top of page
Search

Elbow Pain

  • ourcoastphysio
  • 5 days ago
  • 4 min read

Elbow pain shouldn’t slow you down—whether you’re an athlete pushing for peak performance or a hardworking tradesperson relying on your strength every day. The elbow is at the core of powerful movement, grip strength, and precision, but repetitive stress, overuse, and improper mechanics can lead to painful setbacks.

That’s where effective prevention and targeted recovery come in. By understanding common injuries—like Tennis Elbow, UCL strain, and nerve entrapment—you can take the right steps to protect your elbows, improve mobility, and stay pain-free.


Our Physio focuses on:

✅ Reducing strain and preventing injury with customized strengthening routines

✅ Enhancing mobility and function for long-term performance

✅ Providing expert rehabilitation strategies to keep you working, competing, and thriving

 

Anatomy and function 3,4

There are four movements that occur from the elbow. These include flexion, extension, pronation and supination. The elbow joint is a synovial hinge joint that comprises of the humerus, ulna and radius. The elbow joint is a complex joint made up of three smaller articulations between the bones, these include ulnohumeral, radio humeral and proximal radioulnar joint. There are many ligaments that work to stabilise the elbow joint, including the medial collateral ligament, which is made up of three smaller ligaments, and the lateral collateral ligament, which is also composed of three smaller ligaments. There are several nerves that also pass through the elbow, including the ulnar, radial and median nerve. Other structures around the elbow include the muscles, fat pads and olecranon bursa.

 

Did you know that your funny bone isn’t actually a bone? When you hit your elbow on the table the pain that you get is from the ulnar nerve not the bone itself.

 

Possible diagnosis

The root cause of elbow pain can come from one of the many different structures around the elbow such as the joint itself, the muscles, nerves, bones or it can be referred from the neck. Physiotherapists will ask about the mechanism of injury, was there any contact or trauma or a sudden increase in load?


Some of the most common elbow injuries include:

  • Lateral epicondylalgia (tennis elbow)

  • Medial epicondylalgia (Golfer’s elbow)

  • Bursitis

  • Fractures – radial head

  • Ligament tears

  • Elbow sprains

 

Location 3,6

Possible diagnosis

Anterior elbow

  • Biceps strain/tear/tendinopathy

  • Osteochondritis dissecans (Trochlea)

  • Anterior capsule strain

  • Pronator syndrome

Posterior elbow

  • Triceps strain/tears/tendinopathy

  • Olecranon bursitis

  • Osteochondritis dissecans (Olecranon)

  • Olecranon spurs/loose bodies

  • Posterior impingement

Radial side – lateral side

  • Synovial plica

  • Lateral epicondylalgia

  • Osteochondritis dissecans (radio-capitellum)

  • Posterolateral rotatory instability

  • Nerve entrapment – interosseus nerve

  • Radial tunnel syndrome

Ulnar side – medial side

  • Medial epicondylalgia

  • Osteochondritis dissecans (radio-capitellum)

  • Nerve entrapment – ulnar nerve

  • Ulnar nerve injury

  • Cubital tunnel syndrome

  • Ulnar collateral ligament injury

 

Risk factors for elbow pain 1,2,8 :

  • Smoking history

  • Female

  • Obesity

  • Repetitive arm movements with repeated gripping

  • Overhead throwing athlete



Lateral epicondylalgia (Tennis elbow)

Lateral epicondylalgia refers to the overload of the common extensor tendon as a result of repetitive load.  People will experience pain over the lateral elbow, which worsens with activity and improves with rest. Movements such as wrist extension, gripping and turning door knobs may cause pain 2,5.

 

Medial epicondylalgia

If you experience pain in the inside part of your elbow, made worse with throwing, gripping and elbow flexion it is possible that you have medial epicondylalgia. Medial epicondylalgia refers to chronic overuse of the wrist flexors and forearm pronators 8. Medial epicondylalgia is less common than lateral epicondylalgia but often occurs with workers whose jobs involve repetitive elbow and wrist flexion and pronation 6.

 

Physiotherapy Treatment

For acute injuries, the aim of treatment is pain management and regaining full range of motion through the elbow and wrist. Treatment will include education regarding avoiding activities that aggravate the symptoms and cause more pain, splinting/bracing or taping may be used to reduce the overloading strain on the muscles such as the common wrist extensor group. 3,9


Treatment for acute elbow pain focuses on pain management and regaining full range of motion and may consist of 3,5,7,9:

  • Education regarding avoiding activities that aggravate the symptoms and cause more pain

  • Splinting/bracing or taping may be used to reduce the overloading strain on the muscles such as the common wrist extensor group9 for lateral epicondylalgia pain

  • Ultrasound for pain management

  • Soft tissue release through wrist extensors

  • Exercise therapy consisting of gentle range of motion exercises, isometric strengthening exercises of the wrist and elbow, improving grip strength

  • Manual therapy – joint mobilisations



Below is an example of some exercises that can be done for two common elbow conditions.

 

Lateral epicondylalgia/ tennis elbow

Phase 1 – Acute (Weeks 0-2)


 


 

Phase 2 Subacute (Weeks 2-4)


 

 

 

 

Medial Epicondylalgia

Phase 1


 

 

 

Phase 2


 

 

Our Physio can provide the guidance you need to recover from your elbow pain to have you living healthy and happy.

·         Assessment and diagnosis

·         Education and advice

·         Structured hands-on treatment and exercise therapy to facilitate rehabilitation

·         Home exercise prescription

·         Return to pre-injury activity

 

Note:

Assessment and diagnosis for each individual's injury should always be conducted prior to developing a treatment plan with exercise prescription and appropriate progressions. Should you have any further questions or would like to discuss your elbow pain with a physiotherapist, please contact Our Physio Central Coast (02) 4339 4475 or book online here



 

 

 

References

1.      Andrew Arjun, S., Masoodh, B., & Amit Kanta, M. (2020). Risk factors of lateral epicondylitis: A meta-analysis. The Surgeon, 18(2), 122-128. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surge.2019.08.003

2.      Buchanan BK, Varacallo MA. Lateral Epicondylitis (Tennis Elbow) [Updated 2023 Aug 4]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK431092/

3.      Card RK, Lowe JB. Anatomy, Shoulder and Upper Limb, Elbow Joint. [Updated 2023 Jul 24]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK532948/

4.      Islam S, Glover A, MacFarlane R, Mehta N, Waseem M. The Anatomy and Biomechanics of the Elbow. Open Orthop J, 2020; 14: .  http://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1874325002014010095

5.      Javed, M., Mustafa, S., Boyle, S., & Scott, F. (2015). Elbow pain: a guide to assessment and management in primary care. The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 65(640), 610–612. https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp15X687625

6.      Kane, S. F., Lynch, J. H., & Taylor, J. C. (2014). Evaluation of elbow pain in adults. American family physician, 89(8), 649–657.

7.      Pathan, A. F., & Sharath, H. V. (2023). A Review of Physiotherapy Techniques Used in the Treatment of Tennis Elbow. Cureus, 15(10), e47706. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.47706

8.      Reece CL, Li D, SUSMARSKI ADAMJ. Medial Epicondylitis. [Updated 2024 May 2]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557869/

9.      Sadeghi-Demneh, E., & Jafarian, F. (2013). The immediate effects of orthoses on pain in people with lateral epicondylalgia. Pain Res Treat, 2013, 353597. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/353597  



 
 
 

Recent Posts

See All
bottom of page