Elbow Arthritis

What is Elbow Arthritis?

Arthritis is a progressive disorder affecting the normal functioning and flexibility of the joints in all parts of the body. Arthritis affecting the elbows causes inflammation in the joint followed by movement restriction as the bones rub against each other. With arthritis, the protective cartilage cover is destroyed resulting in a swollen and painful elbow joint. Similar conditions affecting the elbow joints are the Tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow.

Causes

Rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is the most common cause of elbow arthritis. The long-term disease makes your immune system attack the lining of your joints, causing pain, swelling, and inflammation. It often affects joints on both sides of your body.

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is more common in weight-bearing joints such as your knees and hips, but it can also affect your elbows. Osteoarthritis happens when you lose the cartilage that cushions the joints, causing the bones to rub together. That can come from too much wear and tear on the joint after you make the same movements over and over, such as during sports or work. It can also happen because of injuries, including dislocation or fracture, which can wear down the cartilage. This is called post-traumatic arthritis.

Gout

Gout is another cause of elbow pain. It happens when uric acid builds up in your blood, leading to sharp crystals in the tissues and joints. You have intense pain and swelling in the elbow joint.

Psoriatic arthritis

If you have psoriasis, Psoriatic arthritis can cause pain and inflammation in your joints, including the elbow. Not everyone with psoriasis gets psoriatic arthritis.

Juvenile arthritis

This is a group of diseases that affect children 16 or younger. Doctors aren’t sure what causes them.

Lupus-related arthritis

With lupus, your immune system attacks your own tissues, including your joints. It most often affects your hands and feet, but it can also involve your elbows.

Other Causes

Injuries and issues such as bursitis and tendinitis are also common causes.

Symptoms

You may notice:

• Swelling
• Stiffness
• Pain
• A clicking or snapping feeling
• Symptoms that are worse on the outside of the joint

• More pain when you rotate or extend your arm
• Trouble moving your elbow
• The joint locks up or gives out when you move it
• Tingling in your elbow
• Numbness in your ring and pinky fingers

Diagnosis

The diagnosis is conducted through clinical and physical examination and imaging tests to understand the cause and severity of the condition.

Treatments

Treatment can include conservative options such as medications and steroid injections to relieve pain, activity modification, and the use of splints. Surgery is usually considered if non-surgical treatment fails to offer relief.

Elbow Arthroscopy

Your surgeon will first inject fluid into the elbow joint. The fluid allows your surgeon to see the structures of your elbow more clearly through the arthroscope’s camera. The blood vessels and nerves that surround your elbow joint are less likely to be injured as a result of this. To insert the arthroscope and small instruments into the joint, your surgeon will make many small incisions. To maintain the view clean and control any bleeding, fluid flows through the arthroscope.

On the video screen, images from the arthroscope are shown, showing your surgeon the interior of your elbow and any concerns. Before commencing any specific therapies, your surgeon will assess the joint.

If necessary, the entire joint will be examined, which could necessitate five or seven extremely small arthroscopic incisions. Other small instruments will be inserted by the surgeon through separate incisions to help with the surgery.

At the conclusion of the surgery, the arthroscopy incisions are usually stitched or covered with skin tapes. The elbow is dressed with an absorbent dressing. Your surgeon will apply either an additional soft dressing that allows movement or a plaster splint that restricts movement and protects the elbow, depending on the treatment.