Elbow bones and names

THERE IS ELBOW grease, elbowing your way through the crowd, joined at the elbows and rubbing elbows. We use our elbows without even thinking about them to hold doors open, to lean on them at table or on knees, or nudging our friend. You may not spend much time thinking about your elbow unless you hit your funny bone which is a nerve and not a bone, or play regular tennis or golf. Although you don’t have to play either one to attain the condition known by those names.

The elbow is a hinge joint as is the knee and is made up of three bones: humerus in the upper arm and the radius and ulna in the forearm. They are held together with various tendons and ligaments.

elbow ligamentsAlthough there are twenty three muscles that give your elbow stability and flexibility, the major muscles which allow you to bend your arm are the triceps on the back of your arm and the biceps, your Pop-eye the Sailor Man, spinach muscle, on the front of your arm.

Elbow injuries come in four sizes so to speak: overuse, dislocations fractures, breaks. Overuse usually come with occupations and sports such as in using a carpentry tool or sports tool. Dislocations, fractures and breaks of course come with falls and clashes with either an individual or an object that doesn’t give way.

Over my many years I’ve treated all kinds of elbow injuries and the rule is always the same: YOU CAN’T JUST TREAT THE ELBOW. You stop playing tennis or golf and your tennis or golfers elbow goes away only to return when YOU return to the court or course. Your fracture is healed says the doctor and your surgery is a success says the doctor proudly. You’ve gone faithfully to your many weekly, monthly, physical therapy appointments, you’ve done the prescribed exercises and been dismissed as good to go. But YOU still have pain and stiffness and lack full range of motion.

Shoulders front and back with trigger pointsYes, your bones are healed and the surgery was a success, but no one treated your poor muscles that are attached to your elbow. And no one thought to ask how you fell or landed when you broke or fractured it. At the other ends of the elbow are the shoulder and the wrist. And what about all those 23 muscles? They are calling out to you, “What about us?”

Recently I treated a woman in her seventies who, on two different occasions, had fallen and broken her wrist on one fall and her elbow in a second one. After two years she still did not have full range of motion and could not make certain movements without experiencing pain. After two treatments she was smiling rather than grimacing when she moved to lift or rotate her arm.

To treat an elbow successfully you must treat the shoulder, upper arm, hand, wrist and forearm. You are all tied together. Take the trigger points out and do the corrective exercises. You’ll find the answers in Bonnie’s books.

Arm view front and back with trigger points

NOTE: Make sure you choose a reputable surgeon. Repairing an elbow is no easy matter. Important blood vessels and nerves that are involved in your hand and arm are in close proximity.

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If you have questions or need help, email me at enid@bonnieprudden.com.

For more information about Bonnie Prudden®, Bonnie Prudden Myotherapy®, workshops, books, self-help tools, DVDs, educational videos, and blogs, visit www.bonnieprudden.com. Or call 520-299-8064 if you have questions or need help. Enid Whittaker, Managing Director, Bonnie Prudden Myotherapy®

Exercises for shoulder, wrist, elbow