If suddenly the elbow is swollen, then this can be a manifestation of many factors. For example, mechanical damage to the hand is manifested by severe swelling, in addition, an allergic reaction to plants or detergents can also acquire sharp manifestations on the skin.
It often happens that the elbow is swollen due to tissue wear, due to the same type of work with the hands. There are cases of occupational diseases when constant cartilage friction occurs. In this case, you can hear the crunch of the joint when bending the limb. Such conditions need to be treated by an orthopedist.
What are the prerequisites for the appearance of puffiness?
If the elbow is swollen and sore, what to do, the following doctors know:
- orthopedist;
- surgeon;
- traumatologist.
They need to be addressed. And the prerequisites for the development of pain, as a rule, are:
- mechanical loads of the same type at work or in the gym;
- infection with parasites and bacteria;
- tissue wear with age;
- internal diseases;
- lack of trace elements in the body;
- accumulation of fluid in the body or injury after injury.
Swelling develops after the accumulation of white blood cells in the affected tissue. The inflammatory process can last arbitrarily long with improper treatment. The initial symptoms of swelling and fever on the elbow must be compensated for by a cold compress. It should be applied before visiting the clinic.
Options for causes of inflammation
If the elbow is swollen and hot, then the following diseases can be predicted:
- Developing bursitis may appear for no apparent reason. For a while, a compress of ice or warming helps, but after a short time, a tumor forms again.
- The problem of arthrosis worries more than 80% of elderly people. This disease occurs with mechanical damage to the joint due to prolonged wear.
- Tendon inflammation occurs due to lifting weights or a sharp movement of the hand. Another disease is called tendinosis or tendinopathy. Often in such cases, you may find that the arm is swollen from the elbow to the hand.
- An unpleasant chronic joint disease is called arthritis. With this type of inflammation, the tissues around the cartilage undergo changes, the elbow can swell, blush, and hurt.
- Pain also occurs as a result of the deposition of salts in the joint of the elbow. This severely restricts hand movements. This disease is called gout.
- Joint fluid sometimes undergoes changes, and calcium pyrophosphate begins to accumulate in it. It blocks the movement of the hand, it begins to hurt, swell. The described pathology is called chondrocalcinosis.
- Similar symptoms are formed with the appearance of growths on bone tissue in the joint cavity. These changes are called osteophytes.
Joint Bag Inflammation
The area of edema and redness can reach the size of a chicken egg. Hand movements become limited and painful. A thorough analysis of the inflammatory process led researchers to the conclusion that bursitis develops at the junction of the bone and joint.
Symptoms of bursitis, by the way, often appear after injuries and cracks. At the same time, fluid begins to accumulate in the region of the articular bag, and pyogenic microbes form inside it. Often exposed to this inflammation are people who work in difficult physical conditions, as well as all athletes.
A tumor can also appear due to internal hemorrhage in the joint area. The response of the body is the flow of fluid, which pulls the skin and disrupts the normal functioning of the elbow. Severe swelling becomes inflamed, and the tissues turn red. A late symptom is pain when the arm is bent.
Joint aging
A disease such as arthrosis develops throughout life, it is characterized by slow destruction of articular tissue. Small cracks, corrosion. Stiffness of movements can last long and painlessly. But puffiness is gradually manifested, and changes already occur in adjacent tissues.
The area of inflammation can expand, and the tissues lose their elasticity. Pain is a constant companion for advanced arthrosis. By the way, it can be noted that the elbow is swollen already after the age of 30 years. It is during this period that in some people, joint wear reaches a peak with daily strength training.
Unpleasant sensations pass at rest, but at the slightest attempt to bend the arm, the symptoms begin to manifest themselves with renewed vigor. Osteophytes are often the result of prolonged arthrosis. With the developed stage, a distinct crunch is heard during bending of the elbow.
Tendon inflammation
Tendonitis is an inflammatory process at the site of attachment of tendons to the joint. The people describe this condition with the words "pulled his hand." As a result of the named inflammation, you can see that the elbow is swollen.
The first step in inflammation of the tissues is to eliminate the infectious cause of the disease. More often tendonitis is chronic. Tendons experience a constant load, as a result of which cracks and gaps at the attachment point gradually form.
We can distinguish this pathology as an occupational disease in tennis players. They often find that the elbow is swollen and hot, immediately after the competition. The patient needs a long recovery period, but most athletes neglect the doctor’s recommendations and continue training.
Joint changes due to internal problems of the body
Arthritis is another cause of elbow swelling. Several of its subspecies are distinguished, and all of them have a long period of formation. The reasons may be:
- infection;
- constant physical activity;
- hypothermia;
- trauma, sprain;
- consequences of drinking alcohol, smoking.
During this disease, sudden changes in the state of health can be noticed - the elbow is swollen and the skin hurts from any contact with it. Such rapid development of edema occurs with the infectious nature of arthritis. The internal accumulation of fluid promotes the growth of bacteria, which begin to be destroyed by the immune system.
The area of inflammation can reach large sizes if the correct treatment has not been carried out. By the way, this condition can not be left to chance. Conventional cold compresses will not relieve internal infection. To restore health, complex therapy will be needed aimed at eliminating the infection and stimulating the immune system.
Swelling due to salt deposition
Failures of internal metabolic processes occur due to chronic diseases. Poor nutrition also affects joint fluid. Overfilling of salt deposits in the joints blocks the mobility of the arm. With age, the disease progresses and the person notices that the elbow is swollen. What to do, the doctor decides in such cases.
Passive lifestyle is predisposed to gout. The body ceases to receive normal blood flow, metabolic processes slow down, and salts are deposited inside the joint cavity. The elbow is not the only place of inflammation; the whole organism suffers.
From an excess of salt, inflammation occurs in any joint. The first problem spot is the heaviest limb. The following bad habits influence the development of gout:
- alcoholism;
- frequent smoking;
- overabundance of fatty, spicy, salty foods.
Calcium pyrophosphate as a cause of pain
The accumulation of calcium pyrophosphate in the joint bag causes an inflammatory process, accompanied by the following unpleasant symptoms:
- tissue redness;
- swelling;
- pain even at rest;
- blocking the movement of the hand.
Patients in such cases notice that the elbow is swollen after the development of internal diseases. Also, these joint problems are inherited. Predisposition leads to the appearance of frequent relapses. Chondrocalcinosis is a disease in the elderly.
The remission of acute conditions may occur briefly. This is due to residual asymptomatic inflammation inside the tissues of the elbow. For a complete diagnosis, a joint puncture, x-ray image is examined. Additional information is collected by interviewing the patient and examining the arm.
Bone growths
It often turns out that the elbow is swollen due to a build-up on the bone when it prevents the joint from moving. The causes of neoplasms are mechanical damage to the elbow, immobility of the limb, the formation of a tumor of hard tissue.
If the elbow is swollen, what should I do? The first step is to start looking for the cause of the inflammation, and before you go to the doctor you should apply a cold compress on your arm. You can use analgesic ointments, but all these measures are allowed to be used only as temporary until visiting a doctor. Only a specialist will be able to conduct an examination, make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe adequate treatment.