated motions of the wrist or forearm. The injury is called “tennis elbow” because of its common occurrence in the sport.
Golfers Elbow
This condition, also known as medial epicondylitis, is a very similar injury to tennis elbow, but on the inside of the elbow. Due to overuse, the tendon tears near the region where it connects to the bony bump on the inside of the elbow (called the medial epicondyle).
Contractures due to post-fracture/injury
Contracture of the elbow can be described as a stiff elbow joint. It won’t move all the way into flexion, extension, or both. Sometimes the person has trouble turning the hand palm up or palm down. The cause can be from something intra-articular (inside the joint) or extra-articular (outside the joint).
Ligament Tears (Tommy- John surgery, etc.)
What is it: Tommy John surgery — the colloquial name for ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction — is a surgical procedure that aims to repair ligaments in the elbow. The procedure has become synonymous with sports medicine, particularly in baseball, because pitchers can cause damage to the ligament, which is located on the inside of the elbow joint.
Bursitis
Bursitis is swelling and pain of a bursa. A bursa is a fluid-filled sac that acts as a cushion or shock absorber between a tendon and a bone. A tendon is a cord of tough tissue that connects muscles to bones. Although you cannot feel it, the elbow bursa is behind your elbow (over the pointed tip). Normally a bursa has a small amount of fluid in it. When injured, the bursa becomes inflamed (red and sore) and may fill with too much fluid. Olecranon (oh-LEK-rah-non) bursitis is a type of elbow bursitis when the bursa in your elbow becomes inflamed. With treatment, your bursitis should go away in one to two weeks.
Radial Fractures
Trying to break a fall by putting your hand out in front of you seems almost instinctive. But the force of the fall could travel up the lower forearm bones and dislocate the elbow. It also could break the smaller bone (radius) in the forearm. A break can occur near the elbow at the radial “head.”
