Expert: John Quackenbush DC - 1/19/2011

Question
i am now 43 year old male.


my right elbow is in alot of pain by the way i am left handed so i use

my left arm much more than my right arm.

but about 1 month ago i think occured right after weight lifting

doing some rototar cuff excersizes but im not exactly sure when

it first happened. but even to this day i have sharp pains

in this elbow but they come and go

extremely painful but as the elbow is not so critical like a back

or hip or knee i can kind of get around it

i think but could be wrong the pain is coming from a ligament

or tendon


i have tried iciing it and that does get the pain level incredibly up

temporarily so i guess that is a good thing

the pain i can feel in the muscle all the way down to the fingers

and also have pain above the elbow a bit towards the bicep

its amazing after the icing just how weak my right hand fingers

feel. even to type keys on a keyboard

i also do streching with my resistance bands for that bicep

which does seem to help

somehow i think this issue is related

there is no pain in the bicep area normally thou

maybe it is refered pain i am getting

but as the pain is sharp and before i did read

that it is very important to describe the kind of pain

you are getting then it can be determined just what

is the problem

so it is definetly a sharp pain that comes and goes

so i am guessing a ligament or tendon problem as refered

pain would be aching

but when i press right at the bony protrustion sorry im not sure

if it the humerus or the ulna of the elbow area i can get into

the pain. i am pushing on the top side of the arm at the elbow

area

any ideas just what is it i could have and just what should i

be doing about it?

thanking you in advance

Answer
JII,
You absolutely need a one on one examination. Isuggest xrays right away. This a clinical situation whereas I would need to physically examine your elbow to tell you what is wrong. Obviously I can not do this so I am encouranging you to seek immediate medical exam and care for this as you have too much going on to let this go w/o said care.

I wish i could tell you more but you absolutely need to have this looked at as soon as humanly possible. And by the way your elbow is a crucial joint that needs to heal correctly or you may loose some or all of the function in your affected arm

Sincerely
Dr John Quackenbush