Elbow Pain

Common Causes

Elbow pain can be caused by a variety of problems. The most common cause in adults is tendinitis, an inflammation and injury to the tendons -- soft tissues that attach muscle to bone.

People who play racquet sports are most likely to injure the tendons on the outside of the elbow, which lift up the wrist and fingers. This condition is commonly called tennis elbow. Golfers are more likely to injure the tendons on the inside of the elbow, which flex the wrist and fingers.

Gardening, playing baseball, using a screwdriver, or overusing your wrist are all common causes of elbow tendinitis as well.

Young children commonly develop "nursemaid's elbow," usually when someone is pulling on their straightened arm. The bones are stretched apart momentarily and a ligament slips in between, where it becomes trapped when the bones try to snap back into place. Children will usually quietly refuse to use the arm, but often cry out with any attempt to bend or straighten the elbow. This condition is also called an elbow subluxation (a partial dislocation).

Other common causes of elbow pain are:

• Bursitis -- inflammation of a fluid-filled cushion beneath the skin
• Arthritis -- narrowing of the joint space and loss of protective cartilage in the elbow
• Elbow strains
• Infection of the elbow