How Chiropractic Care Can Help with Elbow Pain
Does your elbow hurt when you open a jar, pick up a full laundry basket, or swing a racquet or golf club? Although some elbow injuries improve on their own after a few days, others linger and may begin to affect your work or leisure activities. Luckily, chiropractic care can ease your pain and reduce stiffness and other symptoms.
What Causes Elbow Pain?
The elbow joint joins the upper arm bone to the bones in the forearm. The hinged elbow joint makes it possible to extend, rotate, and straighten your arm. Injuries or conditions that affect the bones, muscles, ligaments, and tendons in and around the joint can cause elbow pain.
In addition to pain, you may also experience:
- Swelling Around the Elbow
- Stiffness
- Difficulty Moving the Elbow
- Weak Grip
- Numbness
- Tenderness
Pain may be constant, or you may only notice it when you move your arm.
Overuse Injuries
Overuse injuries are a common cause of elbow pain. These injuries happen when you move your arm the same way over and over again. An overuse injury can be caused by swinging a hammer, typing, weightlifting, or throwing a ball. Overuse injuries cause inflammation and tiny tears in the muscles, ligaments, and tendons in the elbow joint.
Tennis and golf elbow, the most well-known types of elbow overuse injuries, are caused by tendonitis. Tendonitis occurs when tendons that attach muscles to bones become irritated and inflamed. Golfer's elbow (medial epicondylitis) causes pain on the inside part of the elbow, forearm and wrist. The outer part of the elbow, forearm, and wrist hurts if you have tennis elbow ((lateral epicondylitis). These injuries don't just affect tennis players and golfers, but can happen to anyone.
Bursitis
Bursitis occurs due to inflammation of the fluid-filled sac called a bursa. Bursae help the bones glide together smoothly when you move a joint. Swelling may occur as fluid builds up inside the bursa.
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons notes that elbow bursitis can be caused by:
- A Forceful Hit to the Elbow's Tip
- Infections
- Leaning on Elbows or Putting Pressure on Them for Extended Periods
Other Causes of Elbow Pain
Pinched nerves in the elbow, arthritis, strains, sprains, or fractures may also cause elbow pain. In some cases, elbow pain can be caused by a problem in another part of the body. Issues in your shoulders, upper or neck may trigger pain that is felt in the elbow. For example, pain caused by rotator cuff tendonitis may extend from your shoulder to your elbow.
Relieving Elbow Pain with Chiropractic Care
Your chiropractor evaluates your entire body to determine the cause of your elbow pain. Once a diagnosis is made, your doctor creates a treatment plan designed to ease your pain. One or more of these therapies may be included in your treatment plan:
- Adjustments. Correctly aligning the joints in your arm, shoulder, or spine improves movement and relieves pressure that triggers pain. Your chiropractor safely adjusts joints or the vertebrae in your spine with an activator device or hands-on movements.
- Soft Tissue Therapy. Massage, a type of soft tissue therapy, loosens tight muscles and tissues in the elbow. Massage also improves blood circulation, eases pain, and relieves inflammation. Trigger point therapy can be helpful if elbow pain is caused by a trigger point (knot in a muscle). Your chiropractor releases tight muscle fibers in the knot by applying controlled pressure.
- Active Tissue Release (ART). ART is a specific soft tissue therapy that breaks up scar tissue and adhesions responsible for elbow pain and stiffness. In addition to causing pain and limiting joint movement, scar tissue and adhesions may stress tendons and increase the risk of tendonitis. During the therapy, your chiropractor applies pressure to the soft tissues of the elbow while you move the joint. In a case report published in the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine in 2014, chiropractors explained how ART helped a patient suffering from lateral epicondylitis for two years. Although lateral epicondylitis is known as tennis elbow, the condition affected the man's golf game. After five ART sessions, the man was pain-free and could play 18 holes of golf again.
Tired of living with elbow pain? Chiropractic care offers the perfect treatment option. Contact our office to schedule an appointment with the chiropractor.
Sources:
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: Elbow (Olecranon) Bursitis, 11/2023
https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases--conditions/elbow-olecranon-bursitis/
PMC: Journal of Chiropractic Medicine: Chiropractic Treatment of Lateral Epicondylitis: A Case Report Utilizing Active Release Techniques, 6/2014
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4322013/
Cleveland Clinic: Elbow Pain
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/elbow-pain
Chiropractic Economics: Treatment Options for Medial, Lateral Epicondylitis (Tennis, Golfer’s Elbow), 6/28/2019
https://www.chiroeco.com/treatment-options-lateral-epicondylitis/
NCBI: National Library of Medicine: Overview: Tennis Elbow, 7/15/2025