You probably don’t give much thought to your elbows until one or both of them are hurt. When your elbows are hurt, your daily life can suddenly become much more difficult due to the limited use of your arm.
Several types of injuries and conditions can affect your elbows, causing a variety of symptoms. One symptom that affects many people with an elbow injury or condition is pain in the elbow when straightening the arm.
Sometimes, elbow pain when straightening the arm might be the result of some mild soreness after physical activity. However, if this pain persists or grows worse, it might be related to something more serious that needs professional treatment.
If you’re dealing with pain in the elbow when straightening your arm, you should follow these three tips to start taking care of it:
1. Follow P.R.I.C.E.
When you’re dealing with pain in any part of your body, you should follow the P.R.I.C.E. method to begin the initial steps of treating your pain. The steps for P.R.I.C.E. are:
- Protect — Keep the elbow safe from harm and avoid physical activity that stresses the elbow.
- Rest — Rest the elbow so that the soft tissue can work on healing itself.
- Ice — Apply ice or a cold pack to the elbow for 15 minutes at a time three times per day. This can help reduce swelling and pain.
- Compress — If there is swelling, you should wrap the joint with a compression wrap or sleeve. This can help reduce swelling and promote circulation.
- Elevate — While resting, keep your elbow elevated above your heart level. This will help with any swelling you might have.
2. Check your symptoms
You must pay attention to your symptoms when you have elbow pain when straightening to your arm. If the pain won’t go away after a few days or is getting worse, you should consider visiting a health care professional, like a physical therapist, for treatment.
If your pain is accompanied by any deformity in the elbow or excessive swelling, bruising and inhibited movement, you should contact your physician for immediate treatment.
3. Visit a physical therapist
In most cases of elbow pain when straightening your arm, physical therapists can help you recover. They use natural methods that promote your body’s natural healing processes to help you reduce elbow pain, improve your range of motion and prevent similar pain in the future.
Physical therapy is beneficial because it can be used to treat your elbow pain and injuries, reducing your need for pain medications or surgery.
Visit Border Therapy Services for elbow pain treatment
Losing the ability to use your arms due to elbow pain makes your daily life very challenging. Our physical therapists at Border Therapy Services can help you treat your elbow pain and regain the use of your arm. Contact our team today for more information about elbow pain or to schedule an initial appointment.