Elbow Joint Essay
Elbow Joint
The elbow joint is a very complex hinge joint located between the distal end of the humerus in the upper region of the proximal ends of the ulna and radius. The elbow joint allows flexion and extension and rotation of the forearm and wrist. The range of motion of the elbow is limited due to the olecranon of the ulna so that elbow can only extend to 180 degrees.
Like most synovial joints, a thin layer of articulating cartilage covers the ends of the bones to allow smooth movement. The elbow is surrounded by a joint capsule that provides strength and lubrication to the elbow. The synovial fluid produced by the synovial membrane of the joint capsule fills the hollow space between the bones to reduce friction and wear to the joint.
Athletes of all ages and skill levels are playing sports that involve overhead arm motion making the elbow joint more susceptible to injury. A common elbow injury is lateral epicondylitis, which I cause by overhead arm motions. Lateral Epicondylitis also known as tennis elbow mostly occurs to tennis or racket players over the age of 40. Lateral epicondylitis can cause extensive pain where the extensor muscles join the humeral epicondyle. Left untreated this injury can cause mucinoid degeneration of the extensor origin and failure of the tendon. In most cases epicondylitis can be treated with activity modification and specific workouts. If the athlete is not successful with activity modification and specific workouts they have to get surgery done. Another common sports injury is medial ulnar ligament injury. If there is stress placed on the joint it can lead to microtraumatic injury and valgus instability. When the medial ulnar collateral ligament is disrupted it cause abnormal stress which is placed on the articulating surfaces can lead to degenerative changes to osteophyte formation. Valgus stress can also lead to posteromedial olecranon impingement on the olecranon fossa producing excessive amounts of pain.
The elbow joint is a very complex hinge joint located between the distal end of the humerus in the upper region of the proximal ends of the ulna and radius. The elbow joint allows flexion and extension and rotation of the forearm and wrist. The range of motion of the elbow is limited due to the olecranon of the ulna so that elbow can only extend to 180 degrees.
Like most synovial joints, a thin layer of articulating cartilage covers the ends of the bones to allow smooth movement. The elbow is surrounded by a joint capsule that provides strength and lubrication to the elbow. The synovial fluid produced by the synovial membrane of the joint capsule fills the hollow space between the bones to reduce friction and wear to the joint.
Athletes of all ages and skill levels are playing sports that involve overhead arm motion making the elbow joint more susceptible to injury. A common elbow injury is lateral epicondylitis, which I cause by overhead arm motions. Lateral Epicondylitis also known as tennis elbow mostly occurs to tennis or racket players over the age of 40. Lateral epicondylitis can cause extensive pain where the extensor muscles join the humeral epicondyle. Left untreated this injury can cause mucinoid degeneration of the extensor origin and failure of the tendon. In most cases epicondylitis can be treated with activity modification and specific workouts. If the athlete is not successful with activity modification and specific workouts they have to get surgery done. Another common sports injury is medial ulnar ligament injury. If there is stress placed on the joint it can lead to microtraumatic injury and valgus instability. When the medial ulnar collateral ligament is disrupted it cause abnormal stress which is placed on the articulating surfaces can lead to degenerative changes to osteophyte formation. Valgus stress can also lead to posteromedial olecranon impingement on the olecranon fossa producing excessive amounts of pain.