Hi my name is Mark and I am a T5 parapalegic with pain in my left elbow. My balance isnt the best so I lean on my left elbow commonly. I am fairly active and I need to know what I can do to correct this pain I have been having. I have done some tens and other various therapy but no improvement as of yet. Please advise what you might recommend to correct my condition. Thank you Mark.
Hi Martha you for your question to Chat Doctor. Overuse related pain in the upper extremity joints is a common complaint and occurs as you need to put all your body weight on the arms during transfers. Try to exactly locate your pain whether it is coming from the joint itself or the attachment of the tendon or some other structure around the joint. An examination by an orthopedic surgeon can help to find this out. Triceps tendinitis is one of the causes which is an irritation at the attachment of triceps tendon. This is caused by repeated heavy weight lifting which is the case when you transfer body weight frequently. To start with if the pain has lasted for long time a X-ray of the elbow joint and if X-ray is normal then MRI is recommended to find/rule out any structural cause. Ibuprofen, tramadol, local steroid injections and physical therapy will help keep pain under control till triceps tendinitis resolves if that's the cause as it is usually a self limiting condition. Hope this is helpful. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.