Understanding Elbow Injuries: Muscles, Tendons, and Prevention
Elbow injuries, common among athletes and manual labourers, often involve the tendons and muscles around the joint. These include the pronator teres, triceps, brachialis, elbow flexors, and extensors. Understanding their roles is key to preventing and treating issues like tennis elbow and golfer's elbow.
The elbow is a complex joint involving numerous muscles. The pronator teres flexes the elbow and enables pronation, or twisting of the forearm. The triceps extends the arm and stabilises it during fine hand movements. Meanwhile, the brachialis helps flex the elbow inward towards the body. Elbow flexors, located at the back of the elbow, pull it closer to the body by bending it.
Repetitive stress injuries, such as tendonitis, can affect these muscles and tendons. 'Tennis elbow' affects the outside tendon, while 'golfer's elbow' affects the inside. These injuries can lead to partial or complete tendon tears, causing swelling, bruising, pain, and weakness. The anconeus muscle helps extend the forearm at the elbow, while the brachioradialis flexes the arm at the elbow. The biceps brachii flexes the arm and powerfully twists the forearm, turning the palm upward.
Sports and activities that involve repetitive overuse of the forearm muscles, like tennis, certain gym exercises, or improper movements, can lead to inflammation of the tendons in the elbow joint, causing tennis elbow or golfer's elbow. Elbow extensors, located on the inside of the arm, help extend the arm outward.
Understanding the roles of the muscles and tendons around the elbow is crucial for preventing and treating injuries. Awareness of activities that may strain these areas can help athletes and labourers take preventive measures, such as using proper form and technique, taking breaks, and strengthening the affected muscles.
